trigger guard slightly bent any solution
 

My byf 41 shooter droppped to the ground, and the trigger guard got a flattish 1/4 inch area on it's right side approximately opposed to the trigger spring.
Is there an easy fix for this? Or am I to just suck it up?

One possibility is to have someone turn a gradual brass cone, (maybe even wood) which you can insert into the stripped trigger guard loop and press in until the trigger guard regains its shape.

You could do this on a drill press or in a pinch, in a shop vice.

+1 on the cone idea. Lately I've been making quite a few firearms related mounts and things using Delrin (also called Acetal, it comes in black and white) VERY easy to machine and the white has a natural lubricity to help it slide. Will most likely have to also make a socket-type fixture to support the frame while being pressed to prevent further damage. While the pieces could be made in under an hour (shop time averages $70-100 per hr), Delrin is not cheap, maybe $15-20 for a suitable piece from a supplier.

:cheers:

Thanks for the ideia. Will definetly give it a try.

One could also use a dense hardwood. Less expensive?

Technically, you won't necessarily wind up with true roundness by pressing, as the edges/ends of the deformation will not totally conform due to "spring-back", but it will probably be close enough. It might save a lot of effort to use a hardwood internal mandrel and another piece of hardwood to tap down the apparent high areas from the outside. This lower-tech approach is an art, however, done by someone who can feel the progress.

Once upon a time long ago (no, I'm not starting a fairy tale) I straightened a bent trigger guard on a Luger by clamping a piece of iron pipe in a vise to use as a mandrel/anvil and a rawhide mallet to make it round again. If you have ever done any auto body work you know the process...down it where it is up and up it where it is down. That is pretty much the same technique that David has suggested with the hardwood approach.

The rawhide mallet doesn't create any dents like a steel hammer would. The iron pipe is less "springy" than a wood dowel so it provides a firmer working base. If you are concerned about the pipe marring the trigger guard you can wrap it with electrical tape, but only one layer so it won't act as a cushion.

Kurusu,

Please post a photo of the damaged area... Depending upon the severity of the damage, some combination of the suggestions made so far may make it look better. The judicious application of an appropriate machinist's jack might also assist...

A "REAL" gunsmith, master blacksmith, or machinist could re-bend and re-shape the guard for you... unfortunately, most shops that have a gunsmith today are really just "parts replacers" and they don't know much about metalworking...


I would also suggest that you google "blacksmiths" in your area... and check out examples of their handiwork before you turn over your frame to them...

I agree with Ron's approach depending on the actual damage..Recently I was doing some work on a piclehaben German helmet and needed to expand a small 3" circle of steel. I went to Harbour Freight tools and bought a large size tail pipe expander for $12.00 It worked really slick! One good advantage was you could control what was happening... Most any approach has to be done with some caution. Too much whacking or expanding could cause unintended consequences.

I agree with Doug, the Delrin is the better choice here, Delrin is hard and will not damage as steel would. Also the Ron with the rawhide hammer. Work slowly, don't rush it.

If one of my Lugers "... dropped to the ground, and the trigger guard got a flattish 1/4 inch area on it's right side" I think I would be suicidal :-)

Jokes apart I think that I would:
a) follow Ron's advice
b) in alternative I would take it to a good gunsmith

Another thought comes to mind..A lanyard would prevent things like that!

K, I've straighten a few mashed in tigger guards with a conical wodden mandrel, but none of them came out perfect, so hesitate to do it for anyone else. TH

Lots of food for thought in here. I'm not going to rush anything but think carefully on the best approach.

I've added a photo, but it's very hard to see what's wrong.
The photo was taken in a competition by a fellow shooter and not to show the damage. I'll take a better photo on the weekend

Attachment 37019

The lanyard ideia is not feasable. It's not casual shooting but official target shooting.

And it does shoot :D
Attachment 37021

rusted
 

I hope it's not as bad as this one. LOL

As promised here are some photos of the affected area
Attachment 37097
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Attachment 37099

Hope it helps.

Trigger Guard Machinist Jack
 

Okay, please forgive the crude drawing, but my only option for hand drawn graphics where I am is Microsoft Paint.

This is the tool I would create for straightening your trigger guard. It will never be like it came from the factory again, but it can look ALMOST like it did when it left the factory if you take your time and be careful. place thin aluminum or brass shims between the device and the inside of the trigger guard.

