RE INDEXING SCREWS - Page 4

Richard Flanders · 12-07-2010, 01:20 AM

Kurt: you are verifying what most of us have said already, that the right left is actually on the left with the gun is left on it's back, which is the right way to figure out which left is right, and that leaves us with nothing left to say about the right way to do this except that the right left is actually on the right side of the gun and that whatever is not on the left side must be on the right side......right??. Thanks....

TARNATION !!! · 12-07-2010, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Flanders

Kurt: you are verifying what most of us have said already, that the right left is actually on the left with the gun left on it's back, which is the right way to figure out which left is right, and that leaves us with nothing left to say about the right way to do this except that the right left is actually on the right side of the gun and that whatever is not on the left side must be on the right side......right??. Thanks....

Dollar Grade · 12-07-2010, 08:36 PM

As Right as Rain.......

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Flanders

Kurt: you are verifying what most of us have said already, that the right left is actually on the left with the gun is left on it's back, which is the right way to figure out which left is right, and that leaves us with nothing left to say about the right way to do this except that the right left is actually on the right side of the gun and that whatever is not on the left side must be on the right side......right??. Thanks....

VH20 · 12-07-2010, 01:59 AM

Hello all. I'm surprised that my little post on screw identification caused such controversy! Sorry I haven't been back sooner to provide the answer. But, since I wrote the copy that Robin wants to put into the FAQs, I'll provide the answer as it relates to what I wrote. The answer is - don't overthink it. Conventions have been established. A gun (or almost anything else) has but ONE left side and ONE right. The right barrel does not become the left when you invert the gun. It is still the right, even though it appears on your left when the gun is inverted. Therefore, my reference to right screws means those found on the same side of the gun as the ACTUAL right barrel, regardless of how the gun is oriented at the time. Ditto for the left screws and ACTUAL left barrel. Really simple.

I'm glad Richard brought the question up though, because if one person was wondering, then certainly others were. In fact, I have to remind myself when putting the floorplate screws in that the left screw goes in the hole on the "right" as I am viewing it (inverted).

Also, I see that I have made a mistake on the "+" marking. I have only run across it on guns with three floorplate screws of equal length. As I stated before, the "-" will still be the left, but the "+" on the 00-frame I just checked is the rear one that you can see partially obscured by the triggerguard bow. The right screw is unmarked. This makes more sense, because it follows the convention previously established with other guns that have the longer screw (i.e. "-" on the left and nothing on the right). The "+" is only needed when all screws are of equal length. Memory is faulty, but I'm trying to remember if I've actually seen a "+" mark on right screws elsewhere on the guns, but I can't really say that I have, so I will have to correct multiple portions of my original post.

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure whether the three equal-length floorplate screws are a feature of later guns, or just 00-frames. This is the only 00-frame gun I've had apart, and coincidentally the only post-1922 gun I've worked on recently. The short (equal-length to the front two) screw could be required on the 00-frame, but I somehow doubt this. My guess is that it has more to do with era of manufacture. I'm pretty sure I've seen three short (equal-length) screws on other 20s-era guns of larger size. Removal of this rear screw from a larger frame gun, circa late-20s, could help provide additional data, but I don't have access to one right now.

So Robin, to make the FAQ entry, I'd clarify it by saying the left screws ("left" meaning the actual left side of the gun, or in other words, on the same side as the left barrel) carry the "-" mark, and the right screws are unmarked. On floorplates the same convention applies, but where two of the three are unmarked, the longer one goes to the rear/center and the shorter one is the right. On floorplates with three screws of equal length, the rear/center one carries the "+" mark, and the right is unmarked as it is on other guns.

Finally, knowing the Parker mantra (never say never), it wouldn't surprise me to find that someone somewhere has a gun that defies the convention that I've noted on all the guns I've had apart.

I have edited my previous post to reflect the above corrections.

Jim

Bindlestiff · 12-07-2010, 08:25 AM

Thanks Jim,

I put the FAQ up and I hope its clear and accurate. I don't know how I got so turned around but I guess it happens.

These exercises make the FAQ web page better. I'm always on the lookout for information like this that can help us later and pulling several posts into one FAQ is a good place to put it so its not lost.

Thanks everyone for the help.

Dean Romig · 12-07-2010, 11:06 AM

On the Parker hammerless guns I've always referred to that end of the floorplate as the "doll's head of the floorplate".

Autumn Daze · 12-07-2010, 11:55 AM

Really?.....

Bindlestiff · 12-07-2010, 11:52 AM

Thanks, but in the final FAQ that I put on the web, I caught this and changed the wording. It looks somewhat different than the post I made a day or so ago in this thread. It obviously took a while to distill all this input and wade through the right - left problem.

When I was in the Navy and force to march in boot camp, right and left was in issue then too.

TARNATION !!! · 12-07-2010, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin Lewis

When I was in the Navy and forced to march in boot camp, right and left was in issue then too.

Good to see you are "in step" here.

Cheers,
Jack

VH20 · 12-07-2010, 10:31 PM

Yes, Jack. That dilemma somehow seems very familiar.

Regarding my question and your answer, I was just trying to find a mid-20s gun or later with the longer screw in the rear. I restored a 2-frame VH 12 for a friend of mine from that era, but I can't for the life of me remember if it had the longer screw. The owner was present for most of the work, as he wanted to learn, and did some of the work himself with me advising. I'll ask him if he remembers, but I kind of doubt he will either. The majority of the guns I've worked on are earlier, and all of mine are.

Another good data point would be an earlier 00-frame with a longer rear screw. I'm trying to determine if the equal-length rear screw is a "later gun" thing, or a 00-frame thing. Thanks for the info.

Jim