Adventures in basement gun cleaning

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hAkron

hAkron

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Akron, Ohio
As Pre-B CZ's are starting to get scare (around these parts at least), the examples you see for sale are getting more and more ratty, and the price is starting to creep up on even these. Still, I have trouble walking away from any CZ that I can get my hands on for under $400. I picked up this gal only yesterday:

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She's got a few miles on her, but I'm still exited to add another Pre B CZ to my collection, so I'm willing to deal with some rough spots.

While I'm cleaning this new gun by hosing it out with Hornady One Shot, and a little CPL and even some grease on the lugs and the rails, I decide I should hose out the firing pin channel. Everything is going great until I try to get the firing pin back into the gun. It's a 3 handed job, and I was working alone, so at one point I lost control of the firing pin and it sailed off into some dark corner of my basement. The last thing I heard was the sound of it bouncing off of something wooden.

I crawled around a total of about 2 hours on 3 different searches. Emptying boxes, reaching into the shadows, digging through this and that...NOTHING. I gave up and ordered a new one. Usually it's a sure bet that I'll find a missing part once I've paid for a new part.

Today I wandered back to my bench to take one last look. I found it within the first minute, in a spot I'm not even sure I would have ever thought to look in.

Here is my little corner of the basement where I have all of my gun stuff. It's dark, crowded, and a little dirty, but I don't have to share it with my wife :))

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Notice the green arrow in the photo above.

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I hopped on the bench and shined my flashlight up between the cinder blocks and the subfloor and could hardly believe my eyes!

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Looks like I uncovered a mouse issue as well.
 
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I didn't cancel the order once I found this one. I figured that would just be BEGGING to lose it forever next time. Also, I don't mind spending a little money with Cajun Gun Works. They've got great stuff.
 
Ha! Nice man. Funny where things land sometimes. I know a guy who dropped a cigarette, it bounced on the ground and landed on end, pointing at the sky.
 
460Kodiak said:
I know a guy who dropped a cigarette, it bounced on the ground and landed on end, pointing at the sky.
Click to expand...

Wow! That would be something to see!

In my case, it was one of those things where given enough chances (the millions of times I've launched parts trying to play gun smith) eventually even the most improbable outcomes occur.
 
aarondgraham said:
The fastest way to find something,,,
Is to pony up and order a replacement for it.
Click to expand...

I believe that's one of the corollaries to Murphy's Law.
 
Nice purchase. I like Old CZ's.
I am an expert at launching and not recovering springs. Luckily I have nephew who has some armorer training. :)
 
hAkron

Sort of reminded me of a couple of basements I use to dwell in. My searches usually were for errant springs and the occasional missing tiny part.
 
You could get a cat and have it in the room while you are cleaning. I've launched a few parts here and there, and gotten worried. But my two cats like to keep me company while I clean guns and wonder why I'm paying so much attention to those weird things, and seem to love the smell of some odd chemical. When a part goes flying, they always track it down for me in a hurry.

Mouse problem is solved too.
 
Looking for small parts

I was told that the FBI searches for small items by turning off the lights.
Then using a powerful flashlight they do a search.
I have tried it and it works!
 
I was told that the FBI searches for small items by turning off the lights.
Then using a powerful flashlight they do a search.
I have tried it and it works!
Click to expand...

I've done it when i lose something in the yard. Wait for nightfall and then shine my LED Maglite or my Surefire G2 (with P90 lamp) in the yard and scan back and forth until I get a reflection. It's also insightful because I get to see what kinds of finishes/materials light up and reflect at certain angles in the dark with a flashlight. Good stuff to get used to, just from a "tactical" standpoint.
 
As long as I have messed with Smith revolvers, I'm pretty sure I could build an entire model 10 from parts that have gotten away from me, or, I set down to work on later over the years.

And, they find the most obscure places to land. In a boot in the other corner of the room, inside a coffee cup on a shelf. It's bizarre.
 
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