Mauser HSc 80 (gamba) part source?

[Ironicaintit]

Seein's how my location is irrelevant, I'll ask this here...

I lost the slide hold open spring on my Italian double stacked HSc, while I was cleaning. (Oh crap! Where'd that go!?)

I checked sarco, numrich, wolf, etc etc.
I fear I may be SOL, but does anyone know a source for tiny oddball HSc parts?

Much appreciated

Dan

 

[Jim K]

Isn't that also the magazine safety spring? A tiny coil spring about 10mm long?

If so, you should be able to get a replacement from www.gunpartscorp.com or even in one of those spring assortments at the big box stores.

Jim

 

[4v50 Gary]

You can also try Jack First in Montana.

 

[Ironicaintit]

Isn't that also the magazine safety spring? A tiny coil spring about 10mm long?

No, this one is different than the original HSc. On this gamba version, the slide hold open is a stand-alone part and has no mag safety....the spring is only a couple MM's long and about 1 mm in diameter

You can also try Jack First in Montana.

Thank you! I'll give him a shot

 

[Jim K]

Well, that spring really is tiny; I think Wolff's smallest only goes down to 1.27mm diameter.

Jim

 

[FROGO207]

I would start with a strong magnet and cover the floor until I found it. Magnet on a stick/pole they use to pick up nails at construction sites with.

 

[gpb]

I second the suggestion to sweep the area with a strong magnet.

If your luck runs like mine, the lost part is always found 15 minutes after UPS delivers the replacement part.

 

[Ironicaintit]

I have not got a hold of jack firsts gun shop yet....

I appreciate the magnet idea fellas; but no, she is long gone.

My work bench is out in the garage....and without going into too much detail, that spring will never be seen again.

I heard it go, I heard it hit the ceiling, but have no idea where it deflected off to.

If jack firsts' place doesn't have it; I'm likely to oversize the spring well to accommodate a larger OD spring.
It's a gamba...so it's not worth a ton of money anyhow, and first and foremost, I need it to work.

 

[rcmodel]

Take an old BIC lighter apart.

There is an awfully tiny spring in there that operates the gas valve thumb piece.

Just might work???

rc

 

[BBBBill]

For future reference, get/make a roomy box with hand holes (rubber cuffs) and a clear lid to work in while dealing with items that are likely to get tossed into another space-time continuum.

 

[Ironicaintit]

Hey hey! Good idea on the bic, RC. I just dissected one, and the spring under the thumb piece is actually pretty stout, and waaay too big (.145 OD)

The spring under the flint was closer, but still no go. (.095)

The well this spring should reside in is only .055 OD. Geez that's tiny.

At this point, I'm really leaning towards drilling it to a size large enough to accept the bic flint spring. There's plenty of room, it's easy to get at, and no surrounding parts that would be adversely affected. And then I need not worry if I ever lose it again!

BBBBill,
I do have a large clear plastic bag that I use sometimes with Jesus springs (as in, Jesus where'd that spring go!? lol No offense meant)
This time, I just wasn't thinking. Skipped my mind altogether that it was in there rather tenuously.

 

[Jim K]

FWIW, some little tips on losing coil springs (or not). When a coil spring is installed over a pin (e.g., a 1911 firing pin spring), take a pair of pliers and squeeze the last coil so the spring stays attached to the pin. When the spring is inside something (like the Colt Vest Pocket firing pin spring), expand the inside coil so the spring doesn't jump out. In the same gun, squeeze the end coil that goes over the spring guide. Now you have an assembly that won't fly off when the slide is removed.

For a spring that fits over something, like a spring guide, you can also cut a groove in the other part so that the squeezed end coil holds the part even tighter.

But be careful to know which end is which. The Walther PP/PPK recoil spring has a small end that fits over the barrel and won't fall off when the slide is removed and a large end that goes into the slide. But if it is installed backward, the small end is too tight on the barrel and the slide is slowed down resulting in failures to feed/extract.

Jim

 

[rcmodel]

Hey hey! Good idea on the bic, RC. I just dissected one, and the spring under the thumb piece is actually pretty stout, and waaay too big (.145 OD)

Wellll?
Maybe it wasn't a BIC lighter?

Maybe it was a Scripto, or one of those cheap Chinese ones they give you at the gas station when you buy a pack of smokes.

Anyway, I had one fall apart in my pocket once.
And the TINY spring had been magnetized by the Pizo-electric striker.

At any rate, it got inside my Benchmade Axis-Lock knife and attached itself there.

Locked the knife shut until I finally took the knife apart and found it.

.055" sounds about right, as I could hardly even see it without my Opti-Visor!!

rc

 

[Ironicaintit]

JimK, that is some mighty fine advice.
I think I even recall reading that in one edition of Brownells Gunsmith Kinks.
When I finally source one, I'll be doing that! An ounce of prevention....

RC,
In the name of research and science (and functioning sidearms)...I will go through my assortment of lighters and see if I can dig one up. I have a ton of 'em.
It's an excellent idea, and I hope it pans out!

 

[rcmodel]

I hope so too.

If it does, let us know which lighter has a Gamba HSC spring in it??

Just for future reference, the next time it comes up.

In 159 years!!

rc

 

[Ironicaintit]

My lighter selection isn't as varied as I thought. Lotsa bics, cheapo 7-11s, and zippos.

No luck yet!

In other news, I've become fairly handy at lighter reassembly.