Sterlingworth "Sticky" Safety Slide Scenario

[Germantown]

Just received the 12 Sterlingworth today, I purchased it from GI website- 30" DT EXT a Phila gun sn No. is:120531. Very well described and photos- all original wood checkering and finish, 50% case on receiver, 100% on forearm iron, pg capped and 14 @ 3/8" to a leather covered pad- with my drop at comb and heel- My Galazan choke gauge reads Imp. Mod right tube, F (very Full) left, mirror bores, 99% blue, and it shoots like Gangbusters- I took it out for barn pigeons- very pleased. Wood and checkering are better- IMO- (and no offense to our PGCA buddies herein) than my 1926 12 GH also with 30" and DT and EXT--

But-the safety slide seems to be a tad "sticky" to release- and also to move back to SAFE position- it does move back whenever you open the top lever, and there are NO problems with sears and the trigger pulls are superb- But I did notice this- the rear top tang, the machine screw seems to be a tad bit past being flush with the tang- so- I am wondering- is it possible that the rear tang bolt was over-tightened, and that may have "pulled" the top tang a bit, causing the safety slide to bind just a little. The seller told me the gun had been in his family for years and had not been shot at all in past 15, and I have no valid reason to doubt him- No sign of any oil soaking into the stock head, all nice and snug against the receiver and the top tang--

I have seen the schematics on "field stripping" a AH Fox- something I have done many times w/o problems on my LC Smith and Parker doubles, but I have as yet to do this with a Fox gun--so, before I do that, I am asking if any of the "tech-guys" here have had a similar situation, and if so, how they dealt with it-

Also, with the gun came a newspaper ad clipping- don't know the paper, page145-- A Sterlingworth as mine retailed for $36.50, and the ad lists A. H. FOX GUN COMPANY 4764 N. 18th St., Philadelphia, Pa. My guess is- an Ag magazine from the 1927-1928 era- verso has an ad for Linseed dairy feed supplements- from the LINSEED MEAL EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE, Fine Arts Bldg., Milwaukee, Wis.

[Germantown]

I followed Mike Campbell's instructions as to field stripping, worked perfectly- thank you Mike- Now I have the receiver and the entire safety mechanism "in hand" very well designed- all the metal is clean, no rust or crud- also the stock head is 100% intact- it does have the metal staple reinforcement and also the safety push rod with the "nail head" design-so now-- any suggestions as how to "ease" the tension on the slide button as I move it from SAFE to fire and then back- it is still stiff- is this a characteristic of later Fox Sterlingworths (or even graded Fox guns)?? I think the leaf spring that is pinned into the through hole in the lower "stem" of the slide button has too much tension- at the rear where the curved tip makes contact with the small roller AT THE END OF THE SLIDE BAR-- Would replacing that with a carbon steel spring with less tension perhaps help- I have cleaned and examined all the metal parts involved here for burrs, crud, warp- found no problems in any of those areas- Great gun, love to shoot it, but with such a tight safety slide, that may cost me birds over the dog's flushes- for Tower birds, maybe not to much. My pre-1913 Smiths with the early two-position style safeties are as smooth as oil--and I would like this Fox to also be that way--

[bbman3]

sometimes i put a little bee's wax from a new toilet bowl ring on the safety bar at rear where the little roller or on some bars there is a clip,not roller.The bar piece may need to be bent a little to take some of the tension off. Bobby

[Germantown]

Thanks--my Fox has the roller, and the carbon spring clip. I am not a plumber, but would guess the yellow grease from either a garage door opener's mechanism (the gears) or perhaps that supplied with some new Over and Under shotguns (for the pivot points perhaps?) would also work- goes to the old saying that "Oil moves, grease does not"!

[Ithaca33]

You could also remove the safety slide bar so it won't reset. Just an option.

[Germantown]

You could also remove the safety slide bar so it won't reset. Just an option.

-- Actually, that is NOT the issue, although I appreciate your suggestion. I also recall the late Jack O'Conner's comments about "automatic resetting slide safeties" on double guns. I think I have found a solution. First- even though this Sterlingworth was the 'economy" series in the Fox line, and I have only gone as far as Mike Campbell's detailed instructions, so the stock is removed and I have the receiver "In Hand"-- I am impressed with the fit and finish of the metal "innards"- no burrs, scuffs, first class bit of both machining and hand fitting indeed. The roller turns freely, the safety slide (under the tang and not seen when gun is assembled) also is free- the "sticky" is mainly the pressure from the carbon steel leaf spring that is pinned in place into a set hole the the lower "leg" of the safety slide. A dab of Lubriplate did help, but I think I need to "relieve" the pressure of that flat leaf spring--

Now, knowing just enough about metallurgy to be 'dangerous", I am NOT going to alter that leaf spring- If I fracture it, or remove the temper, I will have a potential problem in replacing it- So, I am going to "mike" the pin to determine the hole size in the slide "lower leg" and open that gradually, which will allow the curve of the flat spring a greater "arc" against the set pin--If that doesn't work, then I'll just learn to "live it, or live with it"!

