Davenport Falling Block Shotgun - assistance required

[pzam]

Greetings all,

I have an 1891 patent Davenport falling block shotgun acquired in a non-functioning condition a while back that and finally had some time to take it apart.

This is what I have as far as the action is concerned:



I have some questions and this seems like a good place to ask.

- I suspect some parts are missing, that leaf spring does not look like it would be up to the task of adequately pushing the hammer and there appears to be a second hole in the hammer for a pin of some sort, perhaps a hammer spring guide.

- I'm not clear on what the purpose of the spring-loaded element that runs parallel to the barrel, other that acting as a stop for the block but that does not seem necessary.

Any help appreciated!

[Rockingkj]

It appears to me to be a Hopkins and Allen “falling block” and would do a search using that. Should be able to find schematic and maybe more online. Edit. Davenport was its own Mfg similar to Hopkins and Allen but different

[M-Tecs]

Some pics and info here

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...-falling-block

https://www.shotgunworld.com/threads...-block.400964/

https://www.baerauctions.com/auction...n-12ga-shotgun

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-man.../single-barrel

[Bent Ramrod]

The mechanics of the Davenport falling block rifle are illustrated and described in Frank DeHaas’ Single Shot Rifles and Actions. I don’t know if the shotgun uses the same design or not, although it looks similar overall.

From the illustration, it looks like it used all coil springs. The long one parallel to the barrel drives a slightly bent plunger rod that engages a crosspin in the hammer. It looks like you have the keeper screw that holds the spring in place, the spring, and the plunger end that the spring pushes against, with the extension maybe cut or broken off.

A shorter spring and plunger vertical in the barrel lug kept the lever up, and another applied tension to the trigger. There was another one on the firing pin. The leaf spring you show doesn’t go anywhere in the illustration.

[Jedman]

It appears you have most of the parts except the plunger rod no. 26 in photo. The mainspring is the heavy coil spring no. 28. The leaf spring has no place in this action.
I have one of these that I converted to a rifle in 357 maximum.
I just used the action and made a barrel mounting block from a solid piece of 4140 and the barrel is threaded in. Most of the parts are very similar to Hopkins & Allen falling block shotguns except this has a coil spring powered hammer,
JedmanAttachment 321153

[pzam]

Thank you all for the replies, this was especially helpful!



It seems that I am indeed missing part #26 and that also solved the mystery of the coil spring

That should not be too difficult a part to fabricate.

Davenport was its own Mfg similar to Hopkins and Allen but different

Here is a detail of the barrel that makes me think it is a Davenport, I could find no other markings apart from the serial number:

The leaf spring you show doesn’t go anywhere in the illustration.

I found it inside the receiver, perhaps it was from a previous repair attempt. I acquired this without any history attached to it unfortunately.

I have one of these that I converted to a rifle in 357 maximum.

Interesting! This example isn't exactly in spectacular condition, I assume they are of relatively low value and therefore it would not be too much of a sacrilege if one were to modify it in a similar manner.

[Jedman]

pzam, You are correct that the plunger rod should be fairly easy to fabricate if you can find some good material that is close to the diameter of the hole in the hammer.
The hammer is a rebounding hammer if you get the length of the rod ( link ) correct. It has a 90 degree bend at the hammer and a slight bend to make it line up with the hole in the receiver where it contacts
part 27.
When it is all assembled and the treaded plug #29 is compressing the spring the link should have the tip of the hammer just a little back from touching the end of the firing pin.
It should cock smoothly and the link shouldn’t bind .
Jedman

[pzam]

Excellent, thanks for this very useful information! One other thing if you don't mind, do you happen to know the thread size of the Main Spring Retainer Plug #29? The one on mine is badly stripped, it looks like 32 TPI but I'm not exactly sure.

[Jedman]

I do not know the thread size. I was going to get a pic of my rifle and post it but I can’t find it without digging deep so I didn’t. I would not doubt it is something oddball, I do remember that it is a fine thread.
Jedman

[pzam]

I would not doubt it is something oddball, I do remember that it is a fine thread.

The thread in the receiver wasn't in great shape either so I figured the easiest would be to cut a new one so I cut a 7/16-20 thread and machined a new plug. I also made a new plunger rod using 3mm stainless steel rod, the hole in the trigger was closer to 4mm so I sleeved it with a steel tube to avoid wear. Here are the parts:



The plunger rod needed a few more slight bends after that photo was taken to make sure it was clear of the receiver walls.

The hammer and trigger are now working great:



Thank you all for the assistance, much appreciated!

[KenH]

You did a good job - congrats. I've enjoyed the thread

[Jedman]

Excellent !! Glad you got it fixed. In my opinions the underlug design on the barrel is the weak point in this shotguns design. Like I mentioned when I converted mine to a rifle I milled out the pocket in the receiver where the barrel and lug fit and made a close fitting block of 4140 with a threaded bore for the barrel and epoxied it into the receiver plus added 2 taper pins across the width. I remade the plunger and spring that tensions the lever and it works great , it actually snaps close.

JedmanAttachment 321312

[pzam]

You did a good job - congrats.

Thanks!

Like I mentioned when I converted mine to a rifle I milled out the pocket in the receiver where the barrel and lug fit and made a close fitting block of 4140 with a threaded bore for the barrel and epoxied it into the receiver plus added 2 taper pins across the width. I remade the plunger and spring that tensions the lever and it works great , it actually snaps close.

That looks great!

Interesting that on mine the barrel is loose when the trigger guard is open, the solution applied some time in its history is the broken-off tip of a metal file used as a shim between the barrel and the receiver



My plan is to convert it into an air shotgun by making a pneumatic cartridge for it, here is a similar one I had made for a flare gun:

[uscra112]

The common thread running through the Bay State falling-blocks, the Hopkins and Allens, and the Davenports was....William Davenport. He designed them all. He mostly worked on shotguns though. Somewhere I have one of his boys' rifles. Has some similarities to the O.P.'s gun.