Guns you SERIOUSLY REGRETTED taking apart!

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WVGunman said:
So, my old record-holder in this regard was a Ruger Mark III. A non-intuitive design, coupled with ongodly tight tolerances, made that experience akin to doing a brake job on an 18-wheeler.

But now there is a new candidate, in the guise of a Marlin Levermatic .22. (Actually a JC Higgins model, but the same as the Marlin model 57).
The inner workings of this monstrosity are a Rube Goldbergian nightmare. Multitudes of tiny parts and tiny springs are sandwiched incongruously between two massive steel sideplates and set into a thick wooden stock. This thing weighs almost as much as my AR. The parts diagram doesn't quite do it justice:
View attachment 899925

Indicative of the design (non) philosophy that went into this thing is the part known as the "safety slide," or part #61. Perhaps you think a "safety" means a plastic button with a red circle at one end, with a ball detent to keep it under tension. Maybe even a sliding button of some sort. No, THAT wasn't good enough for Marlin. They produced this:
View attachment 899926
Just look at that thing. (For scale, it's about 1.5 inches long and 1 inch wide.) I wonder just long it took to make each one? Where they stamped out in one piece, or did whomever the boss like least get the job each Monday to make these all week?
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18 wheeler brakes are easy, but the drums are heavy.
 
12Bravo20 said:
I have to say that anyone that has field stripped a Ruger Mk I, II, III pistol probably had a hard time reassembling. Also agree with the Marlin rimfire rifles giving people fits when it comes to having to replace the buffer or any other part in the fire control group.
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shoobe01 said:
Hard agree. Pre-internet (well, the way it is now with this sort of info) we COULD NOT figured out how to get it back together. Paper bag, gunsmith. Looking sad.

Several pocket pistols with detents that fly off. I added this to the website even:


But otherwise, always went well with thinking hard, documenting steps, etc. Even full disassembly of obscure autoloaders.

I have expressly avoided taking apart revolver lockwork, though.
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I took down my first Ruger Mark 1 in 1976, long before Google.
I remember thinking to myself that it was a brilliant design. No tools required! Had it field stripped, cleaned, lubed, and resembled in 10 minutes.
I've had several since then and still don't see what the fuss is about.

I did just recently restore an old FN49. It was a bit of a challenge, but only because I had no documentation on it. Google did come to the rescue on this one.

I also, just last night, decided to field strip an older Star BM30. It looked to be nearly the same as my CZ75B, and take down was nearly identical, but reassembly was just slightly different. Different enough that I did have to resort to the internet for fear of damaging something if I forced the slide lock back in place.
 
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I field stripped a Browning Buck Mark pistol for cleaning and had troubles getting it back together. It then got knocked off my work work bench and something must have gotten damaged since it became impossible to break it down.

It's been sitting in a box since I've been disappointed with it and I don't feel like spending tight money on it
 
I used to take S&W revolvers apart and clean them for people in my agency, so I figured how hard would it be to do the same with a NAA mini revolver? This pre internet and digital cameras.

Maybe if you have more than two hands the size of the people from Lilliput you can do it. I didn't, so back to the factory and $25 poorer. They had a policy in place for this, so it must have been common.

One thing I've learned is to do the initial take down on any gun, if possible, inside a large ziplock bag. Flying springs at least won't disappear to Never Never Land.
 
I have one that defies logic in its difficulty.

I did finally re-assembled it and the pain must be blocking my exact memory of it. Just went out to the shop to remember exactly which one it was and seems, I or elves had finally got it back together. Though I do actually have a vague memory of it - more on that later.

See, it's a single shot shotgun! How damn hard could it be?!?:evil:

I had to take either one of my Stevens Favorites or my Iver Johnson Knox-All down to a bare receiver and getting the hammer pin back in was the most difficult firearm-assembly task I have ever had. Including anything in the Army. And THAT includes a *pile-test* in the Weapons portion of the Special Forces Qualification Course where up to 6 firearms (sometimes more or extra parts that don't even belong:cuss:) from various nations and eras are completely disassembled and thrown into a pile of scrap-metal on a piece of 4x8 plywood.

For my shotgun, the internet was no help as the only time I found returns addressing the hammer pin, it was merely more unanswered questions about how in THE hell to get it back in.

I finally used a sacrificial guide pin (truly, more than one) and more force that I would ever reasonably thought was expected by the factory.

Todd.
 
MechAg94 said:
Rossi 92. It wasn't complicated to get it back together, but I need 3 or 4 hands to do it.
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The funny thing I found about reassembling my Rossi 92 after replacing the ejector spring was, I watched a video, saw how it should be done, did the same thing several times and it didn't work. Doing it again, like magic, it worked. No idea why it didn't work the previous times.

I guess sometimes the planets just align and that's that, don't ask why.
 
Speedo66 said:
I used to take S&W revolvers apart and clean them for people in my agency, so I figured how hard would it be to do the same with a NAA mini revolver? This pre internet and digital cameras.

Maybe if you have more than two hands the size of the people from Lilliput you can do it. I didn't, so back to the factory and $25 poorer. They had a policy in place for this, so it must have been common.

One thing I've learned is to do the initial take down on any gun, if possible, inside a large ziplock bag. Flying springs at least won't disappear to Never Never Land.
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And that is if you can even get the NAA screws loose. Hardest screws I have ever dealt with regarding difficulty in general and not damaging in particular.

Todd.
 
mcb said:
I didn't find it all that bad when I took mine apart a few years ago, not that much harder than an 870 or 1100.
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I’ll have to try again. I did it when I was 15 and ended up taking it to Arnold for reassembly. They refinished it for free as well. I’ve never tried again even after duck season.