Ithaca--I have a 1912 era Flues 20 Grade 1- 28" DT, Ext-- in almost the same fine condition as this Fox which I just purchased. I also "field stripped it" for a cleaning, and the slide bar safety that Emil Flues designed is also as ingenious as that on my Fox Gun-I also noted that the Ithaca Flues cocks with a form of "hammer toes" contact as does this Fox-- clever and very efficient- no long linkage, shorter leverage point too. Ithaca used to claim a 1/625 sec "lock time" and I'll wager this Fox is right in that neighborhood- I also checker the trigger pulls with a Lyman digital gauge- 3.775 lbs. on the right barrel (front trigger) and 4.157lbs. for the left barrel (rear trigger)-- This Fox really impresses me- and it has way better balance, IMO anyway, than any 12 gauge Parker I have yet handled, owned or shot afield. It has No. 2 weight barrels, balance is dead on the money at the hinge pin, weighs 7 lbs. 7 ounces on Postal Scales-- sweet---

[mike campbell]

Sounds like you're taking a judiscious approach and know enough not to get in too much trouble in a hurry.

Spring pressure is probably the biggest culprit. If you want to alter it, you might try asking the board (and check Gunbroker) if there's one to be purchased so you have a safety net. Even if one turns up weeks down the road, it might be an option you'd like to revisit. In the meantime, I'd suggest you also take a look at the detents in the tang that the roller rides over and into. Sometimes these can be pretty roughly cut and a little polishing with some fine grit paper on a dowel surely wouldn't hurt.

[Germantown]

Thanks Mike--I went over the "hill and dale' detents-- burr free, but did polish them with fine crocus cloth anyway- also checked the roller, and it was smooth as silk--turned freely on the pin-- I tip my hat to you and those great diagrams too- especially your note about the proper orientation of the trip-- a tad different than my experiences with LC Smith hammerless guns-- and the 1/16" drill bit- perfect fit for the ID of the coil spring that puts pressure on the base of the trip--

It worked--with these caveats-- I gauged the pin hole at 1/16"- so used the next size drill bit- 3/32" and at 550 speed on my Delta 5 speed drill press, carefully opened up that 1/16" hole by an additional 1/32"- that allow the 1/16" pin to 'float" just enough to reduce pressure on the curved arc of the flat spring, and with a dab of Lubriplate on the roller and re-assembled, smooth as silk--

Caveats are as follows: (1) I am NOT a licensed gunsmith- however my experiences in the Service as a Master Armorer helps, especially with the mechanics- I do not; make stocks, do blueing or engraving- and I only do trigger work or alterations such as this on my OWN PERSONAL GUNS--Also, I do not have large hands, I am strong but what may seem as a 'sticky safety' to me may well not seem that way to, say Arnold Schwartz or Hulk Hogan--

I do a fair amount of rifle and pistol shooting, so trigger pulls and other mechanics are of importance to me, they may well not be an issue for others.
Now, Mike or anyone else who has followed this posting-- is there a book on the plans and specifications of the AH Fox shotgun, as there is by Lt. Col. Wm. Brophy on the LC Smiths? If not, could one be published?

[mike campbell]

I don't know of a book as such, but there was a full parts schematic online for awhile. Apparently, someone was concerned about copyright and removed it.

There's another tip, if you haven't discovered it for yourself. I submitted edited directions once but we somehow reverted to version one during a board revision.

Between steps 8 & 9 you should loosen the large screw that anchors the sear spring. This relaxes tension and friction on the sear axle and lets it drift out more easily. Likewise, upon reassembly, install it loosely until the axle is replaced, then tighten it.

[Germantown]

Yessir- you do pay attention to details. I wondered about that, as I noticed a slight 'lift" to each sear at the axle point when I both removed them, and then replaced them after I set the buttstock back into position. I just used a 5/32" drill bit as a slave pin or a guide, and put a slight bit of finger tip pressure down on each sear against that felt tension- but I never thought about backing off the retaining machine screw that holds the sear tension spring(s) in place--good idea indeed. I also made up a soft "cradle" padded over a pine block to hold the buttstock evenly in place- as I secured the receiver into a padded machinist's vise, bottom side up (so the RH-LH markings on each sear would show properly)-- and I first tried a felt tip marker, but found red fingernail polish to be better, short of using an electro-etch pen to mark each sear- I would guess we'd do that marking for each hammer, if we were to go further in the strip down procedure of the receiver and all its components--

Another thing I noticed was the ingenious design of the forearm latch on the loop- that recessed coil spring- Is this the same design since the Sterlingworth came out in about 1911?