Need info on removing the magazine tube from a Marlin 39A

[Sparky]

Got a little project going on and need some instructs!
Came across a 1953 vintage Marlin Mountie recently and couldn't resist the deal. of course it has a couple of warts to fix but don't we all?
The forend cap is the late style so naturally I got an early style replacement for it. But it looks like the mag tube needs to come off to change out the forend cap. Rather than charge ahead as I sometimes do, I figured I could get good help and advice from the wiser and more experienced heads here.
Also...anybody know of a good source of "old style" 39 parts. Numrich didn't have all I was looking for. Need a front sight ramp specifically.

This is gonna be a neat little rimfire when I put her back to original configuration!

 

[BEARMAN]

goto BOB'S GUN PARTS ( www.gun-parts.com ) for some parts. GOTO ( http://stevespages.com/page7b.htm )and ( www.again.net/~steve/page7a.htm ) for manuals and exploded diagrams. From the the diagram it looks like the mag tube is held in by a pin in the band that holds the mag tube near the front of the barrel. Take a look at the diagram then at you rifle and see if there is a pin in the band. GOOD LUCK.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

I have the same problem, how did you solve yours?

In the schematic linked above, it would appear that you remove Part #8 to get the magazine tube out. However, when I look up close at my 1953 Marlin 39A, it looks like the pin is too high up to have an effect on the movement of the mag tube.

Am I wrong, did you remove Part #8 to get your mag tube out? How did you drive out the pin without dinging up the metal? A brass punch doesn't seem pointy enough to push it out.

My project seems similar to Sparky's project: a very well-used Marlin 39A. I traded a .380 Makarov for it, so I'm probably $175 into it now, plus $15 for a new buttplate and another $15 or so for misc. supplies to refinish the stock and whatnot. I sanded most of Bubba's whittling off the stock, but getting all the surface corrosion of the metal is a pain.

I need to get the mag tube out, because I can hear nasty grittiness between the mag tub and the barrel. I've hosed down every moving part and dovetail on the gun w/ oil and WD-40; the Fire Marshal won't let me keep it in the house anymore.

Minor other question on the schematic: someone on the Marlin Owners' forum said that the rear sight drifts out of the dovetail left-to-right, the schematic linked above clearly shows right-to-left. Who's right (correct)?

I'd appreciate any further advice you can give as to breaking this sucker down to get all the rust off. Will post pics once the whole project is done. Hope to get the stock Tung-oiled tomorrow, now that I've sanded down to 220 grit.

-MV

 

[BEARMAN]

Go to one of the tool liquidation places ,there seems to be one in every town that sell off shore tools at prices back yard gunsmiths can afford, and buy a set of steel punches . I paid about $10 for the set I bought. A brass set is good for things that are larger and looser ( a brass pin punch can bend very easily, you need them too but not for this). You also need something like a hockey puck with a hole in it , to support the piece while you drive out the pin, which just runs through a small groove in the mag tube . As for the sight , follow the manual , the diagram was probably just putting stuff where it would fit in the drawing. GOOD LUCK in your project.

 

[JoeHatley]

Try contacting Marlin.

When I needed parts for my old 39A, they had them in stock.

Joe

 

[Jim K]

Yes, the magazine tube band pin holds the tube in. It goes into a notch in the tube, just enough to hold the tube in place. As to the sight, almost everyone will say dovetails and pins go in right to left and out left to right. That is OK, but unless a pin has a head, in most cases it doesn't matter and neither dovetails nor pins are tapered.

Jim

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Yep, Part #8 did the trick. Since I was going to have to use steel anyway, I used a pair of junk tweezers, hammered with a tack hammer with masking tape cushioning the head. Came right out and went into the Baggie of Easily Lost Parts for safekeeping. Much easier now to get out the nastiness 'twixt barrel and magtube. Bubba was not good to this gun.

Quick question while I'm in Gunsmithing: provided I take a good "Before" picture, use properly-fitting screwdrivers, etc., is there any reason why I should not disassemble the small bits of the 39A action? I'm not terribly mechanical, but it looks really darn easy. Or should I carefully read the "I Took My Gun Apart" thread running concurrently, and take that as warning?

I mostly want to get out any remaining corrosion, and especially get the grit out. I can feel some nastiness in both the trigger and lever, feels like accumulated crud. I tried the boiling water followed by 175degree oven, but that didn't get the grime out. Next will try Simple Green soak followed by extensive relubing (as SG will cut the oil off the metal).

Thanks much for the advice thus far, hope this thread is helpful to future 39A buyers, as it covered exactly what I needed to know. -MV

 

[Sulaco]

Don't know if you ever took yours down to the little bits or not, but it is easy to do. I have taken every single part except the rear sight off of mine and put it back together with no problems. Just keep the screws seperated and it is easier going back together.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Didn't take it down to every single tiny bit, but did get all the major portions out, and flushed a lot of the old gunk out with WD-40 and the like. I know that one doesn't used WD-40 for routine cleaning (primer damage and whatnot), but it has been good for "displacing" gunk, and then I use standard oil after that.

Taken it out shooting a few times, and it's worked pretty well. Learned early on that you have to really cinch down the takedown screw. A buddy of mine was very confuse when it spontaneously disassembled in his hands. No harm done, but he was a bit shocked until I explained that it's supposed to do that (though not whilst shooting).

Interesting piece of gear overall, and very simple inside. I was a bit disappointed with the internals of the Marlin Model 60 I picked up for $50 recently. The trigger assembly was all plastic, and it had a ton more moving parts than the 39A. I expected it to have _some_ more, but it seemed pretty busy in there.

-MV