The drawing is self explanatory, but if you have questions, fire away. I will be watching this thread for a while...

-John

25 yards? Dang good shooting.

25 meters one hand. And thanks for the compliment.

John,

Your plan seems to be the best so far. My shooting mentor, and also the person who is going to help me fix it, has the same opinion.

...after relooking at the drawing, and my instructions, I think you should make the radius of the curved pieces perhaps a bit smaller than the radius of the trigger guard so you can "target" the damaged portion with the apogee of the curve and push out only the dent.

You can also probably use aluminum for everything except the threaded rod and the nuts... less chance of marring the inside of the trigger guard. I also recommend you use a fine thread on the rod (perhaps 28 TPI or more) to make it easier to use...

Good luck and please take photos as you go along. I am sure many will find the process and the results interesting to watch.

-John S.
:cheers:

I was already thinking of documenting the process. It may take a while though. The work will mostly be done by my shooting buddy and we don't live in the same town.

One might take John's approach one step further. You will indeed need to reduce the radius of the business end of of this little stretcher/jack.. In order to persuade the material to adopt the proper radius, one must bend it slightly beyond its intended profile--this allows for a certain amount of "spring-back" which will occur. However, leave the other half of the jack at a radius that will fit as closely as possible the radius of the undamaged portion of the guard. The jack will obviously push against two opposing portions of the curve inside, and an exact radius will guarantee no deformation on the opposing side as the operation is carried out. You may also need to adjust the radius of the working end to achieve the desired round profile smoothly.

I would first like to thank everybody that came in to help me in my predicament.

And now for the report.

As I have said it was my shooting fellow who did all the work and preparations. We finally got together this weekend to sort things out.

We ended up selecting 3 possibilities to cope with the problem.

1 A jacking device similar in concept to John Sabato’s proposal.
2 the mandrel and soft hammer option as Ithacaartist and Ron Wood sugested.
3 A lever system of the midle resistence type.

We ended up opting for the lever as first choice for the following reasons:

1 The mandrel and hammer solution required a level of skill that none of us was really confortable with. So we left that option as a last ditch attempt if nothing else worked. Nevertheless a small anvil was slightly modified to serve as the mandrel and the hammer was close by.
Attachment 37885

2 A jacking device was made and tried out for size in a Luger in good condition, and then we realized that the area opposite to the damage was to near to the hole in the frame for the trigger axis for us to be very confortable with.
Attachment 37876
Attachment 37877
The lever was a made from a 1 inch diameter steel rod with 27 inches in length, the fulcrum was fixed to a board and so was the resistance point. From the fulcrum to the resistance point we left a distance of 2,5 inches. The fulcrum was set at a higher level than the resistance point so that the lever would work in a downward angle. The resistance point was made from a block of wood with the contour of the triggerguard and the frame (later as the work progressed a relief was filed in the contour of the triggerguard to allow the metal to go beyond and spring back to the correct position
Attachment 37879
Attachment 37878
Attachment 37880
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Attachment 37882
And I think it all went quite well:

Before
Attachment 37884
After
Attachment 37883

Very nice. Job well done.

:cheers:Success! Compliments on the method used--very controllable.

Congratulations on a job very well done. Thanks for sharing!
dju

That looks like everything worked out very nicely....Congrats!!

I do have a question, in case I ever have this challenge...Did you just use one good push on the steel bar, or a series of small ones??? Didn't have to actually jump on it...did you???

That's a very neat fix, and another trick to keep in mind when looking for cheap project guns! "The trigger guard is beyond repair, so I can't pay you much.... Only good for parts you know..." :D

That is a very elegant and effective method...I wish I had thought of it when I was hammer and mandrel repairing mine. My congratulations to the innovative minds that came up with it. I really am impressed.

First of all this was a two men operation, I had the job of holding firmly the frame in position and watch carefuly what was happening while my partner worked the lever. It was done in small steady pushes with controled increment in force. The frame was removed from it's bed and examined several times to evaluate the progress. While we were at it I could clearly see the triggerguard adjust itself to the bed and then spring back a little, in the end we filed a small portion from the support bed to allow the trigger guard to pass beyond and spring back to the right position, this filing operation was done little by little to keep things in control. Maximum force used was an estimated 100 pounds.

Keep that set-up around in case another member needs to send you a frame!

Now that's some ingenuity right there!