Need help with a Remington Model 51 spoon...
 

I need a gunsmith to assist me with this Remington Model 51. I can't assemble it with the firing pin spring installed and it needs to be reblued. I really want to find someone who is familiar with these little pistols. anyone here know a gunsmith who knows these particular spoons? Thanks!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1292106182.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1292106233.jpg

I've had one (in .380) for years; if I ever took it apart it was long ago. It's at the shop, I'll mess with it monday if you haven't come up with an answer by then.
Jim

Art,

See if these help at all. None of my books cover the Remington Model 51.

http://stevespages.com/ipb-remington-51.html

http://stevespages.com/pdf/remington_51.pdf

Jim,
Thanks! I read the instructions for disassembly/reassembly and watched a YouTube video, but I cannot get the moveable breech block to fit into the locked position in the slide when the firing pin spring is in place. Very, very frustrating gun to take apart and put back together. I'm thinking that something may be damaged because it can't be normal for this pistol to be so difficult to work with. It shoots great, but I find myself not wanting to take it to the range because cleaning it almost causes me to lose my faith!

Rex,
Thanks! If I'm reading that schematic correctly, the firing pin spring goes over the shorter end of the firing pin, not the longer end... Maybe that's the problem?

Rex,
Yep! That was it. The firing pin spring belongs on the thin, short portion of the firing pin, not the thicker end. Now the gun goes together properly, but there are still several issues that require the talents of a gunsmith before I'll be able to shoot it at the range. Thanks again for your help! I didn't have the document that detailed the tear-down and reassembly and that really helped. Thanks again!!

great gunsmiths seem to be hard to find, might have to send it off

Yes, I'm sure there aren't too many smiths left who have knowledge of this particular pistol as it's about 85 years old. Remington only made about 65k of these over the course of time they mfg'd them in the late 'teens and early 'twenties. This is a great pistol, it just needs some TLC and rebluing to get it back to shootable condition.

PM me your questions. I can handle the reblue for you also. I can send you a copy of our ffl to send it.

I do not buy reblued spoons if I can help it. When I do get one I usually resell it quickly. There are several exceptions to the rule namely British spoons.

Since your litle Remington is not very high on the collectors food chain and is mainly a shooter a QUALITY refiish using the original type of bluing might be in order. I would want it to look just like the day it came from the factory.

tabs,
Exactly! Thanks!

The pistol was sent to David (targa911s) and he received it today, I'm really looking forward to seeing it after it's been reblued!

guess i have my rep on the line here....

How about a photo essay on the reblue process. Inquiring minds want to know....

I'll send them to Art. He can decide. But that sounds like fun.

Yep, that's a great idea!!

Great thread! Please do post!

G

It seems very similar to the 1903 hammerless pistols in design and components.
Taking them apart is the easy stuff, putting the little bastards back together can be trying. I'll start on it tomorrow.

The key is "patience" of which I have very little....

The refinishing process... Day 1
 

David sent this to me today...

as she was...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602195.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602207.jpg
all apart...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602260.jpg
I found out that she bites!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602294.jpg
Into the acid tub to remove all the old blue.....
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602338.jpg
Scrubbed with bronze wool, rinsed, and blown dry.....
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602400.jpg
really bad pitting on the slide. I have seen this a lot in what I
call suicide guns. Usually blood pitting badly on only one
side.....This will be next to impossible to get flat without altering
the slide dimensions.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602452.jpg
More pitting in the rear.... I think I'm gonna look for a good slide
for you....
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602490.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602513.jpg
Quick polish with a bronze wheel and into a plastic bag with some oil
spray. At this point it will rust in a matter of hours without oil.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296602562.jpg
More to come tomorrow.....

David


Needless to say, David found a replacement slide to replace the badly pitted one I had, so he ordered it for me. What a guy!! I can't wait to see what the old gun (mfg'd in 1924, I believe) will look like once David has finished his metallurgy magic!

