Post some detailed pictures of the inside of the action (both sides) in particular the carrier (what you refer to as the lifter/riser) and the carrier rocker so we can see if either has been modified. Carriers and other parts are available but could get costly. You say it is a model 39, I just want to know for sure...is it a model 39 or 39A? A picture of the serial number will tell us. It is stamped on the bottom tang. There are other ways to tell as well but the s/n would be helpful. We can help you.

 

Thank you. I will post some pictures, soon.

 

Have you played with the tension on the thumb screw?

Have you slow racked it, and racked it like you mean it?

Can you feed the round into the chamber by hand or did the run the liner too far?

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I have racked it both slow and fast. Sometimes it feeds when I rack it fast, sometimes. If I position the gun on its side, bolt side up, it feeds fairly consistently.

 

I only took a quick peek at the pictures but if the rifle is original, meaning no one has monkeyed with it and mixed up different parts in it, then what you have is a 39A made in 1939. The reason is only in 1939 did Marlin make the 39A without an alpha character prefix in the serial number and I don't see a character in front of the 2729 number. If there is one, let me know. It looks like the carrier and rocker are okay, it also looks like the hammer screw could be tightened up a little. Don't worry about the carrier being a little higher on the 97, when the two halves are put together it can't come up any higher than the top of the receiver anyway. If you can post a picture of the entire rifle , (both sides) that would be helpful just to make sure it looks like what it is supposed to look like. I'll get back to you tonight when I have more time.

 

As the stock is a replacement, the barrel has been relined and the mag tube is a replacement, it wouldn't surprise me if the working parts were a mix as well. I love 97's and 39's, I have three others, but I wanted one to carry and not worry about dinging up. This gun has obviously been used hard and not taken care of. The replacement stock is a nice piece of wood and pristine compared the receiver, lever and barrel. Here are a few more pictures. I really do appreciate you being willing to share your time and expertise to help me sort this out.
Thanks,
Vance

 

After seeing the latest pictures (thank you) and noticing the octagon barrel, and the top tang, you have a model 39 that was built between 1921 and 1925. As you suggested, it has been use hard and seriously neglected. So, it is far from original but never mind that. What does it do exactly? I read what you wrote but just to be clear---when it fails to feed and you open it up you see a single cartridge (not two) in the receiver? The lever fully opens fully but does not close and when you open it up you see a single cartridge laying in the trough of the carrier with the nose at the bottom of the chamber? The bolt should pick up the cartridge and push it up and forward so the nose presses against the the cartridge guide spring (located in the very top inside) of the receiver. The spring then guides the nose of the cartridge into the chamber and the bolt closes completely putting the rifle into battery. Does the rifle cycle smoothly with no cartridges in the magazine? If you feel comfortable, I would suggest a full disassembly of all the internal parts and perform a thorough cleaning. That would be an excellent place to begin troubleshooting this issue. Also, keep in mind this bolt, if it is original in not designed for high velocity ammo. Standard velocity only. On that note, can you verify the bolt has the serial number etched somewhere on it? See if it matches. It also appears the ejector base is not original but should work. Let me know what ou find and we'll go from there.

 

Thank you again for getting back to me and for your willingness to help. Your description of what happens when I work the lever is spot on, and yes, it does function smoothly when empty. I think I can manage taking it apart and cleaning it. Are there any booby traps, besides the hammer and extractor/ejector springs, that I should watch out for as I disassemble? I have checked out the bolt for a serial number, but can't find any markings. Are you concerned about the obvious wear on the inside of the lever. I saw two for sale on Gunbroker, but wondered if they would fit as I think they were both for the 39A. I will get back to you after I have cleaned things up.
Thanks,
Vance

 

At least you didn't give over $10,000.00 for it . It looks like a gun I would love if it were mine . Get it sorted and I'll guarantee you it will become a go to gun. My model 25 Remington pump is having a similar issue that I haven't figured out yet . Be glad you are working on a Marlin instead of the m25 , can't find anyone who works on these pump guns and there are just about no parts. There should be plenty of people that can work on that Marlin even as old as it is. Probably better a parts supply too. Contact the folks at the link below . They sell parts but are also great gunsmiths . Real Gunsmiths not just parts changers. They are a father and son and have been fixing old guns since Moses was a boy.

About Us | Wisner's Inc

 

Thanks for the tip on the gunsmiths. I will keep them in mind should things go south.

 

Just go slow and take pictures if you need to. It's not very difficult. Clean all the parts well with some kind of parts cleaner then lightly, very lightly apply some good quality gun lubricant. Put some oil on the parts and then wipe it off, there will be plenty of lube left to do the job. Also feel the inside of the receiver for any burs that might interfere with the smooth movement. As for the lever, don't buy one, as they are not drop in replacement parts, they will need some minor machining to work properly. Let me know when you get it all cleaned up and re-assembled (it might just work when you are done). If you run into trouble, take a picture and I'll help you.

