1877 Lightning Repair

2381 Views 47 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Shrek73, 6 mo ago

Barry Myers

Discussion Starter · 10 mo ago

I have a friend's 1877 Lightning for repair. It came to me hollow and I have acquired all of the parts and have learned how to put it back together -as I have found out to get the parts to fit, many times.

My problem is now to get the parts to function together!

Problem 1: It seems that the cylinder stop doesn't return properly. It works freely without the other parts installed. I am hesitant to take any metal from the nose as I hate to buy more parts. It appears to ride up when the trigger stud impacts it, but I am not sure if the nose should be flat along the trigger body or just touch the stud. And it doesn't return when the trigger is returned forward (It doesn't return on its own...)

Problem 2: The sear doesn't move freely and I am not sure what needs stoned or whether I was when I agreed to take this project on...

I haven't put on the hammer spring in play yet, so I am not sure what effect that would have on my existing problems. One more thing, I am not a gunsmith. I have worked on muzzleloaders and other guns, but not double action pistols. Thanks for any advice you wish to share.

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MarkInTx

· #4 · 10 mo ago

I can imagine by now...1877's can make "complicated" seem pretty simple. The parts and springs interact with each other slightly differently depending on SA or DA function. I'm like chrometank and have taken one apart and put it back together several times until it just worked.

There are a few guys on here who have an amazing working knowledge of how these things function. Hopefully they will chime in soon. Be prepared with pictures and details of what you have and haven't done.

Good luck!

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MarkInTx

· #8 · 10 mo ago

Agarbers said:
Send it to Sal Lanara.

⬆ ⬆ ⬆ Also a viable option.

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MarkInTx

· #40 · 9 mo ago (Edited)

In my mind, there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction and bragging rights in being able to say "I did" when asked who made, built, repaired or restored an object.
There is somewhat less satisfaction in saying "He did" when sending the object to a well-known expert or an experienced amateur, but everyone knows the object is in the best shape possible.

I have traveled both routes with varying levels of success. Like Dirty Harry said..."A man's got to know his limitations."

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MarkInTx

· #42 · 9 mo ago

Honestly not laughing at you but I feel your pain and have been there more times than I would like to admit. So far I have only had to take one gun to a 'smith in a brown paper bag. It cost me $50 for him to put it back together and I never went back in there again. That was pre-internet and YouTube. Now I have a pretty decent shelf of reference books and know how to use the internet (kind of).
I have used that Dykum Blue and the first time, there was more blue on my hands and workbench than ever got on the part(s)! I have resorted to using whatever color Sharpie I can pilfer from my wife's "office" drawer in the kitchen.
"Have you seen my (insert color here) Sharpie?"
"Uhhh...not recently..." 🤷‍♂️

Keep the faith...you will get there. You found a great resource in the guys on here!

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