[armedandsafe]

I have an old Belgique under-lever SxS in 16Ga which I dearly love. The firing pins are starting to peen where the hammers strike them and one is starting to split. The last time I replaced them I made them from grade 5 bolts and they have lasted only about 10 years.

Would drill rod be a better material for this, or should I look for something else?

Thanks.

Pops

[Jim K]

I always used drill rod and hardened the pins. There are two problems with old guns. The first is that if the firing pins are as hard as they should be, they will wreck the old soft hammers, so you might want to draw them carefully.

The second doesn't apply in your case, but many gunsmiths are very reluctant to replace firing pins on old guns. In some cases they were deliberately removed to prevent old twist barrel guns from being fired and replacing them will make what should be a wall hanger into a highly dangerous gun.

Jim

[mrmeval]

I'd anneal, shape and then heat treat the pin.

Would the hammer be ameanable to case hardening? Or could the face be milled and a properly hardened steel face be soldered on?

[Jim K]

No way to tell about the hammers except by looking at what use has done to them. Belgian "no name" guns range from high quality to something no better than cast iron. Many Belgian shotguns were made by a consortium, one of whose members made the breech, another the barrels, etc. The product was the work of so many people that no maker's mark was ever put on.

If working with drill rod, there is no need to anneal first, as the material is fairly soft and easily worked until heated, quenched and drawn.

Jim

[mrmeval]

Ok you're working with drill rod *stock*. I was looking at that as 'broken drills'
:rolleyes: I'm so cheap.

[armedandsafe]

Broken drills...Hmmmm That is a thought, too.

The hammers are not cupped or battered at all, after 45 years of use just by me, so I assume they are somewhat harder than the material used over the years for the pins. I know that I want the pins soft enough to keep from battering the hammers, as they are harder to make than the pins. I dont mind making the pins, and will probably make a couple of sets this time. Interestingly enough, the pins are different shape, left and right. I've wondered if this is because the first replacement set were just whacked out by an amateur or if they really need the different pin length, shoulder thickness. I do know that the pins don't work reliably if interchanged.

Oh well. I'll make another set from drill rod and see if I get more than 10 years on this set. I probably should make a new set of springs while I'm at it, too.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Pops

[Jim K]

I don't recall seeing any doubles with different firing pins, unless they were mirror images. It is pretty common with O/U guns, though.

You said you replaced the originals with home made ones, so you apparently for some reason made them different.

I certainly wouldn't use drill bits, as they are much too hard to be worked. When I said "drill rod", I meant drill rod stock, which is available from Brownells and from many well stocked hardware or big box stores in 18" lengths. You might get the right diameter, but I usually like to start a bit bigger than I need and then use a lathe and file to shape the firing pin. (I always do the point first, and then fit at the rear end.)

Jim

[armedandsafe]

I made them as copies of those which were in there at the time, thus they are slightly different from one another.

What is funny (to me) is that I made the previous set on a 28" by 14' lathe. This time I will be using a 4" by 7" lathe. :D

I agree not to use drill bits, as I don't know how to properly harden them to softer-than-the-hammers after annealing them and cutting the pins. I have some 1/4" rod stock which should give me enough material to turn down properly. As the stock is 36" now, I should have enough length to make a couple of 3/4" pins. :banghead: :neener: :D

Pops