Magnets are the answer!

[FrankenMauser]

Bought a fairly decent condition H&R 1908 small frame in .410 through an online auction. Picked it up at the LGS and just gave it a quick look to make sure I didn't get totally screwed on the "as-is, your problem is your problem, don't even talk to us unless the box is ripped in half" policy of the seller. (Their policy wasn't actually that bad. )

Got it home, went to pull the fore-end, and it didn't feel like normal spring-retained fore-ends.

It was held on with magnets!


Now, I'll be the first to say that this is absolutely not a good repair.

But... I also think it's a fairly ingenious answer to not being able to source or make a new retaining spring. (I've been down the H&R 1908 parts-sourcing road. It sucks!)

The repair DOES work pretty well. ...Maybe 60% of the retention strength of a proper spring and plate.
It would be better with a bush in the oak filler, to engage the stud on the barrel, as far as fitment goes; but it does work, as-is.



After convincing the seller (mass re-seller) that this thing really was held together by magnets, and then having to prove it with photos, they apologized, laughed, and gave me a $20 refund.

[Scorch]

Home gunsmithing made easy!

[hooligan1]

Can you imagine what kind of magnet power it would take to hold a barreled action in the stock without action screws..???
It would be so strong that you probably couldnt peel it out of the stock, not to mention extra weight......but like Scorch said, kind of home smithing genious...........but not really....

[Slopemeno]

I use rare-earth magnets to hold canopies on r/c sailplanes all the time, and they work great. A friend of mine got tired using electrical tape to keep his wings on the joiner of his r/c sailplane, and put magnets in the wing root- it worked great.

I'm not sure I'd use a gun repaired like the OP's for any serious work, but for a truck-gun, sure, - why not.

[tobnpr]

Never had oçcassion to use them in application with a firearm, but have used them just as you did cut into wood with a forstner bit and then sometimes covered with a thin plug of the same wood to make them "invisible" when needed. These little rare-earth magnets are not only incredibly strong but cheap, too.

[jmr40]

I'd have to actually have the gun in my hands to say for sure. But that may well work better than the original design. Would be interesting to see what would happen with steel shot.

[johnwilliamson062]

I feel as though this is worthy of a long string test at the very least.

[FrankenMauser]

I'll fire it in my own hands, when the time comes. Everything looks really good on this shotgun, mechanically.
And, once locked up, the fore-end has nothing to do with safety. That's all up to the locking bar, the 'ledge' on the barrel lug, and the hinge pin.


I wouldn't say that this particular repair would be better than the original, but it's definitely usable -- especially as an occasional small game gun that's not being beaten by a moron.
It does need a metal bushing in the oak insert, to go around the stud on the barrel and keep the wood from getting chewed up when the action is opened (that's when the fore-end actually holds the barrel on the action).
But, as I said before ... it holds with probably 60% of the force (or better) of an original spring-latch style.


I wouldn't have done it myself, and I had a bit of a "What the ----- did Bubba do?"-moment when I discovered it.
But I think it's actually a reasonable garage repair. Probably the most reasonable and usable 'Bubba' repair I've seen -- at least on firearms that I've purchased.

[Bill DeShivs]

I have seen people bean themselves between the eyes with a 12 ga. single with a bad latch. The gun was held at elbow height and when fired, the forearm stayed in his hand, and the barrel whacked him.
I don't think I would trust magnets to hold the forearm.
Let us know how it shoots.

[tobnpr]

^^
Good point with the muzzle rise...hadn't considered that. I believe you're correct- won't hold. Awaiting range report!

[JoeSixpack]

even if they do hold, magnets loose strength as they heat up.. probably not a issue on that gun but just something to keep in mind.

[FrankenMauser]

I forgot to update.

It shot well, and did not blow up.

However... Bill DeShivs was, in fact, correct about the fore-end separating under recoil. If the front half of the fore stock is held when fired, it will pull slightly away from the barrel under recoil. It's not a problem if the rear portion is gripped, but my natural grip is toward the front.

So, I think I'm going to plan for a mechanical lock, take some measurements, and do what I do:
Think.
Sketch.
Design.
3D print.
And see how it works.

If the plastic prints work, then I can move on to 3D printed stainless/bronze castings or having a local shop mill a few simple parts as 'side work' with some other orders I have going their way.

[hounddawg]

LOL well if it works it works. Gotta give whoever it was credit though, they thought beyond duct tape and WD 40

I could not imagine trying to source a part for something that old, it's a hard enough task to source parts for modern firearms

[FrankenMauser]

An update, six years later.

I never did take the path of designing new parts, nor have I found replacements in stock any time that I have looked for them.

But it doesn't matter much. I obtained a ".44 Shot" barrel that fits this frame well, and that is how this shotgun gets used the majority of the time.

I love it. My son enjoys it. And it has taken enough pine chickens to prove its worth with custom cartridges.

We do use the .410 barrel occasionally, but everyone has learned to cradle the fore-end and deal with the recoil/muzzle flip, rather than grasping the fore-end.
Dumb solution, but a very simple one.

Stupid magnet shotgun is still doing its thing, 110+ years later. (119+ for the .44 Shot barrel.)

[44 AMP]

Got to thinking about this, just a little, and realized there are basically two ways to hold the forend. One is to just hold the gun up, and the other is to also hold it down, in recoil.

Holding the gun down in recoil makes good sense, when shooting a repeater. Shooting a single shot, what's the point of holding muzzle rise down?? nada...

The magnets are a slick idea. Certainly easier than trying to fabricate a spring or latch when no parts are available. OK, requires knowing what NOT to do, but can be used and does work. I'd go that way over a "muffler clamp" if I had to. (no sharp edges on the outside of the gun )

[4V50 Gary]

That's innovative. We were taught to make V springs in Benchmetal.

[stinkeypete]

A couple turns of electrical tape is more traditional. That's worked for many decades!

In these days of super acrylic adhesives, I think I would glue a threaded post to the barrel and use a nice captured (to the forearm) 1/4-20 bolt. They hold airplanes together with that stuff, although I imagine its a simple silver soldering job.

[44 AMP]

its not stupid!

I tend to think of this as an American thing, but its really a human thing, everyone does it, to some degree, somewhere...

Even found this in a sci-fi series I enjoyed, we've met the aliens, there are lots of different ones, some really bad, some more friendly and willing to deal. One of the humans is meeting with one of the friendly aliens pushing an idea, that is (on the surface) rather "stupid", and mentions that saying...

The alien responds, "we've studied you a bit, and you humans are the only race in this spiral arm of the galaxy who use that phrase!"

(and fwiw, the idea does work, and proves its wasn't as stupid as it seemed.)

[Unclenick]

FM,

If you find yourself looking down the barrel and things look fuzzy, it's time to clear off the iron filings that have accumulated on the magnetized barrel.

[tangolima]

Chewing gum may work too.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk