1900 AE Heavy Wear Marks?

[ithacaartist]

OK, the taper of the toggles explains the way the marks are. But, looking at the last pic, what is giving the appearance of a triangular area of surface which looks undisturbed, it points up into the area of the ramp (pic left) that would be expected to be worn in a mirror image of the wear on its counterpart (pic right)--as if there is a chunk missing on the toggle knob that has hit it. Or is it a photographic artifact?

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

OK, the taper of the toggles explains the way the marks are. But, looking at the last pic, what is giving the appearance of a triangular area of surface which looks undisturbed, it points up into the area of the ramp (pic left) that would be expected to be worn in a mirror image of the wear on its counterpart (pic right)--as if there is a chunk missing on the toggle knob that has hit it. Or is it a photographic artifact?

It's different because that knob has the 'toggle lock' in it, and there is a milled bevel on the bottom of the knob where it hits that ramp.

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by postino

It's different because that knob has the 'toggle lock' in it, and there is a milled bevel on the bottom of the knob where it hits that ramp.

Yup that's the story, the wear pattern makes sense now. I'm not sure, since I've never seen a 1900 in person, that I've ever seen one's toggle train from this angle, much less noticed this aspect to the wear patterns this design configuration results in.

This leaves us, still, with the caveat to change over to fresh springs. Very graphic, and sometimes heartbreaking, evidence of what happens when the action is forcefully over-extended...

Originally Posted by skeeter4206

Is it common for the firing pin retainer to hit the back of the frame. Looking at your above pictures it looks like mine and yours has the same looking mark where it hits the frame. Is this a major problem?]

Yes, but likely cumulative. It takes repeated forceful blows to work harden a piece of steel, but the more forceful and frequent the trauma, the faster metal fatigue will develop if it continues--to the point of becoming so hard and brittle that crystallization occurs and one last whack causes it to shatter and fail. Check out the texture of the break on the spring guide above; it's not torn, but shattered/snapped. I'm not knowledgeable of how to assess the damage/progression if it is noticed before failure of a part. I consider a crack a failure, and a break a catastrophic failure, even though both are catastrophic, as far as collectors are concerned. I think up to a certain point, further service will be OK, but after that point, continued use would be dangerous to the part, and perhaps to the user. But I don't know how that could be established. Maybe X-ray?

[sheepherder]

The pieces of my guide are somewhat mystifying...I don't see how it could work-harden...It doesn't flex, or twist, or bend...It travels in a straight line and [theoretically] doesn't even move (in relation to the parts around it)...

My pieces do show some crystallization, but the loose piece was reciprocating back & forth and the end & cavity have been peened by that motion so it's hard to tell what happened...

Hopefully, someone more familiar with these models can add their comments...

Pic attached...

On the mainspring: There is a guy on eBay who advertises NOS flat mainsprings -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EARLY-GERMAN...-/160944562499

I bought one a couple months back, when I thought mine was broken (it's not), and it looks new, just some very slight rust freckles...Doesn't look home made, and doesn't look like it was made lately either...It looks original...

I was going to keep it as a spare, but maybe I'll put it in...Just in case I decide to shoot it...

He seems to have quite a few of these...They're on eBay almost every month...

I did ask Wolf if they made the flat mainsprings...they don't...

I also ordered some 1095 spring stock to attempt making one myself...For emergencies...But the Luger flat mainspring is a weird gauge; not Metric and not Yankee either...