Today I finished reassembling a Win 1894 that was assembled 1897-98. It's a five digit serial # (93***) firearm in .38-55. It probably hadn't been disassembled and cleaned since it was assembled by Winchester. The interior was well preserved thanks to the abundance of grease/oil that built up over the years. Hours were spent scrubbing it out. It would have been easier if I had an ultrasonic cleaner but I don't. So it was the old fashion scrub with patches and Q-tips for endless hours.
Lacking a vise at home, I could not disassemble the bolt fully nor could I remove the magazine tube and forearm. I also didn't have the offset screwdriver (I could make it if I was at school) with which to remove/install the left and right cartridge guide.
Reassembly was a bear. I was following the old Win 94 instructions that were reprinted in Brownell's Firearms Assembly and Disassembly Manual (Vol 1). Somebody let me know if a Vol. 2 ever appears. I bought my copy in the late '80s and have yet to see a Vol. 2. Anyway, per the instructions, you install the carrier which is secured by a screw on both sides. Each screw has a pivot point that goes into the carrier. The trouble with it is once the carrier is in, you can't install the bolt; which is the next step.
So, the carrier was removed, the bolt installed and then the carrier after that. It was a bear to line up the holes in the carrier for those two pins. Much unprintable things were thought before it was finally assembled. The locking block came next and that was easy enough.
It took a while to figure out how to put in the finger lever and the link. The link must lock into the trunnion and so everything had to be lowered (open) so as to allow clearance. Once that was in, then it was a simple matter of driving in the link pin and then securing it with the link pin screw (that goes into the bottom of the link). The other miserable part was the finger lever pin. You have to line it up so I got a punch and jiggled it around until I figured the finger lever pin would drop in. It did. Lucky me. Then that was secured with its screw.
Everything else was easy including hooking up the trigger spring to the stirrup.
BTW, most parts were treated with liquid Frog Lube and a nickel. This allows rust to be removed (there was only light surface rust on the exterior surfaces) and afterward with Renaissance Wax. This job was at least eleven hours and would have been longer had I been able to disassemble it further.
In short, if I had to work on lever actions, make mine Marlin. They're much easier.
I'm watching a YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJY9iIxA_4U and noticed some engineering changes:
1) Cartridge guide screws are now on the outside of the frame instead of the inside. That makes them easier to remove and reinstall.
2) Carrier now has one screw that goes all the way through instead of one on each side. No more alignment issues like I had.
3) He had no trouble sliding in the bolt after the carrier was mounted. I had to dismount mine and insert the bolt first.
4) He also preassembled the lower tang to the hammer. That made installation easier. I noticed that he had a coil spring for the hammer. Mine was a flat spring.
5) Gate was installed almost last. The gate was one of the first things I installed.
Lacking a vise at home, I could not disassemble the bolt fully nor could I remove the magazine tube and forearm. I also didn't have the offset screwdriver (I could make it if I was at school) with which to remove/install the left and right cartridge guide.
Reassembly was a bear. I was following the old Win 94 instructions that were reprinted in Brownell's Firearms Assembly and Disassembly Manual (Vol 1). Somebody let me know if a Vol. 2 ever appears. I bought my copy in the late '80s and have yet to see a Vol. 2. Anyway, per the instructions, you install the carrier which is secured by a screw on both sides. Each screw has a pivot point that goes into the carrier. The trouble with it is once the carrier is in, you can't install the bolt; which is the next step.
So, the carrier was removed, the bolt installed and then the carrier after that. It was a bear to line up the holes in the carrier for those two pins. Much unprintable things were thought before it was finally assembled. The locking block came next and that was easy enough.
It took a while to figure out how to put in the finger lever and the link. The link must lock into the trunnion and so everything had to be lowered (open) so as to allow clearance. Once that was in, then it was a simple matter of driving in the link pin and then securing it with the link pin screw (that goes into the bottom of the link). The other miserable part was the finger lever pin. You have to line it up so I got a punch and jiggled it around until I figured the finger lever pin would drop in. It did. Lucky me. Then that was secured with its screw.
Everything else was easy including hooking up the trigger spring to the stirrup.
BTW, most parts were treated with liquid Frog Lube and a nickel. This allows rust to be removed (there was only light surface rust on the exterior surfaces) and afterward with Renaissance Wax. This job was at least eleven hours and would have been longer had I been able to disassemble it further.
In short, if I had to work on lever actions, make mine Marlin. They're much easier.
I'm watching a YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJY9iIxA_4U and noticed some engineering changes:
1) Cartridge guide screws are now on the outside of the frame instead of the inside. That makes them easier to remove and reinstall.
2) Carrier now has one screw that goes all the way through instead of one on each side. No more alignment issues like I had.
3) He had no trouble sliding in the bolt after the carrier was mounted. I had to dismount mine and insert the bolt first.
4) He also preassembled the lower tang to the hammer. That made installation easier. I noticed that he had a coil spring for the hammer. Mine was a flat spring.
5) Gate was installed almost last. The gate was one of the first things I installed.