[Bg721043]

Hey all,

New here, first post (besides the obligatory "new member" hello.

Came over from another forum by recommendation of a member here.

Here it goes (long),

Several years ago I bought a '97 rifle from a guy who had it sitting in the corner of his garage basically left for dead. A good looking rifle that was missing it's forend and some magazine parts but otherwise complete but crusty.

I have a gunsmith who's very old and very slow. Very slow. But he does good work and he enjoys it. I dropped the rifle off for refurbishment but he has stalled and made no progress. A couple months ago I decided to get the parts I could to help get him moving on it.

In the process I found the magazine parts (tough to find!) But also had an offer for a complete magazine tube and forend complete. I asked for a picture and the guy sent me a picture of them, they were still attached to a rifle- it was an 1892 in 22 rf. Looked basically complete and not too terrible, so I asked about selling the whole thing. No problem, a couple hundred bucks and I had it in my hands.

Although I bought the 1892 as a parts donor , the gun wasn't bad. Neglected and worn but not trashed. Figured I would go through the motions to see if I could get her back to life since I really like this family of lever guns.

Looks like that.

Took it apart, inspected for worn or missing parts and cleaned the poor thing.

As far as missing parts, only thing gone was the cartridge cut off and the screw for it. One ejector bolt was broken off, the sight elevator is missing and the toe of the stock is broken off.

The bore is rough. Basically sewer pipe rough. I plan to install a barrel liner if no other option is available . it does fire- I put a CB short in and it did go off, leaving a case that looks like this-

That's not good. I'm no gunsmith but it's going to need some service.

The breech bolt has about 1/16" back and forth movement with the lever closed. I understand that the internal tolerances are worn and I could use a new lever screw/pivot and possibly a bolt or lever- these parts aren't easy to come by and neither appears to have a ton of wear.

But I'm working that out. Suggestions welcomed.

On to the cartridge cutoff , I could be mistaken but I believe a cutoff from a 39a will work if the back is trimmed off. Figured I would try it. Found out the supply has dried up. No cutoffs to be had. Lots of listings but all discontinued and unavailable . even eBay had nothing. So I went on a search and did turn up a couple... In Europe. There was no shipping option for the US and so I emailed the company. Took a week or two and they replied that they could sell me a couple, which I jumped on. Figured if they don't work I can sell them as there seems to be none of just keep as spares for my 39a.

I'm determined to get this rifle range worthy and I'm working trough the issues. If anyone has tips, tricks, parts, insight or any other commentary on this project please comment. I know it'll be a slow and likely expensive project but I'm looking forward to it and it keeps me from burning up ammo on the range and will keep my hands busy while I tinker.

Thanks for reading

 

[marlinluvr]

Lookin' forward to seein' your progress and finished rifle!

 

[Bg721043]

Lookin' forward to seein' your progress and finished rifle!

Thanks!
I'll drop some pictures of everything so you all can kind of get an idea of what I'm looking at.

 

[msharley]

Hey BG,

Welcome to MO!

Glad you are restoring that piece of YESTERYEAR!!

Thank you for sharing it!!

Later, Mark

 

[Bg721043]

I have a somewhat detailed description going on a different forum , I read the rules here and seems I shouldn't post a link- correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Bg721043]

I took those pictures when I got the rifle a few weeks ago, after all the scuzz was cleaned off and everything had been taken apart and soaked in oil , I put it all back together so nothing disappears and now I'm just looking for parts and trying to work out exactly what's worn and causing the breech bolt to have as much movement as it does. The finger lever doesn't appear to be severely worn on the working surfaces and the breech bolt looks the same. The fired case shown in the original post shows the chamber is pretty beat up and it's able to fire a bit out if battery I think.
That's some of the help I could use from a connoisseur of vintage marlin workings. Things to check and all that. Like I mentioned, I'm no gunsmith.

I know the lever pivot is worn but taking the slop out by pushing forward on it doesn't remove the play at the bolt. I suspect the trouble is in this bit

Bit bolts aren't easily found at a fair price and the surface doesn't look badly worn . maybe someone has had success adding material by either welding or fitting a shim to one side or the other??

Still kind of just figuring it all out. Either way, for a couple hundred bucks I think it's a project worth trying.

I'm going to strip it all down again to soak the receiver and barrel in some oil for a week or 2 so I can make an attempt to remove the barrel- as I mentioned, it needs a liner installed. While I've never done one, I'm confident it'll be straight forward, I'm comfortable with machine shop tools and have access to enough to be able to get it all done. I'm planning to rent the bit and chamber reamer from 4d and buy a liner from brownells. I'm pretty sure my '97 will need the same treatment and only want to rent the tools once so there may be a delay getting to it. Plus my wife's frugal and doesn't love me spending more than a couple hundred here or there- going to let her forget for a few weeks before I buy anything else.

 

[cub308]

Looks like the receiver is beat up at the front of the bolt. It may not be the original bolt or lever. A little build up with a TIG welder and some careful filing on the lever could tighten things up.
Good luck with it. Thanks for the before pics. Looking forward to seeing progress.

 

[Bg721043]

Looks like the receiver is beat up at the front of the bolt. It may not be the original bolt or lever. A little build up with a TIG welder and some careful filing on the lever could tighten things up.
Good luck with it. Thanks for the before pics. Looking forward to seeing progress.

Yes , the receiver looks like someone went at a stuck case with a screw driver in the not too distant past. If I were to add material to tighten the bolt, would you think it should be on the lever side or the bolt side? I was thinking the lever side as to not put any heat into the bolt (I know they're fragile)

 

[cub308]

Defiantly on the lever.

 

[rjtmac]

Good luck SIR ... looks like a fun project ...

 

[Strugl4xsc]

I have done a lot of work on the Marlin 1892's, including adding material to the end of the lever by welding. The red flag comes from the chamber area, I have a piece of brass in my eye from firing a .22lr cartridge from a 92 with a chamber as you describe. The picture of the case you posted makes my eye hurt, but seriously this is very important. I bought a new barrel and fit it to the reciever to correct the problem. even if you reline the barrel the chamber area of the liner gets very thin and is critical that the case has full support.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

 

[Bg721043]

I have done a lot of work on the Marlin 1892's, including adding material to the end of the lever by welding. The red flag comes from the chamber area, I have a piece of brass in my eye from firing a .22lr cartridge from a 92 with a chamber as you describe. The picture of the case you posted makes my eye hurt, but seriously this is very important. I bought a new barrel and fit it to the reciever to correct the problem. even if you reline the barrel the chamber area of the liner gets very thin and is critical that the case has full support.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

Good information, thank you.
I suspected there was a chamber issue and knew there was an issue with bolt , I used a cig CB short just to see if it would pop. Which it did, but it was loud - definitely a problem.

In your experience will a barrel liner work for this barrel? I've been looking for a source of parts but being what it is, there's not a lot . I'd love to get a new barrel, just wouldn't know where to find one . my '97 has a decent chamber but the bore is rusty/neglected too and will need to be replaced if it can't be lined.

I've seen some other types of liner that appear thicker than the brownell product and I believe they've cut the chambet already . says they're able to stand alone to fire the cartridge they're chambered for 22 Long Rifle Barrel Liners- Barrel Liners https://chaszel.com would you think this could work?

Appreciate the info and insight, thank you

 

[Strugl4xsc]

It can work for sure, just be careful when taking material out for the extractor etc, study the chamber end area of a 39A, that is to say get the headspace set and remove only enough for clearance.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

 

[vt4ster]

Good read. Thanks for posting
Jack First Gun Parts is a good place for parts.