njc110381 Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 What a nasty day! It started raining at lunch time so I came home and decided I was going to posh up my new (but actually quite old) Beretta 302 that I picked up the other week. First off I explored the 'net for some instructions. I've never stripped a semi down past taking the barrel off so I wanted some idea what to do. It looked easy enough so I set to it. Barrel off, cocking handle out, action apart, gas port removed..... There weren't that many parts on the diagram I had and wow it was messy in there, this was going to be a challenge. I really hoped I could figure out where all the parts came from because the instructions I found didn't go into that much detail! I set to work scrubbing everything with a toothbrush and to my surprise with a good few blasts of gun cleaner they all came out looking spotless. Now for the tough bit - putting it back together. For a start, how come the slide with the firing pin in falls to bits? That was a laugh I'll tell you, but it's all back in one piece now. And what is it with that little rod that goes back into the stock? What a pig that is to line up! I got it in the end and it all went back together with a good drowning of dry lube on each part to keep it all slick and reduce the wear. Last of all the barrel. It looked a bit tatty after years of the fore end being rubbed up and down it when the gun was taken apart so I degreased it and reblued it then gave it a good rub down with oil. It looks quite tidy now and feels much smoother than it did before. I'm off out after Crows and Pigeons tomorrow so that will be the test. It's never jammed on me so far even with all that mess inside it so I'm hoping I haven't fluffed anything up by having it all apart! I was always told "don't fix it if it aint broke". Well I couldn't help myself but I'm hoping a good clean has done it good and it's all back as it should be. At least I didn't have any bits left as I often do when I take things apart! Finally, getting small dents out of a wooden stock... Any suggestions? And is it worth stripping and oiling or should I just leave it varnished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad1 Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Well done I have heard that putting a wet towel over the dent and going over with a hot iron will lift the grain back out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paladin Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 You could try a steam iron (but dont let 'er indoors know)or wet cloth and an iron to steam the dents. Leave it varnished for now. All the best for tomorrow Paladin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted September 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 I'm off out tonight but I'll try the iron trick when I get time. Sounds like a fairly simple process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 I'm off out tonight but I'll try the iron trick when I get time. Sounds like a fairly simple process. could you do a few shirts for me when you get iron out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Monkey Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Not sure the iron method works on varnished stocks, at least not without damaging the varnish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted September 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 To be honest it's pretty untidy. If I iron it and it goes wrong then it'll give me an excuse to strip it and oil it! How easy is it to take the stock off of a semi? I've heard that there are springs in there? Ideally I'd like to know more about getting it back together before I have that bit apart! Billy - you wouldn't want to let me loose on something like a shirt mate. You may as well just bin it now! We don't do ironing - well not unless it's for stock repairs anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ando Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hi njc Before you do the ironing to get the marks out you need to take off the varnish. I restored an old sbs this way, amazing how it raises the grain of the wood, then rub it down with some fine wire wool to flatten the grain back and oil finish it, it'll come up like new. hth Ando Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackinbox99 Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 To be honest it's pretty untidy. If I iron it and it goes wrong then it'll give me an excuse to strip it and oil it! How easy is it to take the stock off of a semi? I've heard that there are springs in there? Ideally I'd like to know more about getting it back together before I have that bit apart! I took the stock off my AL391 once to try a different spacer between the stock and the receiver and im pretty sure there were no springs in there. It was a long time ago mind, but from what I remember you took the pad off, then just unbolted the stock. Nice and easy. Yours may be different though as its an older model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun4860 Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 (edited) There are no springs, its a big nut (you can get a socket on it) but also has a large screwdriver slot in, when you put it back together a drop of threadlock will help Edited September 21, 2011 by shaun4860 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 To be honest it's pretty untidy. If I iron it and it goes wrong then it'll give me an excuse to strip it and oil it! How easy is it to take the stock off of a semi? I've heard that