Dagnabbit!

[maskedman504]

I was disassembling my SKS to clean in my basement/storage area. I ejected the op rod ~30 feet into a pile of boxes and have been looking for it about 3 hours to no avail. Anyone know where I can pickup a spare op rod? I found the spring, but I fear the op rod won't turn up until I move to a new home.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

they're not hard to find online. just google.

 

[maskedman504]

Are they universal? My SKS is a Yugo.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Despair not, it'll show up within a week of receiving the new one. Then you'll have a spare - better start wearing safety glasses on disassembly though.

 

[Dr. Sandman]

Would a metal detector be useful?

 

[TurtlePhish]

Giant magnet!

 

[BP Hunter]

That also happened to me when I was disaasembling my KelTec PF9 and the recoil spring sprung out and landed somewhere among my recycle boxes in the garage. Thank God I found it after 10 minutes of looking for it.

I bet the rod is not where you are looking. If you have spent 3 hours looking for it, it may be somewhere else. Anyway...good luck.

 

[ball3006]

I was removing the rear sight from my AK so I could install a mount for a red dot. The spring went "ping", never to be seen again.....chris3

 

[CSestp]

You would think that after taking apart a few engine components, gun parts, and anything else with springs inside we all would have learned our lesson. I'm still looking for my buffer stop thinging from my Ar.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

 

[maskedman504]

Yeah, I just ordered a new op rod. $8 for the rod and $8 for the shipping?! :banghead:

 

[RCArms.com]

Rule of thumb on spring loaded parts. Once they escape, and you looking on the floor for it, double the distance that you think it traveled and start looking there.

The magnet suggestion is a great idea. Low Tech and undeniably effective. Wish I'd though of it.

Don

 

[animator]

I launched a detent for an AR takedown pin once. Lost it to the carpet for several months. Then one day, I just happen to look down at the right place at the right time, and there it was.


LPK came with extra detents, so it wasn't too big of a deal.. but it was nice to find it.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I never did find the slide stop to a Kahr pistol, even after tearing apart the sofa (whose cushions were where I thought it went) and looking all over the floor. Even months later when I moved out, I never found it. And it isn't even spring-loaded.

 

[maskedman504]

My problem is I was in a basement storage room; I am sure it hit a plastic storage box/wall/etc and ricocheted somewhere. New op rod is arriving tomorrow. Se la vie.

 

[animator]

I also dropped the pivot pin for a CETME ejector. Pretty sure it ended up under the fridge in the garage, but I haven't gone looking under there for it. But there's nowhere else that it could have ended up...


Luckily I had an extra..

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

So I'm in my shop cleaning three 1911s a coupla days ago and and twice launched slide-stop detents and once a recoil plug across and around the room. Yup, I'm one of those guys, turns 1911 disassembly into a shrapnel laced hazardous environment sometimes. Fortunately, I had my Bulldog with me which would be staring at the final resting place of the missiles.
I know I'm doin' it wrong when I think I might oughta put some protection on before catching one in the eye-hole. Sure, that's the answer, eye wear rather than doing it correctly... Like I said, I'm one of those guys, sometimes.
Here's my peerless gun parts detector - as long as she doesn't swallow them first.

 

[Driftertank]

Detail-stripped my 1911 today, right down to the sear.

As i was disassembling the slide, i had a brain fart, and after carefully removing the rear lockplate while holding the firing pin down, i released the firing pin, and pushed the firing pin block up (Kimber).

Result, the firing pin ejected forcibly, bouncing off my forehead and across the room.

Fortunately, my years of training as an automotive mechanic have honed my ninja reflexes so that any object which strikes me and vacates the immediate area will be visually tracked to it's final resting place regardless of the dumbfounded look of surprise on my face, thus averting disaster. The spring propelling said projectile, however, was not so well tracked. Fortunately, as i stood up to retrieve the firing pin, the spring fell from it's position on my lap, and the gun is now clean, shiny, and fully functional. :-D

 

[maskedman504]

Todd- My girl was no help at all....

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

C'mon, give 'er a chance. Seeing she's a Boxer, I'm sure the part is already found, being mulled over with both brain cells (the one controlling psycho-dashes and the one controlling drooling) and will eventually be deposited on your bed to be found at 3 AM some morning. Congratulations on the retrieval will be expected at that time.

Oh, and a hearty "well done" on keeping yours off of the furniture as well.

 

[Double Vision]

This is some funny stuff.
I haven't done anything like this... YET.

I hate to sound like a Nervous Nancy but it may not be a bad idea to wear safety glasses when dealing with parts under spring pressure.

Good luck!

 

[maskedman504]

So, so true...she is still trying to figure out how to chase down birds...

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

This is some funny stuff.
I haven't done anything like this... YET.

I hate to sound like a Nervous Nancy but it may not be a bad idea to wear safety glasses when dealing with parts under spring pressure.

Good luck!

So... You're saying put the glasses on before the helter-skelter launching of parts begins?

See, now here I am thinkin' they're for holding the gauze in place on the way to the ER.

Having spent so much time in the Army trying to not get caught propelling gun parts around the Team Room I have developed an unfortunate reaction which amounts to sneaking a look around to see if I have been observed being a disassembly tool. This desire to not get caught or at least be aware of observation flies in the face of the common sense reaction to look in the most likely direction of flight, fix my gaze on the middle distance and attempt to note the landing with peripheral vision. This more productive reaction was learned in our shop before the Army working on our trucks.

Of course, having a trusted canine - or better yet a cat - in the room to fix the final landing is the best yet.

 

[padkeemow]

If what you're working on is small enough, try working on it inside a ziploc freezer bag (or a garbage bag if larger) when messing with springs. If your part launches hopefully it'll have less places to go.

 

[maskedman504]

Found my op rod this afternoon- of course, after ordering the replacement.

 

[jr_roosa]

My trick is to take out a tiny part, set it down somewhere and then "poof!" it leaves the known universe. Did it just today with a 1911 mainspring retaining pin. I haven't lost a spring or spring-loaded part in months (knock on wood), but I've spent hours of my life searching for them. It's taught me to keep the workshop floor clean.

-J.