Why is my Luger falling apart?
 

Okay guys once again the newbie luger owner has a question that you allhave probably seen before. As thor knows, I recently inherited my uncle's 1920 commercial luger. It was a bit corroded in places. The barrel was NASTY! You should have seen the work it took to get it looking to the point where I finally was satisfied I could put a round down it. I have gone through a bottle of Clenzoil and Breakfree to get it all ready to fire. On friday night, my luger and I took a friend (who was ready to dial 911 in case it blew up in my hand) to the range for some test firing. Here are our results:

First round: good! Wow, this thing is accurate!
Second round: stripped from magazine and into breech and mecanism ready to fire, but gun had not recocked. I pulled the toggle back and ejected it and manually reactivated the mechanism
Third round: Good fire
Fourth round Goodfire, but the empty case "stovepiped" except the casing was parallel to the barrel, jamming the mechanism open because it was betweent he breechface and the bolt with a new round below it partially into the breech.
I cleared all of this mess and on round five, the takedown lever dropped to a vertical position and the sideplate fell off.

I know my 1920 is not worth a lot. I have considered having it completely restored, but I am still undecided. I think at least I would like to have it be fully functional. Where do I go from here?

Eric Baker

Eric,
Sounds like a cluster "performance" to me. I would suggest a new takedown lever spring, first. And a Wolf spring set secondly. It sounds like you may also have a magazine problem. Get an after market Mecgar magazine. They are the best. Tom Heller,( forum search "lugerdoc" )probably has a takedown spring. And may have some Wolf spring kits. If not, check with Brownell's.

Ron

That may be a big part of the problem...Mine does not have a takedown spring in it! I also agree probably a new set of springs all the way around should help. I just figured the ones in it may be good enough for "testing" purposes.

Eric,
That probably would'nt be the case. Lugers are very spring finicky. The main spring and the magazine spring can make things go south in a hurry, if not functioning properly.

Ron

Eric, I do stock all of the parts mentioned above. Also it sound like a bit of gunsmithing may be required to get your disconnector (firing pin is probably cocking, but disconnector is not clearing the trigger lever) working correctly. Th

Sounds like your Luger needs a vacation. May I recomend Lugerdoc's.

My 40/42 does not have a takedown lever spring in it either. Lugerdoc, is this a dIY project? What else holds the lever in place?

Only the retaining spring or a tight fit hold the take down lever in place. Springs can usually be had for $5-10.

the installation of this spring is tedious because of the size of the part and the space you have to work in, but it is not rocket science... Yes, if you are handy with your hands, you can do it yourself...

Please consider us at TLSS if you decide to have it restored.

Okay...how much in the way of good old US greebcaks is it going to cost to get my new toy back in good working order? I just need ot know a round figure as it will come out of my other play toy money. I do have a Harley addiction to keep up. Also, Lugerdoc and Thor, where do I need ot send this to and what do I need to know about shipping and such?

Thor (Ted) does great work. I have one of his beauties and he is well known for quality work on the forum. The work isn't cheap but well worth the $$ if you like nice guns.

Eybaker et al, My basic repair charges start @$50 for identifing the problem and return Fed Ex. Basic labor after that is $50 per hour + required parts, but I'd give you an estimate before beginning work. If you plan to have your pistol refinished, you should go to Thor in the first place, as he can also do the repairs, usually getting the parts from me, while he has your luger disassembled for bluing. TH

Capt.Emo, I generally sell the original type German made TD lever springs @$15 or 2 for $25. But if you can live with the crude US made repros, I still have a few of them (no guanatees on these) @$5 + $1 S&H. TH

evbaker, please see my website at Ted's Luger Strawing Service CLICK HERE for information regarding our restoration business. Thanks to all for the kind words, we appreciate it. Email us at Thor340@aol.com if interested. Here are a couple of examples of finished Lugers we have worked on.
http://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/1938C.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/HC1900AEA2R.jpg
http://members.rennlist.com/lugerman...tbigsmalll.jpg

Ted, your work is beautiful! Routinely how long does it take to restore one of these?

I tried calling the number on your site, but it is always busy.

How much would restoration add to the appraisal value of my 1920 Commercial non-numbers matching luger? Would the cost of restoration be offset by the increase in appraisal value?

Please send me an email to Thor340@aol.com and we can discuss. Thanks