Where do they go?

[Joe Portale]

This is fustrating. I was knocking out the main spring housing pin on one of my 1911's. Normally I use a gunsmith block, but today....well, I am on vacation and that does allow me a bit of laziness. In fact I've gotten pretty good at knocking pins out and have them stay in the frame. NOT THIS TIME!

The pin shot out, bounced off my leg, hit the floor, bounced of the table leg and ended up God only knows where. I searched for an hour. Took all the stuff out of the room (a little room in the house that we use as a hobby room, the heavy stuff goes on in the workshop)I pulled everything out of the room. Took the shop vac and cleaned everything listening for the tell tale rattle of metal running down the hose, opened up the vac and went through the the stuff collected on the bottom, ran a magnet around inthere ...NOTHING....ZIP....NADA!!!!

My wife was getting mad listening to me carry on. She saw all the stuff from the room sitting in the hall and shook her head saying that there is simply no hope for me.

I'm calling the university and get some lab rat types out here. There has to be a trans- dimensional doorway into another universe in this house. (The universe of lost gun parts?) Things hit the floor around here and are never seen again. This happens all the time. yes, a main spring housing pin costs 65 cents, but darn it it is the principle.

Am I the only one this happens to?

Okay...pant pant pant....rant mode off.

 

[Gholam]

Heh.. we have a light 52mm infantry mortar here, it fires when you turn a handle in it's base instead of directly when you drop in the shell. This is done by a strong spring under the firing pin, and a weaker spring above it - when you turn the handle, a tooth catches the firing pin, drives it down (compressing the bottom spring), then releases it as you continue turning the handle - spring drives pin up, strikes the shell, then the top spring drives pin back down. However, when you are disassembling the thing for cleaning, you unscrew the barrel, then firing mechanism cover, then turn the handle and the pin flies out (can go up to a couple meters height), and if you don't catch it, you might lose it (big trouble with armorer if you do).

 

[yankytrash]

I know this sounds stupid, but check your pockets and your shoes.

I've searched for pins for hours and hours, and found, when reaching in my pocket for a smoke, or taking off my shoes to retire for the night, that it was right under my nose the whole time.

 

[C.R.Sam]

Trolling with a magnet is sometimes successfull.

Like Yank said, check yourself, including sock tops, trousers cuffs etc.

Small springs and pins only vanish when you have no spare, them'
s the rules.

Sam

 

[Penman]

It's not just where they go, but how did they get there? Once had a fried come up to me on the range with a piece of metal, asking if I knew what it was. It was the bottom third of the firing pin stop from his 1911, that he found at the bottom of a 1911 magazine...

 

[coonan357]

don't forget to check the top of your sneakers ,I find all sorts of parts in there (where the toungur joins the shoe area) , I ve also found a sping that I lost over a year ago on the back of a picture frame!

 

[Tamara]

Went to the range today.

Left, got in car, rode on down the road a ways.

Roomie says "Want to stop at CompUSA?"

"Sure", says I.

Park car, walk clean across parking lot and right as we reach the front door *ting!*; out of nowhere, a piece of .45 ACP brass materializes from some fold in my clothing and goes bouncing across the sidewalk. What the...?

(When we came out, it was gone; a brass hound must've stalked us from the range. )

 

[Ewok_Guy]

 

[croyance]

I assume parts go the same place that lost socks do.

At least you have a reason to get a metal detector at a garage sale..

 

[dZ]

finding things that go sprooooing is one of the few redeeming qualities in a house cat

 

[Art Eatman]

Penman, you said it! "...how did they get there?"

My wife, changing clothes after returning home from a party, discovered some lady's fairly heavy gold ring in the cuff of her slacks! HOW???

, Art

 

[Bogie]

My Canjar set trigger has a widdle bitty spring that has to be removed to remove the action from the stock to dink around with the trigger...

It's about a 4 hour job to find the little bugger when it goes sproing.

Yeah. Twice. About a year and a half apart.