It will look like black chrome. The new/old slide should be here by friday.

That's great! I'm sorry she bit your hand. I got my thumb bit by a Benelli shotgun on Sunday. I really should have gotten some sutures, but I did the old "Marine Corps" trick and used tape to hold the would edges together. These guns can be dangerous to work on!

I've been bit by my A5... That crap ain't cool....

I get bitten all the time. Occupational hazard. I just put a bandage on it and worked the rest of the day with a rubber glove on. That barrel spring was a bugger to get out with the barrel. That was when she bit. I have used super glue to keep it together too. I'm sure that is bad but ya do what ya gotta do.,

I dated the daughter of a veterinarian for a few years.... He super glued wounds several times....

Nice looking spoon there Art (I like old stuff)

David, you da man!

Scott,
Thanks, it was a gift to me from a fellow Pelican and I really can't wait to see what it looks like after David does his magic!

Day 2...
 

Here's David's report on Day 2 of the Remington Model 51 project:

Left side of the frame had a bit of pitting on it, so after recessing the pins, the first grit I used was a file..draw filed to whole left side. Being careful to avoid the numbers.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690339.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690377.jpg
Then used medium grit emory cloth on a steel block...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690423.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690450.jpg
After that 320 grit wet or dry with oil..
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690488.jpg
All the way to 600 grit...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690517.jpg
Then I used a fine scotch brite to make it all uniform...pits are gone.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690553.jpg
Polished the barrel too....
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690590.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296690602.jpg
After I got it all done, I oiled it all and then practiced putting it all back together again twice, learning the tricks so we don't scratch the new finish to come..

Just waiting on the slide now.

David


Wow! David is a craftsman and those are hard to find these days! Thank you for your attention to detail~~! I hope the snow didn't slow you down too much, I worked from the apartment in Lansing and didn't even venture out today!

I was down in my hole all day working on the 51,a Fox sterlingworth restoration, and my CZ .223 project. I saw day light at lunch and that's all. My workbench is near the furnace so I was warm all day.

I should try to find some "ivory" grips for that pistol as I've seen a picture of one like that and it was beautiful!

Very cool thread!

I'm thinking that with the polished, non- pitted components, the gun will not only look better but also may be easier to take down and reassemble.

is blueing like anodizing? boy, i dont even get it.

this thread is pretty cool!

Thanks for a peek behind the curtain...great to see the pictures.

It is similar:

Bluing (steel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

G

I don't know about anodizing. I only do slow rust bluing, a very old and time consuming process. The only way you can blue a double barrel. This project will be hot salt blued. I have an associate that does hot blue. Aafter I have done all the prep work here, it will go to him for a trip to the hot tank. Hot salt bluing is not something that you want to do at home. The equipment is costly and the stuff is just plain dangerous. I farm it out. Rust blue is a hot water process and requires only a boiling tank and a lot of elbow grease. There are other types too. I am looking into being able to niter blue, hot liquid potassium nitrate for that peacock blue you see on small parts. For a better idea of the types and how it's done go here.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluing_(steel)

Nitrate bluing is not hard to do. It is only hard to do consistently. The easiest and best method is a digitally temperature controlled furnace. Then it is easy.

I use this method to blue watch screws, watch hands, gun screws, springs(sometimes) and various other bits and bobs. Straw color is only a temperature change away from blue. Great for those PO-8 restorations.

Nitrate bluing is often found on older measuring, optical and scientific equipment.

It really is a very beautiful color.

A few other Remington 51's from the web...
 

Here are some nice examples of the Remington Model 51 from the web...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296872273.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296872285.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296872317.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296872333.jpg
Cutaway...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296872369.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296872419.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296872464.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296872485.jpg

The slide that David ordered from Numrich arrived yesterday but it was in worse shape than the slide I had, so he's sending it back for a refund and he won an auction on Gunbroker.com for a nice replacement slide.

David,
I thought the cutaway pics would help you with the reassembly!