I’ve never had issues with the ruger pistols and have taken several ruger and smith DA’s apart without issue.
 
Well, two members have already beat me to the Nylon 66. When I removed one of the initial screws there was ominous "boing" inside. It went to the gunsmith.

My second horror was a Winchester 190. Thank God, there was a YouTube segment. Even then you need two screwdrivers to compress a spring. With your third hand...
 
Speedo66 said:
The funny thing I found about reassembling my Rossi 92 after replacing the ejector spring was, I watched a video, saw how it should be done, did the same thing several times and it didn't work. Doing it again, like magic, it worked. No idea why it didn't work the previous times.

I guess sometimes the planets just align and that's that, don't ask why.
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Sometimes the tolerances or placements of springs are so precise that being a MILLIMETER off screws things up. I learned this the hard way the only time I ever took apart a 1911A1, and learned about the 3-function leaf spring in the grip. I didn't put all the prongs back quite right, meaning the hammer would now release and the gun fire 50% of the time just when the slide was released. I learned that by doing it. (!!) Not the most pleaseant trip to the range that day, that's for sure!

I also had a similr experience with a Ruger Blackhawk. The thing would NOT cock and fire consistently. I tore it down at least a dozen times, practically to the frame. I finally found the problem was an incredibly tiny pluger built into the hammer that was bent. Bent so slightly it hardly could be SEEN, but that was enough to cause the problem. How that tiny part--contained within the hammer--got bent in the first place was the real mystery.
 
MI2600 said:
Well, two members have already beat me to the Nylon 66. When I removed one of the initial screws there was ominous "boing" inside. It went to the gunsmith.

My second horror was a Winchester 190. Thank God, there was a YouTube segment. Even then you need two screwdrivers to compress a spring. With your third hand...
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It's been so long since I have even shot or tore my M190 down that I forgot about it. Yes it isn't that complicated but yea 3-4 hands would be helpful with the recoil spring/guide.

I'm use to dealing with the M16 rifle, M60 machine gun, 1911 and M9 that I could do those in my sleep.
 
I've had 2 that were a pain. The first was the trigger assembly in a 742 Remington. I chased a spring around the room several times before I got it back together. The second was a new GP100 that I had just bought. I thought that I would lighten the trigger a tad. We had sold our house and was renting a doublewide mobile until our house was done. This was an older trailer with shag (gag) carpet. I took the trigger assembly apart and heard a spring hit the wall. I just knew that my dealer/gunsmith who sold me the gun was going to ride my tail for screwing up a new gun. Especially an un-fired gun. Luckily, after an hour search, I actually found the spring in the carpet behind the couch. Haven't taken it apart again.
 
I do amateur gunsmithing as a hobby. I enjoy that as much or more than actually shooting. If it needs a lathe or a mill, I take it to a pro, otherwise I do it myself. I've launched a few springs/detents into limbo and destroyed one perfectly innocent 1911 sear, but in general I do OK.

I find the Mk. III mildly annoying. It's easy to get wrong and non-intuitive to correct when you do, but I don't consider it "hard", just a marginal design from a maintainability perspective.

Then a buddy presented me with a Marlin Camp 9 in a couple of bags and asked for help. It wasn't completely apart, but I wasn't sure the remaining bits were in good shape, all there, or assembled correctly; so I finished taking it all down. I eventually got it together and running like new. But... never again. NEVER again. It shared a lot of the same sandwich construction as that Levermatic, and I resorted to inventing several jigs and fixtures out of brass sheet and rod to be my third and fourth hands.

Incidentally, that's where I picked up the DrDeFab moniker - I'm willing to "de-fabricate" nearly anything. :D
 
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Ok now, but the first time I disassembled my Colt Ace was a problem. It was just like a 1911, however, with an extra part.
LGS showed me where it goes. All is good.
 
Riomouse911 said:
Beat me to it. It was a total train wreck for me when I took my Dads Mohawk Brown 66 apart!
Stay safe.,
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My grandfather gave me a black and nickel one. No manual..... Not sure if it would help put that archaic contraption back together or not.

I'm lucky that I generally can put things back together after I've taken them apart, but man there are a lot of little parts available to wander off. That reminds me, I never did get a new magazine tube for mine, and it jams a lot.

Shoots straight though.
 
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Dads is usually stoked with Aguila Super Colibri rounds. Since the Colibri do not have enough oomph to cycle it, he uses it like a single shot to keep cottontails out of his garden.
It had something go goofy inside so I took the metal receiver cover off... and the rest of the story is a dark, dark place I don’t want to revisit. :(

Stay safe.
 
Ive had many hundreds completely apart at this point. Many have rather annoying bits. (Series 80 colts. Reassemble of Mk 1-3, buckmark) the maddest I ever got at a gun was as a kid I disassembled my single six. I dont think i had a reason other than curiosity or maybe cleaning. I havent had one apart since and I dont remember what the issue was but I remember having one hell of a mess trying to get the spring compressed and the frame back. Of course I had no vice no nothing. But I do remember it being a painful experience. Lol. I regretted that one and trying to get it together before dad came home. I still have the gun. Still works and hasnt been apart since.

ETA. Mine was also well before the internet.
 
The Ruger Marks have already been mentioned. That's what I was going to say. But with YouTube and half a brain, everything from trigger jobs and breakdowns has been well covered. If your not confident or dont have the tools, send it off to a smith.
 
If we include ones that someone brings in a bag. then the HK ptr91, with the roller delay bolt. My buudy asked me if I would clean it for him. I open the case and it is totally disassembled. had to scratch my head for a long while figuring that one out.
 
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