Percussion caps are now percussing!!!!!

Prof Young · April 1, 2024, 04:39 PM

Smoke Pole Shooters:

A quick recap:
I built a CVA Hawken pistol from a kit I bought at auction.
The percussion caps took multiple strikes to fire.
I was trying to modify the main spring and lost it in the man cave. (I swear I looked everywhere it could possibly be and all the places it's couldn't possibly be.)
I bought a new spring via Midwest Gun Works.

Okay so . . .
I installed that spring today and the stronger spring causes the caps to percuss 90% of the time on the first strike. TA DA!

Now if you want to know how to install a main spring in a Hawnk pistol, I can tell you how I did it. It's a v-shaped leaf spring with a shallow hook on one end and a nub on one side to hold it in place. The trick is to get the spring compressed far enough to install it in the gun, and then be able to release the tension. I put mine in a bench vise and clamped it shut. Then I use a small crescent wrench (adjustable spanner for our English friends) as a clamp to hold the spring shut. Slipped it into place in the guns hammer mechanism. Woorggled (That's a technical term for wiggled.) the wrench off and ta da. It worked. Oh, and as a precaution I tied a long string to the v part of the spring just in case it decided to go "sproong" and disappear into the netherworld.

I'm confident that I'm going to have a good time shooting this gun. I've enjoyed the process enough that I looked on-ine at prices, thinking I'd buy another kit and do another build. New, they are a bit more than I expected, but now I know what to tell my honey I want as a present.

Life is good.
Prof Young

Hellgate · April 1, 2024, 09:02 PM

Congrats on getting the caps ta popping! I feel your pain on the missing spring. Any time I need to take apart anything with tiny screws, pins, or springs to be lost on the floor of my creatively cluttered shop I will get into an empty bathtub, plug the drain and draw the shower curtain into the tub area before anything can drop or fly out. This way I don't lose that tiny item that siezes the whole process. And yes, I roll down my pant cuffs and check my shoe soles for any tiny lost item.

Prof Young · April 4, 2024, 09:31 AM

Hellgate:
My best lost spring story is about my sig p238. Tiny little spring, the size of a grain of rice, under the safety went flying. Looked all over. Gave up and settled back at the work bench thinking I'd have to order one. There was the spring right on the grip of the gun as it laid on the bench. Gotta love it.

Life is good.
Prof Young

Hawg · April 4, 2024, 11:32 PM

90% ain't just real good. I wouldn't accept anything less than 100% bad caps notwithstanding.

Prof Young · April 6, 2024, 03:48 PM

Hang:
Yeah, I know . . . but 90% compared to what I had before is wowzer! If this gun served some purpose other than fun I'd be concerned. But given that it's just fun to shoot and fun to let other people shoot I'm happy for now. Some day I'll be bored enough to pull the hammer, heat it up and try to bend it to hit the nipple dead center. But that's a risk of a failed repair. So . . .

Life is good.
Prof Young

April 1, 2024, 04:39 PM	#1
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,413	Percussion caps are now percussing!!!!! Smoke Pole Shooters: A quick recap: I built a CVA Hawken pistol from a kit I bought at auction. The percussion caps took multiple strikes to fire. I was trying to modify the main spring and lost it in the man cave. (I swear I looked everywhere it could possibly be and all the places it's couldn't possibly be.) I bought a new spring via Midwest Gun Works. Okay so . . . I installed that spring today and the stronger spring causes the caps to percuss 90% of the time on the first strike. TA DA! Now if you want to know how to install a main spring in a Hawnk pistol, I can tell you how I did it. It's a v-shaped leaf spring with a shallow hook on one end and a nub on one side to hold it in place. The trick is to get the spring compressed far enough to install it in the gun, and then be able to release the tension. I put mine in a bench vise and clamped it shut. Then I use a small crescent wrench (adjustable spanner for our English friends) as a clamp to hold the spring shut. Slipped it into place in the guns hammer mechanism. Woorggled (That's a technical term for wiggled.) the wrench off and ta da. It worked. Oh, and as a precaution I tied a long string to the v part of the spring just in case it decided to go "sproong" and disappear into the netherworld. I'm confident that I'm going to have a good time shooting this gun. I've enjoyed the process enough that I looked on-ine at prices, thinking I'd buy another kit and do another build. New, they are a bit more than I expected, but now I know what to tell my honey I want as a present. Life is good. Prof Young

April 1, 2024, 09:02 PM	#2
Hellgate Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2010 Location: Orygun Posts: 869	Congrats on getting the caps ta popping! I feel your pain on the missing spring. Any time I need to take apart anything with tiny screws, pins, or springs to be lost on the floor of my creatively cluttered shop I will get into an empty bathtub, plug the drain and draw the shower curtain into the tub area before anything can drop or fly out. This way I don't lose that tiny item that siezes the whole process. And yes, I roll down my pant cuffs and check my shoe soles for any tiny lost item. __________________ With over 15 perCUSSIN' revolvers, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of cap & ball. SASS#3302 (Life), SASS Regulator, NRA (Life), Dirty Gamey Bastards #129 Wolverton Mtn. Peacekeepers (WA), former Orygun Cowboy (Ranger, Posse from Hell)

April 4, 2024, 09:31 AM	#3
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,413	Those small springs . . . Hellgate: My best lost spring story is about my sig p238. Tiny little spring, the size of a grain of rice, under the safety went flying. Looked all over. Gave up and settled back at the work bench thinking I'd have to order one. There was the spring right on the grip of the gun as it laid on the bench. Gotta love it. Life is good. Prof Young

April 6, 2024, 03:48 PM	#5
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,413	Yes, but . . . Hang: Yeah, I know . . . but 90% compared to what I had before is wowzer! If this gun served some purpose other than fun I'd be concerned. But given that it's just fun to shoot and fun to let other people shoot I'm happy for now. Some day I'll be bored enough to pull the hammer, heat it up and try to bend it to hit the nipple dead center. But that's a risk of a failed repair. So . . . Life is good. Prof Young

April 4, 2024, 11:32 PM	#4
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,194	90% ain't just real good. I wouldn't accept anything less than 100% bad caps notwithstanding.