MODEL 14 & 141 BOLT ASSEMBLY & DIS-ASSEMBLY

[nambujim]

Next to the problems encountered with reloaded ammunition (a subject already addressed in the forum) comes problems encountered with the bolt.

Without going back and counting I believe a normal bolt contains 20 parts (I count the sear with or without the hook extension as one) with the TNS bolt having a couple of extra impossible to find parts like the two piece sear lock.

Although I am still not sure how it happens, firing pins do break but how and why will forever mystify me. This part is a rather substantial chunk of hardened steel albeit the steel back then isn't what we have today but it is so beefy I think it could be used to fire a 75MM Cannon Shell.

So let us assume that you got a firing pin that was "brittle" for lack of a better term and it breaks. You get on one of the websites (Gunbroker, Ebay, or Numrich) and track one down but the chances are about 50/50 you get the one you want since it may or may not require the extension. That is only part of the battle since it is again a 50/50 chance it won't even come close to fitting in the slot the old pin came out of "if" you can get into the bolt to try it.

In today's world the bolt would have had a warning stamped on it "DANGER, OPEN AT YOUR OWN RISK". There are three pins holding parts in place in the bolt, the one holding the sear in place (Sear Pin) I am sure was pressed into place and the factory didn't think it a good idea for you to remove it.

I have bent "nail sets" trying to get that bloody pin out but usually manage it but have cracked the back end of the bolt body once or twice in the effort (I keep a supply of stripped bolts on hand just in case). If you do manage to get the "Sear Pin" out and are not careful (because you have never done it before) the firing pin spring & plunger can exit with dramatic force (lethal force if in the cocked position) scattering key pieces of your bolt all over the place.

It is necessary here to tell a short story about a chap who called me about replacing the firing pin, advised him not to, he could hurt himself, and so it went that a day or two later I called him. I got his wife on the phone who casually tells me he is at the hospital ........... doing guess what, the spring/plunger fractured one of his fingers.

To shorten this posting and in the hope I have made my point, PLEASE don't mess with the bolt/sear pin unless you have someone with you who has done it before and/or can render you aid. The secondary problem is if you do manage to get the sear pin out you will then pull out the bolt and the spring plunger under it in many cases will exit into oblivion without you even knowing it.

Worst case scenario is that you have hurt yourself and are now missing at least a couple of key parts. I'll just mention that firing pin springs for these rifles came in three diameters, the plunger that goes in the bottom of the bolt came in at least two sizes, and like I said early on firing pins will only drop in about 50% of the time. Unless you have a substantial supply of parts YOU can't readily fix it.

I pass this information on as a continuing service coupled with the fact I appear to enjoy reading my own dissertations.

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC