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Unread 03-15-2014, 10:10 PM   #16
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alcaviglia
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Dan,

I haven't been logging in as much lately, inclement weather here did some damage to my house that has kept me quite busy (30" snow + weeks of sub-zero temps at night = ice dam, leaking facia/roof/walls, sagging beams, and lots of FUN).

The part of the reassembly procedure to which you are referring is the timing of the locking bolt. I'll try to get that to you tomorrow in its entirety, but until then:

the first thing you want to do is loosen the straddle block retaining screw so the bolt can move freely. Then, remove the locking bolt spring retaining pin to relieve the compression on the spring. At that point, you'll want to move the locking bolt toward the rear so that the surface that contacts the bite in the barrel lug (or lump, if you prefer) is barely visable through the receiver - if the bolt is not moving freely: 1) check that the straddle block screw is loose enough; 2) tap the bolt rearward with a brass or nylon punch (a section of dowel rod will also do...about 3/8" in diam.).

*note: the contact surfaces on the bite and the bolt are tapered to account for wear over time. Inspecting the bolt surface should show you at what position it engages the bite (assuming you didn't polish that off in the cleaning process). That reminds me of another tip regarding the lockup of a double gun. All contact surfaces providing the lockup should be left alone unless there is already a problem with them - no sense in creating looseness where there wasn't any before...fixing that would be a bit more involved than just reassembly.

Okay, now you want to move the toplever to the right and join the barrel set to the reciever. Close the toplever and tap the locking bolt forward until everything is locked up snug. If you'd like to see the taper on the locking bolt and bite, you can "paint" with layout ink, smoke the bite with a candle or lighter, or even a dry-erase marker will do, and check the amount of contact surface.

At that point the rest should be pretty self-explanatory. It's really a game of give and take, getting the timing right.

As for toplever position, check the top side of the straddle block and you should find a dovetailed piece in which the hole that receives the tooth on the cam is located. That piece can be moved left or right on the straddle block to change how far forward or rearward the straddle block must be to engage the cam. That can also make available a bit more linear travel for the locking bolt, if you find yourself running out before the straddle block hits the inside of the receiver (which it should not have to do in order to release the barrels - if it does, make an adjustment to prevent it. That will eventually move the straddle block and you will have to perform a half-disassembly just to open the shotgun again.).
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