Illustrated Fox Disassembly (~260 kb)
Nice post Mike! Got a couple questions on it: (1) you say "For a complete teardown, the forward screw and hammer axle would be removed later", any tricks here and could you elaborate on this if there is? And (2) what is the function of the auto safety pin that you say you prefer to remove? I found it on dissasembly and thought it was just a spare sear pin LOL.
I'm just getting into my Fox and finally aquired some parts I needed. The gun is basically apart as far as you have gone in your post, but it is old - metal is in good shape as far as I can see but really in need of a very good cleanup and I was afraid to continue the dissasembly further so any help appreciated.
Thanks!
I'm just getting into my Fox and finally aquired some parts I needed. The gun is basically apart as far as you have gone in your post, but it is old - metal is in good shape as far as I can see but really in need of a very good cleanup and I was afraid to continue the dissasembly further so any help appreciated.
Thanks!
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mike campbell
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:29 pm
Thanks All, for the kind comments.
Matic, print it out....you're gonna need it soon!
Dr. Woof,
The auto-safety rod resets the safety when you open the gun. Pushing the lever to the right forces the rod to the rear , making contact with the safety and putting the gun on safe. Auto safeties are an abomination for target shooters and I trust myself to manually put the gun on safe, just as I would with an autoloader or pump.
For cleaning, I don't think it's necessary to go further. Armed with some penetrating oil, a variety of small brass brushes (even a rifle bore brush), some pipe cleaners/Q-tips and some compressed air, you should be able to get it squeaky clean. I'm not a believer in internal lubrication so much as I am rust prevention. I shoot many thousands of rounds through my guns and haven't found friction wear of internals to be a concern. I like to finish up a cleaning job by saturating the action with a light oil then wiping off as much excess as I can with pipe cleaners/Q-tips to leave a thin film for rust prevention but not puddles and globs to create gunk and possibly harm the wood.
I don't advise frequent or periodic removal of the stock for "routine" cleaning. There's simply too great a risk of damaging the inletting. If the gun gets soaked in a steady rain, I'll open it up. But I've gone several grouse seasons without feeling the need to clean.
The only time I've removed the hammer axle was the one occasion I had to replace a broken hammer. I've yet to venture any further.
There is a chance I may completely disassemble one if I decide to finally go ahead and do some custom shaping of a SW. I'll need to teardown completely so I can have the frame annealed prior to doing some file work and getting some engraving. To date, the couple I've had recased were done by a shop that accepts the assembled action, disassembles, anneals/polishes/recases and reassembles. It's more expensive that way, but comforting to know that gunsmiths far more experienced than myself will be responsible for getting everything back together and functional.
When I'm determined to do a teardown, I'll seek advice in realtime. In other words, I'll be ready to dive in and I'll engage someone with experience to walk me through it, as opposed to asking for directions, misplacing them, having to trouble someone again, etc.
Perhaps Silvers on this board could help; I'm sure bbman3 will be a great aid.
Matic, print it out....you're gonna need it soon!
Dr. Woof,
The auto-safety rod resets the safety when you open the gun. Pushing the lever to the right forces the rod to the rear , making contact with the safety and putting the gun on safe. Auto safeties are an abomination for target shooters and I trust myself to manually put the gun on safe, just as I would with an autoloader or pump.
For cleaning, I don't think it's necessary to go further. Armed with some penetrating oil, a variety of small brass brushes (even a rifle bore brush), some pipe cleaners/Q-tips and some compressed air, you should be able to get it squeaky clean. I'm not a believer in internal lubrication so much as I am rust prevention. I shoot many thousands of rounds through my guns and haven't found friction wear of internals to be a concern. I like to finish up a cleaning job by saturating the action with a light oil then wiping off as much excess as I can with pipe cleaners/Q-tips to leave a thin film for rust prevention but not puddles and globs to create gunk and possibly harm the wood.
I don't advise frequent or periodic removal of the stock for "routine" cleaning. There's simply too great a risk of damaging the inletting. If the gun gets soaked in a steady rain, I'll open it up. But I've gone several grouse seasons without feeling the need to clean.
The only time I've removed the hammer axle was the one occasion I had to replace a broken hammer. I've yet to venture any further.
