Takedown lever spring PITA!

Zorba · 08-19-2013, 10:03 PM

In "The Rise & Fall of the Third Reich", Adolf Hitler was quoted as saying "I'd rather have 3 teeth pulled, than to go through that again.". Perhaps he was referring to re-installation of a Luger takedown lever after installation of a new spring!

I couldn't understand why I couldn't find any clear, step by step instructions for this operation - or a video. Now I think I do understand - no two experiences are going to be alike!

Thank Goddess I had a "Luger punch" (drift), I used it to remove the "L" part of the old spring from the frame, and used it again to gently tap the new spring in place. In my case, there was no protruding part of the spring on the bottomside once it was bottomed out in its hole/groove.

The flail was, of course, getting the takedown lever back into the farside of the frame. I thrashed around with it for about 2 hours before I got it done. I had removed the grips and tried holding it (the frame) in a vice with soft jaws, which didn't work because I didn't dare tighten the vice anymore than I had. I tried "leading" the lever across with a similar sized drill bit (shank end) - no dice. I finally had success when I had the frame wedged against the edge of a plastic slop sink, was pushing down on the axis of the lever with a piece of aluminum bar stock, and was trying to press the lever straight from inside with a screwdriver. The whole affair started sliding, so I did what any Belly Dancer would do - I put my hip into it to hold the darn thing still, and was rewarded with the long anticipated "click" of the lever finally slipping home!

The results are great, good and tight locking in each position, although opening it requires a bit of "help" because its hard to get to the lever when its in the closed position. I'm sure it'll break in with time. No scratches to the firearm, no gouges in my hands, and no broken nails. What more could you ask for?

Whew!

08-19-2013, 10:03 PM	#1
Zorba User Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Merritt Island, Fl Posts: 952 Thanks: 777 Thanked 528 Times in 290 Posts	Takedown lever spring PITA! In "The Rise & Fall of the Third Reich", Adolf Hitler was quoted as saying "I'd rather have 3 teeth pulled, than to go through that again.". Perhaps he was referring to re-installation of a Luger takedown lever after installation of a new spring! I couldn't understand why I couldn't find any clear, step by step instructions for this operation - or a video. Now I think I do understand - no two experiences are going to be alike! Thank Goddess I had a "Luger punch" (drift), I used it to remove the "L" part of the old spring from the frame, and used it again to gently tap the new spring in place. In my case, there was no protruding part of the spring on the bottomside once it was bottomed out in its hole/groove. The flail was, of course, getting the takedown lever back into the farside of the frame. I thrashed around with it for about 2 hours before I got it done. I had removed the grips and tried holding it (the frame) in a vice with soft jaws, which didn't work because I didn't dare tighten the vice anymore than I had. I tried "leading" the lever across with a similar sized drill bit (shank end) - no dice. I finally had success when I had the frame wedged against the edge of a plastic slop sink, was pushing down on the axis of the lever with a piece of aluminum bar stock, and was trying to press the lever straight from inside with a screwdriver. The whole affair started sliding, so I did what any Belly Dancer would do - I put my hip into it to hold the darn thing still, and was rewarded with the long anticipated "click" of the lever finally slipping home! The results are great, good and tight locking in each position, although opening it requires a bit of "help" because its hard to get to the lever when its in the closed position. I'm sure it'll break in with time. No scratches to the firearm, no gouges in my hands, and no broken nails. What more could you ask for? Whew!