I agree. The removal of the sear springs to get the buttstock off the gun is fairly simple. Getting the sear springs to stay in place while you reinstall the buttstock is a ridiculous endeavor for someone that doesn't do it every day.

John and others commenting on working on Parkers. My intent is not to train any reader on the service and repair of Parkers, but to only put together a complete and comprehensive set of take down and assembly instructions as well as complete parts diagrams and lists for all types of Parker actions. The other subject I would address is interchangeability of parts between frame sizes of guns.

Some of this information is out there, but lacking greatly as I see it and not all in one place.

I have no intention of making this any sort of restoration or collectors guide manual or anything of the sort.

Brian: I believe a very comprehensive guide to evaluating a Parker would be very helpful to the Parker collector and shooter. A mechanical and functionality check list that is illustrated. This would make a great chapter in your book. Subjects like how to check on face, ejector timing, measuring a barrel properly--all illustrated. Craig

I'm down for at least 5 copies. I bought 10 sets of Michael Petrov's 2 volume work on custom rifles and am glad I did. I plan on giving them away to needy collectors as I meet them.I usually buy multiple copies of any really good book on subjects that interest me and have not regretted it yet.I'm probably stuck with the rest of my Parker posters that I had made but hope you have better luck with your book.Good job.

Brian, you bet. You might visit with Steven Dodd Hughes, he has been down this road.

I'd have to disagree with this- I followed Brian's disassembly procedures and found it very simple to completely disassemble and reassemble these Parkers. Granted I was working on those guns that I bought that were in rough shape, screws were already buggered up and the stocks on both were in terrible condition so I had few worries about cosmetic damage. Now that I've done it a couple times i would have few worries completely stripping any parker no matter how nice. I would consider a book like this valuable. For certain folks who like to work on their own guns, at least the simple stuff like totally stripping to lubricate, having a very clear takedown guide in print could be helpful.

The only downside I'd see is that really the only people who would buy it are those who are completely invested in collecting Parker's. I don't know how many copies of the parker story were sold, but I'd imagine a book like this would probably never eclipse those numbers by any great degree, though a lesser cost would probably drive more sales. If you consider it a labor of love, hoping to cover your costs and maybe some of your time I'd say go for it.

I guess I would have to be considered one of those "garage gunsmiths". I have from time to time gone into a few of my Parkers and other brands for various reasons. I would love such a manual!!!
I would only suggest that it not only include takedown and assembly guide but a gunsmith chapter on tools, proper tools, proper tool utilization etc. to help prevent the butchery we often see on vintage firearms.
Bob Jurewicz

While I admire and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of sharing one's knowledge in a publication, I don't agree with the suggestion several have made regarding the PGCA underwriting some of the expense. Doing so has the appearance of condoning amateur gunsmithing. There is a fuzzy area of someone working on his own firearm, and working on a "friend's gun". I can see the disclaimers already.

Some PGCA board members have stated their own personal experiences with one professional gunsmith or another, and I think in those instances, it's apparent that's what they were; personal experiences, and not Association endorsements.

The assumed safety, and reliability of a potential purchase I might be considering would have the added factor thrown in: Never been touched, worked on by only skilled gunsmiths, using proper tools, techniques and materials, and now, worked on by shade tree mechanics.

Lastly, I am reasonably confident that the reserve of funds available to the board is not limitless, and many worthy expenses have to be weighed annually, many of which get tabled.

If I go forward with this project, It will be an independent endeavor with no partnership expected or sought from the PGCA.

I will purchase also!

Wes

Brian , put me down too.......
like someone mentioned earlier...i would throw a few hundred in to help it get published.
if it does good , great , money back , if not , sign me a copy & i'll have a collectors item.

ddp

Whether or not you think people should be tinkering with their guns isn't the point here. Brian's book idea would be a fantastic compendium of knowledge that we would all be the better for having access to. Bodgesmiths, garage gunsmith's, and the like will screw up what they're going to screw up, whether there's a book to guide them along or not. For those who are competent enough to use such a book, or for those who would simply have it for their gun library, we'll all be the better for having such a resource available.
I want three... One to replace the original after its pages are so smudged and torn that it is no longer of use, and the third to sell so I can pay for the first two, once it becomes a collector and you can't find it any more!

