Problem with mule ears on old Colt shotgun

Another update!

Decided to order the mainspring vise rather than build one (Hey, the deluxe model was only $20. ;)) as I wanted to get done with this project so I could get back to my bigger ones. The vise is a little rough but for what it cost I can't really complain. I'm putting the making of one on my "list" for a rainy day. :) Here it is with the spring removed.





I reamed out the inside of a piece of brass tubing so it would just fit over the threaded part of the square post.



I put a small piece of "U" channel in my vise to support the side plate and lightly drove the post through the hammer.

After dis-assembly:



Now the "new" hammers that I'm installing. I test fitted the hammer to the post and was surprised beyond belief as it snugs up perfectly. I bought these hammers at a gun show some years ago and while I am sure that they came from the Colt factory, I don't believe they've ever been installed on a gun. They show no signs of wear and the hammer face is unmarked as it has never hit the striker. OEM parts from 1878! :thumbzup: The only thing that needs to be taken care of is that they do have a bit of surface rust just from sitting around. You can't tell from the pics but the case hardening looks great even.





Well, parts are sitting in the Evapo-rust. I figure that if it does end up taking the bluing off the mechanism I can always re-blue those parts before assembly.

-Ron
 
Looking good Ron!

I wonder how long its been since the last time it was cleaned and oiled in there?

Tom
 
TLGriff said:
Looking good Ron!

I wonder how long its been since the last time it was cleaned and oiled in there?

Tom
Click to expand...

I would hazard to guess that it hasn't been within any of our lifetimes. :thinking: :)

Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate the help from everyone. I'll update things as I put it all back together so you can see how it looks finished.

-Ron
 
-Update-

Most of the work went well (in other words, nothing was destroyed :p). The Evapo-rust effectively removed much of the remaining bluing, as expected, so I did a quick and mild re-blue of all the parts, side plates included.

The picture didn't come out too well with the flash. All that shiny stuff and little spots is just an effect from the flash on the oil.



This pic makes them look a lot darker than they really are. I think that once I get the hammers pressed back on all the way and the assemblies re-installed on the gun they'll fit in much better.



I'll post more once I get the gun cleaned up a bit and the plates re-installed.

-Ron
 
And here we come full circle. :) I won't bother to post pics of the process I used to get the hammers back on (I didn't take any :rolleyes:) but all that I did was to take two small pieces of scrap "aircraft" plywood, drill a small hole half way through one for the threaded post to fit in. I then put the hammers in the wife's toaster oven and set it for 250 F (she was asleep by this time :halo:). After letting them sit for fifteen minutes or so to make sure they had reached the proper temperature, I put on my welding gloves and made sure there was some oil on the post itself. I placed the undrilled ply against the mechanism, placed the heated hammer on the post and used the second piece of ply against the hammer so that it's blind hole was over the threaded part of the post. A small "C" clamp was then placed over the whole conglomeration of stuff making sure to line up the center of the clamp pads on the axis of the post and pressed the hammer back on to it's square shaft.

The end results...







The barrel doesn't really look that red or "rusted" but the camera somehow brings it out.

Now I'm trying to convince my wife that this gun really should be displayed prominently on the wall along with a couple of my old Winchesters and Colt pistols. :biggrin: She's not quite sold on the idea yet. :( :lmao:

-Ron
 
Good job Ron. It's great to be able to see a project such as this in its entirety from start to finish.

When do we get the video of the test firing?

Tom
 
TLGriff said:
Good job Ron. It's great to be able to see a project such as this in its entirety from start to finish.

When do we get the video of the test firing?

Tom
Click to expand...

Thanks Tom, it feel good to actually be "finished" with a project for once. It seems that most of mine become never-ending. :p

A test fire may be in the works sometime this summer. I'm not set up for loading shotgun shells (pistol and rifle ammo, yes) so I've checked around a bit looking for black powder shells. Surprisingly, I found a number of sources and they are fairly inexpensive. Even though the action locks up nice and tight I still have to consider making some kind of fixture so that I can fire it remotely for the first time. I'm still kind of going back and forth on that one.

It would be cool as heck though! :cool: I'll guarantee that when it happens I'll have some video to share.

-Ron
 
Ron, Looks like you done good. If it locks up tight and there are no pits in the barrels it should be good to shoot with black powder shells. Be sure to check the chamber length, older guns can and do vary from today's standards.
Bobby
 
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