Recent Non-Luger Acquisitions
 

At online auctions, I've won a Savage Model 1907 and yet another Llama Model IIIA in .380.
I also bought a '44 built Enfield #4 MK1 from a friend.
No pics of the rifle yet, but here are some auction house shots of the other two. (yes, the Savage is a project gun!)

Llama IIIA
 

Llama IIIA

I like both. Good find

Good scores!
I really like the little Llamas!

I have liked the Llamas since I was a kid and the Savage pistols are just too cool.

Interesting repair to the front of the Savage!

The area behind the washer was very shiny and silver. It seemed like lead solder and scraped off with my fingernail. Beneath that is what appears to be epoxy. It's anybody's guess what's under that.

The plan it to restore the nose of the slide and re-blue the entire pistol since it is entirely in the white.

I never had a Savage that would feed & function. Cool LOOKING little pistols though.

I have always liked the old Llama handguns. They are fun to shoot.

Just remember to case harden the trigger and put that front sight blade back on that Savage :D Two nice diversions, from Lugers, that is. Good luck with your project.

I was delighted to find that this one cooked right along, no misfeeds or malfunctions! I got lucky, perhaps. If so, it's about time!

The extractor was launched over my shoulder, to the left. It's in this room, and I have a magnet--wish me luck.

Other than recoil springs I've seen listed, parts for these are reputedly non-existent.

I lucked out with the grip panels on this Savage, which are steel. Most are gutta-percha and few of those are in good shape. There's one little dent at the top of one of these, but that will tap right out and be as good as new.

Lifer et al, I do have a good selection of both small frame Llama and Savage pistol parts. TH

you guys are gonna learn one day to have a supply of large clear plastic bags for disassembly.....saved many parts that way.......

This info is the nicest surprise I've had all day. Just in case...do you have an extractor in stock, Tom? ;)

Here's a question for you, et al... The nose of the slide, along with a front sight, must have an integral area that guides the slide as it navigates the barrel when the gun is fired, similar to how the barrel bushing of a 1911works. My question is how long is the internal "sleeve" that rides the barrel? It works OK with the drilled-out washer that was cobbed on, but it seems to me that it originally must have been an affair with more to bear on the barrel than the thickness of a washer. If my question is coherent, I'd be delighted to have a measurement!

These Savage pistols are interesting. While perusing auctions, I saw one that had a more traditional "tab" type spur on its hammer, while most seem to be the fluted ring type. I suspect it was an earlier example. Its rear sight, as on a couple of others I've observed, is a groove in the top of an upward swelling at the rear of the slide, whereas mine has a tiny rear sight dovetailed in. I guess I'll have to brush up on what these configurations mean in terms of when they were produced.

Their bolts and trigger systems are intriguing as well--very clever, quite intricate, and very finely made.

Very nice acquisition, congrats!

BTW great pictures too.

As per David's request, here are some pics and measurements to help with his rebuilding of the front of the slide on his Savage 1907. Sorry for the delay in posting, my Savage was not readily accessible. I included the rear sight so you can confirm yours is the same. The front of the slide is machined from solid stock and there is no separate bushing as can be seen in the pics. So yes, there is more than the width of a washer contacting the barrel, ie dimension A, .170"

last 2 pics

FYI, both the trigger and magazine release lever appear to have case hardening color with the barrel being left bare.

Thanks Mark!

To address the comment in your PM, I'm not certain of its vintage. The 4-digit serial number had me suspecting this is an early example, too. There are variations I've seen in the style of hammer, the way the rear sights were made, and different material for the grips. I think I may be able to figure out when it was made if I do a little research to dial in when these variations in configuration appeared.

Your pics and dimensions will be a great help in this repair, and I appreciate your taking the time to provide them. Tom has spare slides for sale, which would save me all this trouble and machining expense. I may just take the easy way out if he has one that matches whet I have,

Dave, interesting acquisitions. I am not that familiar with any of them. I like the Savage that has a bit of Buck Rogers styling. Sounds like a fun project for the winter.

David, personally I would buy a slide if it matched and the price was right. Still don't understand how your slide came to be the way it is. Not like that is an area that would fail, unless the early ones had a thinner integral bushing area. Or maybe someone chopped the slide back in an attempt to expose more barrel for attaching a suppressor??? Regardless if you found a replacement slide I would go that route. Good Luck, Mark

Repairing the slide is a noble undertaking, but if you can find a proper replacement slide I would jump on it like a duck on a junebug. The effort required to restore the existing damage would make Don Quixote look like a slacker.
Ron

Gents, I agree that replacing the slide with an intact one is the way to proceed, if not merely for economy, but to keep life simple. Tom Heller seems to have some, and I'm waiting to hear from him whether one matches the style of this one.

Once again, exactly why this was done by a previous owner is a mystery. The hypothesis that it was in preparation for threading the now-exposed end of the barrel is feasible, but who the heck knows? If that was the case, I'm glad the project didn't go any farther because the workmanship used in shortening the slide is certainly terrible. If they couldn't even make a square cut on the end of the slide, I shudder to think how threading the barrel would have turned out!

Just out of curiosity I looked at Numrich and noted that they have the slide...If Tom doesn't have one... ;)

I also have a Savage model 1910, serial # 1234 :D

Update for 1907 Savage
 

Ladies and Germs,

Tom sent me a very nice slide, but it did not fit. The hole in its front end through which the muzzle passes was slightly larger diameter than mine. It also is from an earlier example, one with finer cut gripping serrations at the rear. The larger hole in the nose didn't center the barrel properly, and beyond that, it was also large enough so that leading coil of the recoil spring gets sucked in aside the barrel and binds the interface. So, we went back to the drawing board...

This pic came in this morning from my machinist so I'll post it here in order to show progress made on repairing this pistol's butchered slide. He has the new end TIG welded on, and will address the front sight next. We're going to go with a fiber optic unit mounted in this dovetail, so getting that designed and constructed will be the next step. Obviously, we've departed from a "restoration" but I think my eyesight will be happier with something that can actually be seen! Improvement of the diddly little rear sight may also be in the offing.

Phoenix rises from the ashes!
Ron