Well, this book project is going to take me a while to put together, but I am working on it.

I wanted to share what I am doing as a starting point.

What I wish to be able to do with this book is have a be all/end all when it comes to parts diagrams/lists for Parker guns. I would hope that one day it could become the standard that people refer to by way of diagrams. I plan on doing this by making sure that EVERYTHING is in one place, simply shown and easy to follow. Yet, be comprehensive in covering every variation of part over the whole span of manufacturing. I plan to cover all action types (hammer/hammerless/SBT), ejector system and likely single triggers as well.

The first thing I am having to do in this process is
create electronic vector drawings of each individual part. Then the parts can be arranged how I wish to show them in the diagrams.

Here is an example of my vector drawings for a hammerless trigger plate assembly (early style).

Attachment 38269

ambitious, can't wait to see where you go with it

me too....charlie

Book project
 

Brian I would buy your book. It would be a great companion to the tps set. Good luck and let us know how it is progressing.

I have damaged the first two Parkers I tried to disassemble, one about forty years ago, one about ten years ago. The sear removal and replacement needs to be explained better than it has been explained in the past, especially to Parker owners with just two hands.

I like how you you put your name and date on the diagram ,the "do not duplicate" is a nice touch too....without something like that anyone could use it without your permission ,at least with that on there even if it was copied people would know it was you.

Brian puts a lot of work into his efforts, and had a photo copied once from here before.

Mr.Losey ,I think you may have misunderstood me ...my remark wasn't a result of me thinking his diagram should have been devoid of ownership ,I have no need to reproduce his work for the benefit of myself ,I have no trouble picking a Parker or any other gun apart or putting them back together ,been doing it since I was 15...it was plain and simple a statement saying there's a right and wrong way to do things ,either protect your efforts or don't ...but if you don't ,don't ever believe another's good conscience will stop them from using your efforts without permission or implied recognition .

Other than that read into it what you will,I will truthfully say however and rest assured no gall intended ...I wonder why someone like Mr. DelGrego or Mr.Bachelder haven't offered something like this,their knowledge of all things Parker must be staggering.

Anything that goes on the Internet, be it pictures or anything else, can be considered 'public property'. I have hundreds of images in my personal files that I have copied from the Internet. However, if I re-posted them on the Internet I would give credit to their originator.

In the above diagram, I am simply progecting my own interests on something that I designed and will eventually be part of a published/copywrited work.
Photos are one thing, this is something different.

Of that I honestly have no doubt Dean.

I know what your saying Brian .
This is a Pic I pulled off the net ,I'm going to have it made into a sign for my pickup...it's not my work ,it's the work of some guy in Michigan I think ,but I like the picture and I make stocks too and nobody up here will know the diff, so who cares right ?

wow

ok fine

Brian: I would gladly buy one and have used your disassembly for my underlifter and was quite easy to use with good instruction and everything turned out great. I would guess that the underlifter is probably one of the easy ones to do. Thomas

I have bought and still own many disassemble manuals over the last 30 years of gunsmithing. A few recommendations below:

1. Have a book that lays flat
2. Photos are the key, because not everyone will read the instructions.
3. Be through in the disassembly. The NRA books are great, but stop way before ever fully disassembling the firearm.
4. Assembly is just as important. So many books cover disassembly, but not assembly. There are tricks of the trade with assembly firearms, cover them.
5. Part list with actually part numbers that were assigned is beneficial for those that just might have factory parts.
6. Page quality is important, but expensive. Bond paper is least expensive, but glossy is cleanable when you grease smear the page.

Good luck and these are just my suggestions an opinions, I would buy one either way. Thanks