there are springs in there? Ideally I'd like to know more about getting it back together before I have that bit apart! Billy - you wouldn't want to let me loose on something like a shirt mate. You may as well just bin it now! We don't do ironing - well not unless it's for stock repairs anyway! Hi, It's very easy to remove the stock, there is a spring in there but it's enclosed in the recoil spring tube (this is what the little rod you mentioned connects to) first you need to remove the recoil\butt pad, once that's removed you should see the stock retaining bolt, before you remove it have a look at the metal washer behind it and note what number is at the top towards the comb (this is one of the adjuster shims to change cast\drop etc) so you can reassemble with the same settings. Now you can remove the retaining nut, washer and shim, before you try to remove the stock there is another shim between the front of the stock and the action which you also need to make a note of. The way I do it is to have the gun sat across my lap with the comb facing upwards then gently ease the stock back from the action and hold the spacer so you can note the orientation ready for re-assembly. After that you can just slide the stock off. A tip for re-assembling and lining the little rod up easily is to remove the trigger group. While it's apart it's worth removing and cleaning the recoil spring and tube, make sure you have removed the bolt etc. so the spring is not compressed fully, there should be a small hole at the butt end, put a rod through that to stop the spring coming out like an exocet missile. You may need to heat the tube around the retaining cap to free it then remove the cap. Once the cap is removed hold the end of the spring with a rag then pull the pin out to release the spring from the tube. To re-assemble feed the spring in on a screwdriver then push in, put the pin back in whilst you move your hand up the spring to compress it more and repeat until you have about 1" of spring sticking out then use the retaining cap to push the last bit in and start to tighten, then remove the pin and fully tighten. Cheers, Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activeviii Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 take butt pad off and a long reach socket in there. undo nut, catch the washer and jods done. you should have asked earlier.lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemini52 Posted September 24, 2011 Report Share Posted September 24, 2011 What a nasty day! It started raining at lunch time so I came home and decided I was going to posh up my new (but actually quite old) Beretta 302 that I picked up the other week. First off I explored the 'net for some instructions. I've never stripped a semi down past taking the barrel off so I wanted some idea what to do. It looked easy enough so I set to it. Barrel off, cocking handle out, action apart, gas port removed..... There weren't that many parts on the diagram I had and wow it was messy in there, this was going to be a challenge. I really hoped I could figure out where all the parts came from because the instructions I found didn't go into that much detail! I set to work scrubbing everything with a toothbrush and to my surprise with a good few blasts of gun cleaner they all came out looking spotless. Now for the tough bit - putting it back together. For a start, how come the slide with the firing pin in falls to bits? That was a laugh I'll tell you, but it's all back in one piece now. And what is it with that little rod that goes back into the stock? What a pig that is to line up! I got it in the end and it all went back together with a good drowning of dry lube on each part to keep it all slick and reduce the wear. Last of all the barrel. It looked a bit tatty after years of the fore end being rubbed up and down it when the gun was taken apart so I degreased it and reblued it then gave it a good rub down with oil. It looks quite tidy now and feels much smoother than it did before. I'm off out after Crows and Pigeons tomorrow so that will be the test. It's never jammed on me so far even with all that mess inside it so I'm hoping I haven't fluffed anything up by having it all apart! I was always told "don't fix it if it aint broke". Well I couldn't help myself but I'm hoping a good clean has done it good and it's all back as it should be. At least I didn't have any bits left as I often do when I take things apart! Finally, getting small dents out of a wooden stock... Any suggestions? And is it worth stripping and oiling or should I just leave it varnished? TO use the the hot towel method you need to remove the varnish,it lets the steam into the grain to lift the dent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted September 24, 2011 Report Share Posted September 24, 2011 TO use the the hot towel method you need to remove the varnish,it lets the steam into the grain to lift the dent You can somtimes improve things with a hairdryer, be prepared to get things hot, and careful you don't screw up the varnish, this can also help sometimes on synthetic stocks. It almost always helps, and can sometimes virtually solve the problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjpcrane Posted September 25, 2011 Report Share Posted September 25, 2011 Depending on how dented it is use some beeswax and a few times over a period of time Depending on how dented it is use some beeswax and a few times over a period of time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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