Empty hole on TTC? Pics inside.

[TheNev]

What the name of the pin that's no longer in the hole on the left side of my Romanian TTC?

It worked itself out a while ago while I was shooting, and I prompty made it safe, put it away and forgot about it until now.

I need to know what I'm trying to buy so I can fix it.

Thanks for the help!

 

[rcmodel]

Firing pin retainer pin.

http://www.gunpartswarehouse.com/pistol-parts/tokarev-tt-33-m57/tt-33-firing-pin-retainer-pin.html

rc

 

[TheNev]

Wow, that was fast! I was getting ready to edit my original post to say that I disassembled it, and shone a flashlight in the hole and it looks like it sheared off right in the middle and that it was right above the firing pin. So probably a firing pin retaining pin.

Thanks!

P.S. is this pin shearing indicative of anything else? When I replace it, should I be concerned about something else failing because of it?

 

[rcmodel]

Probably just a bad (improperly heat treated) pin.

Or too much dry firing in the past.

rc

 

[TheNev]

Excellent, thank you!

 

[wally]

Be glad there was enough of it left that you didn't loose the firing pin. Replacements are difficult to find, the TTC firing pin appears to be a bit longer than the ones you can find from places like Numrich. In the Gun-smithing forum I posted how I made a "two piece" firing pin from the too short replacement and the back half of my broken pin. Its worked 100% for several tins of surplus 7.62x25 ammo.

 

[Mizar]

You just can't lose a TT's firing pin - it usually ends up in your eye... It's a somewhat common problem with that pistol and you should have several retaining and firing pins on hand. Oh, and wear an eye protection when shooting it...

Boris

 

[wally]

and you should have several retaining and firing pins on hand

Like I said, good luck finding a replacement Romanian TTC firing pin. The shorter Chinese are readily available but don't work!

 

[Mizar]

Any decent machinist with a lathe can make one for about 15 minutes.

Boris

 

[wally]

Any decent machinist with a lathe can make one for about 15 minutes

At what cost?

Setup charges for a small run are very expensive here. Its easy to say you should have spares or that they are easy to make, but most gun owners are not machinists.

 

[TheNev]

I actually happen to be a machinist, oddly enough. But it's not just as easy as turning some stock down to a pin. Ther are tolerances and heat treating to be considered.

Can't just take any old piece of 4340 and make a firing pin.

 

[Mizar]

Actually it's that easy. Tolerances - you are not setting a firing pin manufacture, so why do you need tolerances? Just measure your old one with a caliper and turn it with the same dimensions. You are not rebuilding an F1 engine - it's a simple firing pin for a simple pistol. As for material - you have countless of options: an old spring, a good roll punch that you are willing to sacrifice, some old rifle firing pin are just a few of them. I have used an AK 47 cleaning rod and it works great! Any spring steel with a hardness of 40-45 HRC will do.

Nev, you are a machinist - just get some drill rod blank, a butane torch and a can of used motor oil and proceed to set your work shop on fire... Just have fun!

Boris

 

[TheNev]

Boris, you're right. I'm in the aerospace industry so I forget that it's not always tight tolerances and military specs.

If I could find the time, I'd do it myself.

 

[gearhead]

If you want to start with some bar stock, 4140 pre-hard should work well and not require any post-machining heat treat. Polish it up with emery cloth while it's spinning to remove any stress risers and call it good.

 

[TheNev]

So I ordered some replacement parts for my SKS, and got back to thinking about my Tok.

I've scoured the almighty innertubez, and the only place that has replacement retaining pins are charging $20. Not gonna happen.

Any reason I couldn't use an appropriately sized roll pin? I have access to a myriad of sizes at work. I could just take the slide up there with me tonight, and punch out the old one and punch in a new one.

Am I missing anything obvious that could go wrong?

 

[TheNev]

Well, the closest roll pin is 1/8" (.134 dia actual) and the hole diameter is .117 and retaining pin diameter is .114. I have an idea that involves said roll pin and a spin jig for the surface grinder. Wish me luck...

 

[TheNev]

Wow, sorry this took so long to get back to.

I fixed it. I took a 1/8 dia roll pin and chucked it up in the spin grinder, ground it down to the correct diameter (.119", IIRC) and pushed it in. It was a beautiful press-fit and shouldn't be difficult to remove if necessary. Its been fired a few times since and works great.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

As for turning a new pin...

Sometimes you can just find an old drill bit of the proper diameter, and cut it to fit.

(When I broke a firing pin retention roll pin in a CZ, I found one at a nearby hardware store, cut it to length, and carried on. Got a couple of spares, just in case. That might be an option here, too, if you don't dry fire too much without snap caps.)

 

[TheNev]

I didn't want to go that route since drill bits are pretty hard and this application needed a slight press fit. There is nothing other than that keeping the pin in the slide.

I'd rather mess up the pin instead of the slide.