Remington Model 11 buffer replacement

[Battis]

The buffer/fiber cushion in the rear of the receiver in my Remington Model 11 12 ga shotgun has to be replaced. It's been crumbling, chipping and splitting so I removed it. I'm glad I did - the metal under it is showing some rust. I have a new one, and the rivet that secures it, but I don't think I have the skill, tools or knowledge to replace the rivet, so I'm planning on using an adhesive.
Any suggestions on an adhesive? Good old JB Weld or...what?

This might be the right stuff...
Loctite E-120HP 442-29353 50ml Hysol Epoxy Adhesive

[Texas by God]

What is the new buffer made of? Nothing will stick to polypropylene.

[Battis]

Good question. It's called a fiber cushion.

[KenT7021]

Roy Dunlap did an extensive write up on replacing part in his book Gunsmithing.He had drawings of the tooling needed.All of the Model 11 buffers I have seen were a hard fiber material.A good epoxy might hold especially if most of the retaining rivet is intact.

[Battis]

I'll look for that Dunlap story.
I found these: (makes me want to use adhesive)
"from the remington service manual.
Pry out old cushion if still in place. Put drill guide block into receiver & drill out old rivet, using two drills which fit into guide block-one drill pointed to drill hole to depth, the other flat to square bottom of hole. Care to be taken NOT to drill through receiver. Depth of hole is .o62. Insert new oversize rivet into searing punch & seat in receiver, Using rivet crimping punch crimp metal around rivet head. Put in new fibre cushion into receiver with beveled side to REAR. Force firmly against rear wall. Put rivet expanding punch through guide block against rivet & strike quick blow to expand rivet."

Reid Coffield SGN article about the M11 uses a different method:

"The buffer is held in place with a simple steel rivet. If it were not for the difficulty in getting to the darn rivet, it would be very simple to install the new buffer. As it is. I had to make and modify some tools to deal with this job. Years ago I had a set of tools for the Model 11 specifically for this job but somewhere along the way they were loaned out and never came back! Let that be a lesson to you about loaning tools.

The edge of the hole in the receiver where the rivet was seated had been crimped in a bit to secure the original rivet. When I pulled the old rivet out, most of this crimp remained in place. Before I could seat the new rivet, I had to remove that crimp. I used a long 3/16" diameter punch with a slight taper ground on the end of it to open up or spread the crimp. With that out of the way, I turned my attention to the rivet.

The hole in the open end of the rivet was just slightly larger than 3/32". Consequently, I again used a long 1/8" diameter punch with a slightly reduced diameter tip to seat the rivet in the blind hole in the receiver. When seating it. I made sure the receiver was held vertically in a well padded vise. I sure didn't want to scratch its new finish. It's very important the back of the receiver was also firmly supported. Again, make sure there's nothing there to scratch the finish.

After the rivet was seated. I made a tool to crimp the metal of the receiver around the base of the rivet. For this I used a 1/4" diameter 9-inch piece of cold roll mild steel rod. I started with a No. 4 center drill. By using this I was able to make a tapered cone on the inside of the tool.

Remember this tool will move steel inward towards the shank of the rivet and secure the rivet base. I made sure the cone was about .250" in diameter. I then turned a slight taper on the outside of the end of the tool so the edge of the cone that would be driven into the receiver was fairly sharp, with a steep taper.

Once the turning of the tool was completed, it was ready to use. I could have heat treated it to make it more durable, but realistically. I doubt I'll be working on any more Model I Is. While my staking tool was rather soft, it was more than adequate to secure the buffer rivet. If I need to use the tool more often. I can always just touch it up and harden it.