 

Let me say thank you again for your time. I do have a set of gun smithing screwdrivers, but I have run into some stubborn screws. I have soaked them with Liquid Wrench for now. The stock was stamped with the last three digits of the serial number, just like the barrel side of the receiver, so I assume it is original, but refinished. When I took the butt stock off I noticed a replacement hammer spring. I thought the hammer felt stiff. I took the spring out that releases the round into the receiver and noticed its threads look very worn. It's odd, the screw drops right through the hole in the spring, hardly touching the threads, when the spring is out of the gun, but it manages to hold the spring in place when installed. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one. That's as far as I have gotten. I will keep you posted. thanks, Vance

 

Forgot to mention that a good set of gunsmithing screwdrivers would be helpful. As you can see, whoever worked on it before you didn't have a good set of properly fitting screwdrivers and you can see what that does to the screw heads.

 

One thing I noticed in your pictures was the tip of the lever and the huge burr there. On the right end. It appears to be flat like it was peened.
from the burr down it appears to be a radius. The area with the burr looks flat. Put your lever from the 97 in and see how it functions.
Other than feed issues how did it shoot?

 

Yes, the end of the lever seems really worked over to me. I doesn't show in the picture, but I am not sure the end isn't bent inward. I thought about trying the lever from a 97 in the problem 39, but not having worked on guns much I worried I might jack something up on the 97 lever. Maybe I'll give it a try. The gun seems to shoot fine, but after I manage to get the round moving into the chamber I notice that it takes just a bit more force than I think it should to lock things up. Thank you for your thoughts on my problem.

 

I have a 1894 that had the some pretty severe wear on parts of it like that. I ran a bead of weld across the edges of the parts and filed them back into shape. Worked like a charm, and still does.


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I have a 1894 that had the some pretty severe wear on parts of it like that. I ran a bead of weld across the edges of the parts and filed them back into shape. Worked like a charm, and still does.


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I am not a welder, but wondered if something like that was possible. Thanks for the comment

 

I can’t say it was the right call long term, but it has held up under light use. I don’t grab it much, but it would jam every cycle before. Now, it runs flawlessly.


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That spring is called the cartridge cutoff spring and it has a single purpose. Its only job is to allow one and only one cartridge into the receiver for every cycle of the lever. I asked you if there were more than one cartridge in the receiver and you said no so this spring is not your problem although you should probably replace it along with the screw. It looks a little bent out of shape and worn. You can find them on ebay from time to time. You need the older type, after about 1963 or so Marlin changed the design of the spring and made it longer. You need the shorter one. If you can't find the shorter one you can buy the newer (longer) version and cut it down to the correct length and shape it to fit into the recess in the receiver. It is a 10 minute job. I'll look for one fro you and send you the link if I can find one.

 

Additional info...Kroil oil works pretty well on stubborn screws. Might need to let them soak for a couple days. Regarding the main spring (or the hammer spring) Marlin used this spring steel type until 1941 when they changed to a coil spring instead. I was surprised to see the buttstock is original but that's cool. It doesn't fit very well for being original but who know what that might have been through. My guess is whoever refinished it got a little crazy with the sandpaper. Also, as another person pointed out, all those burs need to be cleaned up. Just put the parts in a vise and gently file off the burs and no more. Don't go nuts.

 

Man, I am getting an education and I really appreciate it. I have the receiver mostly apart. The screw on top of the receiver that holds the spring that guides the cartridge into the chamber still won't budge and the screw the holds the spring that keeps the lever closed is stuck as well. I left the trigger pin and the roller on the hammer in place as well as the spring under the main spring that pushes the trigger back into position. I will let the Liquid Wrench work over night and try again in the tomorrow. I haven't jacked anything up yet, but lots of screw threads seem worn from careless disassembly and assembly. A few places there is some cross threading, I will clean and and deal with the burs tomorrow. This poor thing was really beaten. I let you know how tomorrow goes.

 

Looks great. Good job getting it disassembled. There is no need to remove the barrel and if the cartridge guide spring screw won't come out that's okay, just clean good around it. You are looking for a cartridge cutoff spring, not a cartridge stop spring. They are not the same thing. I saw one on ebay as well but it was 34.00 and I didn't send you the link because that is too much money for that spring in my opinion. Soak all the parts in cleaner for awhile and try to soak or at least wipe clean the inside of the receiver with some cleaner as well. You are looking good...