There is a chance I may completely disassemble one if I decide to finally go ahead and do some custom shaping of a SW. I'll need to teardown completely so I can have the frame annealed prior to doing some file work and getting some engraving. To date, the couple I've had recased were done by a shop that accepts the assembled action, disassembles, anneals/polishes/recases and reassembles. It's more expensive that way, but comforting to know that gunsmiths far more experienced than myself will be responsible for getting everything back together and functional.
When I'm determined to do a teardown, I'll seek advice in realtime. In other words, I'll be ready to dive in and I'll engage someone with experience to walk me through it, as opposed to asking for directions, misplacing them, having to trouble someone again, etc.
Perhaps Silvers on this board could help; I'm sure bbman3 will be a great aid.
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Silvers
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Thanks Mike for the compliment. Fortunately our Fox guns are quite reliable and there's RARELY ANY REASON to remove the hammers, followers and springs. Even if the parts are heavily gunked up or rusty they usually can be freed up by soaking the frame/parts in solvent for a few days. I use a disposable aluminum bread baking pan that can be bought for a few cents at a grocery store.
Unless there's a broken part such as a hammer tip (firing pin) or a weak mainspring, I would heartily recommend that disassembly stops at the last step of Mike's tutorial. It's a bear to remove the hammer(s) because they are under pressure from the hammer spring, and there isn't a good way to relieve that pressure while the hammer pin is drifted out. It's even tougher to replace the hammer(s) because the spring follower must be pushed in to compress the hammer spring and the only part to push on is the thin end of the follower while working in a very tight space. Reassembly without the right tools will test your patience!
Most gents will be tempted to use a screwdriver for leverage to relieve the hammer spring pressure and that in turn can break the thin section at the back end of the follower, deform its bore in the frame, and/or damage an edge of the very precise milling cut in the frame for the trigger plate.
The Foxes I've taken apart were done with the frame firmly gripped in a milling machine vice and using a L-shaped spanner tool I made that's held in the machine spindle and inserts into the back end of the spring follower. The machine table was then moved to push on the follower and compress the hammer spring. There's probably an easier method but it's one of those things that comes up so rarely, there's no reason to study it to develop a "SOP".
Short version - if someone has a broken hammer tip, worn hammer-sear knotch, weak mainspring or a broken tip on an ejector-type mainspring follower, please consider sending the frame to a professional. Otherwise, leave it assembled. Silvers
Unless there's a broken part such as a hammer tip (firing pin) or a weak mainspring, I would heartily recommend that disassembly stops at the last step of Mike's tutorial. It's a bear to remove the hammer(s) because they are under pressure from the hammer spring, and there isn't a good way to relieve that pressure while the hammer pin is drifted out. It's even tougher to replace the hammer(s) because the spring follower must be pushed in to compress the hammer spring and the only part to push on is the thin end of the follower while working in a very tight space. Reassembly without the right tools will test your patience!
Most gents will be tempted to use a screwdriver for leverage to relieve the hammer spring pressure and that in turn can break the thin section at the back end of the follower, deform its bore in the frame, and/or damage an edge of the very precise milling cut in the frame for the trigger plate.
The Foxes I've taken apart were done with the frame firmly gripped in a milling machine vice and using a L-shaped spanner tool I made that's held in the machine spindle and inserts into the back end of the spring follower. The machine table was then moved to push on the follower and compress the hammer spring. There's probably an easier method but it's one of those things that comes up so rarely, there's no reason to study it to develop a "SOP".
Short version - if someone has a broken hammer tip, worn hammer-sear knotch, weak mainspring or a broken tip on an ejector-type mainspring follower, please consider sending the frame to a professional. Otherwise, leave it assembled. Silvers
Last edited by Silvers on Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Silvers
- Posts: 4757
- Joined: Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:28 pm
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Thanks, Mike.
The first phase is accomplished thanks to your instructions.
The set screw was a bear, but she came out OK.
Next phase...I plan to finish the inletting on the new stock in order to join metal to wood again and then to begin shaping for fit.
Pretty sure I'm going to lose the semi-pistol grip and convert to english.
john mcg
The first phase is accomplished thanks to your instructions.
The set screw was a bear, but she came out OK.
Next phase...I plan to finish the inletting on the new stock in order to join metal to wood again and then to begin shaping for fit.
Pretty sure I'm going to lose the semi-pistol grip and convert to english.
john mcg
"She sure handles nice, doesn't she" Just like she was made for ya.