WVGunman
Member
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2014
- Messages
- 380
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:
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:
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?
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:
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:
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?