 

I can't tell you how grateful I am for your willingness on hang in here with me on this. Cleaned, burs removed and reassembled. The only issue I had was putting the extractor in backwards, twice. It still does the same thing, the cartridge is pushed up against the bottom of the chamber. I tried an experiment someone else on the forum suggested. I swapped levers with a 97. The lever on the 97 has a straight finger guard, so I really didn't have much hope of it working. The 97 lever on the 39 chambered the round but the bolt wouldn't close all the way, and the 39 lever on the 97 wouldn't work at all. I also have a 39 Article II, would that lever, by chance fit my problem gun for a test? Obviously, I didn't up any pressure on either. I also noticed the bolt doesn't fit very snuggly. I have enclosed photos. I am concerned that may be playing a roll. I am thinking it might be time to check on the price of scrap steel

 

I'm sure you didn't install the extractor in backwards but you probably did put the ejector in backwards. Part of the learning process in understanding the correct name of the parts and you are doing a very good job of that. The extractor is in the bolt and extracts the spent casing from the chamber when the lever is opened.The ejector spits the spent case out or the receiver as the bolts pulls the spent casing to the rear. The extractor will not go in backwards but the ejector can be installed backwards. No sweat, anyone who has ever worked on these rifles has done what you did. You are gaining some great knowledge. I'm glad you gave it a shot. As I mentioned earlier, some parts (springs, pins, etc.) are interchangeable between rifles but levers and bolts are not. They might kinda work like what you just experienced, but I have never been successful swapping bolts and levers between 39's or 39A's. It just does not work. Please understand that when these rifles were manufactured, gunsmiths had to machine and hand fit the parts to work smoothly and function correctly in every individual rifle. It's not like today. Back then, Marlin had craftsman build these rifles. The bolt on this rifle doesn't look right to me and could be the cause of the trouble especially if you cannot find an etching that matches the serial number. It could be that someone fired a bunch of high velocity ammo through it and broke the bolt and had to replace it and this could be the result. I'm not saying that is the problem, I'm saying that is a reasonable explanation. The pitting pattern on the receiver doesn't match that of the bolt, and if it were original, it should, and that causes me to wonder. Also, in my opinion, whoever owned this rifle previously obviously didn't take care of it, left it to rust and eventually that neglect causes the pitting issues and they didn't care about maintenance and those types of people almost always do sloppy work and rarely care about doing anything right.

 

The bolt appears to have been upgraded to a later HS version from what I can see in the parts in the plastic trays. The notch in the finger lever for the carrier rocker looks different from the one on my 39A, and the pictures of the model 39 in the Numrich parts diagram. The edges appear to be beveled on the front side. I am putting my money on the finger lever being the problem.

 

I will take a look at the bolt when I get down to the shop in a few minutes to confirm.
Regarding the finger lever, it looks like someone really worked it over with a file. If levers can't be replaced can they be repaired? Thanks for the photos and diagram, by the way. I notice in my gun the lever gets pushed away form the rocker as it is worked. It doesn't rest up tight like the one in your photo. It also looks like someone has bent the tip of the lever in towards the carrier at some point in the past, perhaps the better engage the rocker.

 

In all likelihood, your issue is either the bolt or the lever or both in the way they engage with each other. Your bolt is not original to your rifle and if someone did not install in properly your rifle will not operate correctly. Levers can be replaced, but you can't just drop them in and expect them to work. They will require some machining to operate correctly. A competent gunsmith who has some experience with these rifles can fix your issue but at what cost I'm not sure. I also don't know what you paid for the gun either so it's going to be up to you to know what it is worth to you. You can see the bolt does not completely close in a couple of your pictures and it should.

 

I want to thank you for your time and expertise. You have really provided me with a lot of really good information. To prove your theory about the lever being the problem I experimented a bit. I put a dab of JB Weld on the spot that seemed to be the problem and filed it to the shape I assume it was in when the lever was young. It has now cycled 15 or 20 rounds without a single fail. I have enclosed pictures. If you look closely at the finger guard side of the notch/groove that engages the rocker you can see I have rebuild the corner of that notch. The J B Weld is black. Now if I could find somebody local to put a dab of weld there I think I could file it back into shape. Who knows. Maybe I will just find a gun smith and ship it off. Regardless, thank you again for generously sharing your time.
Vance

 

I think you did a great job on this project. You asked, you listened, you applied some common sense and it looks as though you repaired your rifle with some thought and ingenuity. Good for you. I was happy to lend a hand in your efforts but looking back, I really think you could have done this all on your own. I'm happy for you. JB weld is pretty strong stuff so what you did might stay permanent. There isn't a lot of stress and no heat there (but some friction that will cause wear) so it might just stay put at least for awhile. If you do find a replacement lever you could probably make it work with a little tweaking. Good job!!

 

This would be a good time to pull a favor with a buddy who is a precision tig or spray welder. You could have them spray it up and file it back to the correct profile in a jiffy.

I did a similar deal with a 1911 grip safety that wasn't actuating properly. It needed a single blob of weld on the end of the teeny tang. Filed it back, polished it, and it's perfect 15 years later.