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Old October 5, 2005, 12:22 AM   #1
sig228
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DIY gunsmithing / hoarding spare parts

Hey everyone, getting acquainted with the board here, so far so good. I'm wondering how many out there subscribe to the idea that you should stock spare parts (firing pins, springs, etc) for your firearm of choice, and have taken the necessary steps to learn complete teardown / repair if necessary. Something that usually circulates in survivalist circles, I'm curious as to how prevalent it really is, and if anyone can make some recommendations.
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Old October 5, 2005, 12:32 AM   #2
Wildalaska
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I try to keep around necessities that are tailored to the gun...for my AR, Garand and M1A that means a field repair kit...for my SSG, a firing pin and trigger housing....an extractor for my Defender, trigger spring for my SIG, afew spare sight posts for my Swedes and thats it...

Stuff doesnt break very often....

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Old October 5, 2005, 12:43 AM   #3
HS
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G'day there Sig !

As a (former) competitive shooter (Para 1911 .40cal),
I had spare barrel bushes, recoil springs, sears, firing pins,
extractor etc etc...
Not really in case of something going wrong at a comp
just really handy to have if something went wrong anytime.

I couldn't wait to strip my Para down and find out how to clean,
polish, improve its function from the first day I got it !
Learnt how to do trigger jobs, feed ramps etc all quickly and easily too.
Still got the book, The Colt .45 Automatic A Shop Manuel - Jerry Kuhnhausen

Damn I miss that gun...sniff...sob... howwwwwl
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Old October 5, 2005, 07:34 AM   #4
HSMITH
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Most of my 'repair' parts are the stock parts I took out when customizing my guns. I like to keep a pretty good assortment even if I won't need them.
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Old October 5, 2005, 08:21 AM   #5
johnbt
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While I do have some leftover parts from mods and upgrades, I ususally just buy complete 'parts kits' - more guns.

John
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Old October 5, 2005, 02:02 PM   #6
sig228
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Thanks for the replies and to the mod that moved it to the correct forum.
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Old October 5, 2005, 02:37 PM   #7
Brian D.
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Although there's probably some part of Murphy's Law involved--the part that breaks is the one you DIDN'T buy at the gun show last week--it's a good idea to keep a stock of extra stuff around, at least for the guns you: 1) Practice/play with a lot, or 2) Use for self defense. (Of course for many of us there's a big overlap between those two groups..)
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Old October 5, 2005, 04:20 PM   #8
hkg3
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I don’t have spare parts for all my guns yet; my supply of spares is continually growing.

Quote:
The Colt .45 Automatic A Shop Manuel - Jerry Kuhnhausen
HS is right; if you’re into 1911s this book is indispensable. I too enjoy completely stripping my 1911 for cleaning; there isn’t a single part that doesn’t see Simple Green.

Quote:
Damn I miss that gun...sniff...sob... howwwwwl
That Sucks!
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Old October 5, 2005, 07:31 PM   #9
sig228
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Brian D> Exactly. Mr Murphy seems to be a constant figure in the background, I know him well.


I've never torn down a pistol past the general strip and clean phase, but I'm encouraged to get a good manual and go through one of them, and look into getting some spares. Thanks all.
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Old October 5, 2005, 07:39 PM   #10
Avizpls
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I have a lot of spare parts. I keep them assembled in the form of more guns.
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Old October 5, 2005, 08:23 PM   #11
molonlabe
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Me too

Beats fiddling with them. Just drop it and grab another.
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Old October 6, 2005, 01:07 PM   #12
garrettwc
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I don't but probably should. It doesn't hurt to have spare parts and ammo.
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Old October 13, 2005, 05:57 AM   #13
The British Soldier
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The only caution with re-fitting firing pins is to watch the protrusion, which if excessive can lead to pierced primers and if insufficient misfires. The manual will give you a high-low figure and you can check it with a vernier depth gauge, or buy a gauge from Brownells.
If you swap bolts, etc; it's really worth having a headspace gauge because that one is a key safety feature. It is probable that with modern machining tolerances that they will be okay, but there is a lot of internal chamber pressure going on and you don't want it unleashed - it can irreperably damage your weapon, which I'm sure isn't cheap!
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