The rivet was staked in place and then the fiber beer was installed over the rivet. A large roll pin punch was used to spread the end of the rivet to secure the buffer. With that, the repair work on my very old and much abused Model 11 was completed. "

[Battis]

I found this online:




https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=7Ab12fHr8y0C&dq=roy+dunlap+gunsmithing&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=udsA3TkT8u&sig=9LJCC3jyPuSGKYI89WrDuqSDnwk&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result#v=onepage&q=roy%20dunlap%20gunsmithing&f=true

[Battis]

I cleaned the old buffer out - it was made out of a piece of rubber. There was no rivet holding it in place (the rivet hole had been filled in with what looks like solder). I'm guessing the black glue holding it was JB Weld.
Anyways, I used JB Weld on the new one. The new buffer from Numrich is a pretty tight fit without the glue, so it shouldn't move. Hopefully it will work.

[KenT7021]

Let us know what happens in use.

[izzyjoe]

I was thinking about replacing mine, but it doesn't have one. It don't appear to ever having one.

[John Taylor]

Funny this came up. One just came in today with a broken buffer. I have the replacement but not the rivet. Guess I will figure out how to do it and make a new rivet in the process. Sometimes it is best to do it the way the factory did it.

[Battis]

The one that I replaced was made from some sort of rubber. Like I said, there was no rivet and the rivet hole had been filled in. I have the rivet but not the skill or know-how to install it. The JB Weld should work - there's a lot of surface area on the buffer.
Numrich has the buffers and rivets:
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/remington/shotguns-rem/11-2

If the JB Weld works, I'll replace the buffer on the 20 ga, too.

[ulav8r]

Personally do not like JB Weld. I have a glue called "Professional Welder" that sticks to plastics, rubber, fabric, metal, etc. I have used it to attach an aluminum plate to the back of a broken key fob so I can keep it on my key ring. It has held for5-6 years and is still holding. I believe it would work in this application. The one Model 11 buffer I replaced was about 40 years ago, don't remember how I did it.

[Battis]

The buffer fits into the rear of the receiver fairly tightly without the adhesive. Basically the JB Weld only has to keep it from pulling forward. The bolt hits it squarely and pushes it into the back of the receiver (if it does actually hit it).

[Battis]

Update: JB Weld does not work - the buffer pulled away from the inside of the receiver after a few shots.
But, an epoxy like West Systems with their #406 adhesive filler works great.

[swheeler]

Be sure and support the back of the receiver really good(they are soft and pretty thin IIRC) while expanding the rivet. I used a 2x4 block on top of a vise while doing the BIL(1915 manu) and mine(1916)20+ years ago, mine has fired x thousands since replaced, his I don't know but both cushions are still there. I used to tear mine down to it's 90 pieces once a year for many years, not so much anymore. If you look at the picture you will see on mine I got a little aggressive, you know get a bigger hammer:) It still function flawlessly and if I ever get to reblue the rec can be dressed down quite easily. No goop needed.

[swheeler]

Picture didn't load..................If I have to do it again I will use a lead ingot instead of a 2x4
205626

[Drm50]

I have done this a couple times, after screwing up rivets I tried several epoxies with no luck. Ended up making Alumilum rivet from some misc rivets I had in junk. I used all kind of punches
and small chisels that I made from drill rod to get the job done.

[too many things]

best fix is replace the recoil spring in the stock tube with a browning

[John 242]

Forum member Pietro posted a response to fixing a Remington Model 11 buffer a while ago. Maybe he could pop in and comment. He mentioned using a special sort of epoxy. Here's the thread:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?316374-Remington-Model-11-fiber-recoil-buffer&p=4005655#post4005655

His words, "If you use a high-grade adhesive (like a $12 tube of aviation-grade Hy-Sol) to glue the buffer in place, it'll most likely last your lifetime, if not that of the gun."
His picture-
206366

Link to where to buy Hy-Sol:
https://www.zoro.com/loctite-epoxy-hysol-30-cl-clr-50ml-cartridge-29329/i/G2233901/?gclid=COfAjdyUns8CFQNufgodTuIMcA&gclsrc=aw.ds

I haven't tried it, but I'd give it a shot.