Sorta duck related: effort to open/close over under

[Rocky S]

bought an over under for my daughter to use, she was complaining that her Ithica Model 37 featherlite kicks too much. Now she's complaining that it is too hard to open and close the over under. I admit it is pretty stiff.

Is there anything I can do to to free it up? I put some gun oil on it and worked it open/closed a couple dozen times with no reduction in effort

 

[Doug Hansen]

Most guns tend to shoot themselves loose as they wear. That's why the new ones can be pretty tight. The best advise I can give is to a gunsmith to "loosen it up" or just let a few hundred shells loosen the new gun up.
You could try a bunch of abrasive compounds mixed in a paste. Break it down and apply the compound (valve grinding, rubbing, or even toothpaste) to the joint between the barrels and the receiver and just keep working it. Watch a movie while working the gun until you're blistered. Then you have to clean all that compound out from everywhere. It won't be easy.
If it were my gun I'd just shoot it and let the shells wear it in. I guess that's not an option?

 

[Tom Scholberg]

I learned that same lesson with my first O/U, the hinge will tend to gall. Mine ended up at a gunsmith for some warranty loosening up. I am not sure what he did but that was years ago and it still is fine. Since then I have had veteran shooters tell me it is common?????? Good Luck

 

[Huntindave McCann]

Rocky,

Yes a new over/under will be tight out of the box. If nothing is done they can gall the mating surfaces and require a trip to the gunsmith.

What I have done to prevent galling is to break the gun apart so that you have access to the hinge. Then take a very fine 600 or 800 grit polishing stone and carefully hone the mating surfaces. Only stone the working surfaces and only a small amount at a time. Then clean and oil it. Shoot a box or two of shells thru it and then repeat the polishing process again.

Do this for the first several boxes. What you are trying to accomplish is to accelerate the breakin process as well as prevent any galling. What you are not trying to do is to remove any real material. Remember that you are only polishing and removing any raised spots. Think of it as polishing with steel wool between coats, when applying a fine oiled finish to wood.


What you should end up with is a gun that will NOT fall open on its own when the release is tripped, yet it should only take a reasonable amount of effort to open and close. Make sense ?

 

[Wispete]

If you have a machinist friend or a machine shop near by ask for some Clover leaf compound. I believe that's the name. It comes in various grits. You want a fine. You only need a finger full. Looks like a black grease. Put a dab on the joint, watch TV and work it back and forth. It will polish the joint. Don't over do. Clean carefully and oil.

 

[Huntindave McCann]

Rocky,

The polishing pastes that have been mentioned will work but I still prefer a stone when you have access to use a stone. Some times you just don't have the access to use a stone and the paste is your only option.

You will end up with a better and longer lasting surface if you can use a stone. Reason being that a stone will only cut the high spots , where as the paste will cut evenly across the entire surface. Now that sounds like that is what you want but in reality it is not. Imagine if you will that one surface is perfectly and I mean perfectly flat and smooth, smoother than glass. Now imagine that the matting surface is rough and has hills and valleys.

Stone both surfaces and they will both end up flat and smooth.

Use paste on these surfaces, working against each other (opening and closing the action) and you end up with both surfaces now having hills and valleys. Yes, the hills on one side will match the valleys on the other surface but wait,,,, these surfaces have to slide across one another when opening and closing. Therefore you still end up with matching grooves running in the direction of travel.

Still not a good as having two flat and smooth surfaces sliding across each other.


Now if it sounds as if I'm splitting hairs,,,,,, well yes I probably am. You see, I am a tool and die machinist and I know of where I speak. So yes, paste will work, but a stoned surface will be better.

 

[Andy Grant]

Semi autos kick less and don't have the opening problems. If she doesn't like to shoot the gun, she won't.

 

[Matt Moore]

I agree with Huntindave, you polish with hard arkansas stone, and you're only removing rough, protruding surfaces. The lapping compounds have there place, this isn't one of them. Use oil on the stone. You can feel when the roughness is removed, the stone gets slippery on the surface you're stoning.
I hesitate to bring this up, but I also do this on the bearing surfaces of the sears and hammers (even "hammerless" actions can have hammers, they're internal) of the action. If this is done incorrectly, you can create a very dangerous gun, that allows the hammers to drop when the gun is jarred. The engagement faces of the sear and hammer must not be changed or rounded, only the surfaces smoothed. Done correctly, the trigger pulls are crisp, like breaking glass. If aren't mechanicly adept, don't try it, take it to a qualified gunsmith.