How Difficult is Sharps Disassembly?

taw1126 · Post by **taw1126** » Wed May 12, 2004 6:12 pm

My Sharps arrived today and I'd like to take it down completely to make sure everything is lubricated well enough to function correctly. That brings up (at least) three questions: first, how hard are these things to disassemble, and second, is there some place I can find instructions on how to do it correctly? Finally, what is the right oil to use? I've got Kroil, generic machine oil, and Old West Snake Oil but I want to make sure I don't use something that will gum up with black powder use.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide.

Trey

taw1126 · Post by **taw1126** » Wed May 12, 2004 6:16 pm

Forgot to ask in that first post...when I took the forearm off to wipe everything down I noticed that the mainspring screw is fire blued. Does anyone know if that is correct for an original Sharps? 100% of the barrel blue remains under the forearm and the screws all look like they haven't seen a screwdriver in years but the fire blue is so vivid that it makes me wonder if it's right or not.

Trey

pete · Post by **pete** » Wed May 12, 2004 7:50 pm

taw1126; I wouldn't take your rifle down. They're way to nice to chance screwing something up, mainly chipping wood trying to remove the lockplate or something. I did take the forearm off mine because it became loose. It was fine when I got it and the only thing I can figure is because it's so dry around here that the wood must have shrunk and became loose. I filed about .020 off the screws so they could tighten up (they were bottomed out in the holes) and put the forearm back on and it's fine now. Other than that and taking the breechblock out periodically for a more thorough cleaning I don't take it apart.
As far as the screws go Sellers' book says they were fire blued. My rifle has them and they look good although the finish is more fragile. The forward one in the forearm is worn from carrying it. As far as the spring is concerned. I don't know.

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed May 12, 2004 8:31 pm

I seldom have trouble getting things apart. It's getting them back together without spare parts!

deerhuntsheatmeup · Post by **deerhuntsheatmeup** » Thu May 13, 2004 5:54 am

My 1st and only recommendation is to have gunsmith screwdrivers that fit the screwheads perfectly. Then go slow and be careful. Have fun. Later, David Barfield PS wipe the oil out of the barrel with a dry patch before firing YMMV

Post by **Kirk** » Thu May 13, 2004 7:28 am

Hi Trey, Don't worry about how good it's lubricated inside right now, or second guess us, it's fine. The lever spring is not fire blued, it is regular blued which is correct. If you insist on taking the gun down give me a call, because I can tell you from past expierience with past customers, you will make your self very angry, very quick, if you are not pointed in the right direction before touching a screw driver to it!!!! 406-932-4266, Hope this helps, Kirk

IronSight · Post by **IronSight** » Thu May 13, 2004 8:13 am

Never disassembled a Shiloh yet, but i have this old EMF Sharps which would 'go off' by itself when the hammer was pulled back.

Since this rifle had a couple thousand rounds through it and the barrel was worn anyhow, i figured i had nothing to lose and decided to disassemble it. Not hard at all. The trickiest part was separating the stock from the action - it was a tight fit.
I absolutely agree with Deerhunts.. comment about the gunsmith screw drivers. Don't even think about it without a good set of them.
Also, as Pete mentioned chipping the wood is a possibility, a small sliver split out of the stock when i separated it from the frame.

As far as why the thing went off? the sear/tumbler assembly was worn and needed reshaping and rehardening according to my gunsmith.

EMF = 'Argh'

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Thu May 13, 2004 9:21 am

Any recommendations on a "good set of gunsmith screwdrivers"?

Who and or where?

Thanks,

KHR · Post by **KHR** » Thu May 13, 2004 9:32 am

Trey,
my mainspring is also blued on my original. David is correct in getting the correct screwdrivers, gunsmith screwdrivers are ground differently to not booger up the screw slots. here is the set I got, it is excellent http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ ... SUPER+SETS?
As for a lube I use Moly Slide Paste, http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/cat ... type=store it is good at just about any temp. If you take the lock plate off you can lube the wear points on the lock, just be sure to have the lock on halfcock before removing.

keith

Ken Hartlein · Post by **Ken Hartlein** » Thu May 13, 2004 10:00 am

You didn't say if your rifle is an original or a new Shiloh?? If it's a new Shiloh why would you want to mess with it, you can bet it's lubricated properly.

Tasmanian Rebel · Post by **Tasmanian Rebel** » Thu May 13, 2004 2:34 pm

crazeyiven, Pachmayr makes a good set I got from Midway about a year ago for about 20$. A week later I saw the same set at Wal Mart for 16$. (My usual luck) . This is a very good set for the money with hollow-ground bits. I've taken my guns down with this set without boogering-up anything and recently had to put some serious torque on a rear sight change that had been screwd down with lock-tight without damage to anything. I've been thinking they were stainless but saw some rust on them recently so sprayed it down with some WD-40. Good luck.
T. Rebel
Chairman, Terrapin Creek chapter FES

Jim Kidwell · Post by **Jim Kidwell** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:49 pm

Trey,
Instructions come with the rifle. Most miss the paper work because it is placed under the foam inside the hard case. Take a peek.

Heed the advice and shoot the rifle. No need to take apart, unless you are looking for trouble. FWIW....................Jim

taw1126 · Post by **taw1126** » Thu May 13, 2004 6:36 pm

Thanks for the help guys. This rifle shipped in April...of 1879. If it were a Shiloh I wouldn't worry about the lubrication or internal function, but there's no telling how long this gun has sat or what was wrong with it when they quit shooting it. Appears to work fine with snap caps, but I'd like to confirm everything is okay.

I've got a complete set of Brownells tools as well. Now...is this a doable job?

Trey

TYRVR · Post by **TYRVR** » Mon May 17, 2004 8:00 pm

First! make sure the rifle is un-loaded.
Next step is to remove fore-arm, (one or two slotted screws, right hand threads) after the fore-arm is removed, open the breech by lowering the under lever, remove the screw that secures the breech block tensioning spring, the next step is to depress the takedown lever retainer plunger,(push it in) pivot the lever to the right until the locking ledge clears the cut in the reciver. You can now pull the retainer out of the receiver, remove the breech block and extractor down and out the bottom of the receiver, the lever/breech block assembley is best left assembled as the parts can be cleaned and lubed without further dis-assembley, if needed-the firing pin can be removed by removing the retaining screw below the hammer impact area.....other models may require that a laterally dovetailed plate be removed by drifting the plate off the left side of the breech block,(some models have a seperate screw retaining the dovetailed retaining plate)( there are older model rifles that have one piece firing pins, but some older rifles are found with the pin/striker two piece firing pin as found on currently produced rifles).
After removing the breech block assembley, the next step is to remove the lock, there are two thru screws retaining the lock, loosen both screws-BUT do not remove them yet.....instead, loosen the stock retaining screws located in the upper and lower tang about one turn.....this relieves the pressure on the wood inlets over and below the lock plate, you are now ready to remove the lock. Place the hammer in the half-cock notch, if rifle is equipped with set triggers-"set" them, now, use the butt of the screw driver handle to tap the lock screws until you see the lockplate move slightly out of it's inlet, remove the two lock screws you loosened earlier, take one of the screws and screw it back into the threaded screw hole screw hole located at the rear of the lockplate from the RIGHT HAND SIDE.....this is your lock removal handle! grasp it and wiggle while pulling GENTLY....the lock should slowly emerge without much pressure being exerted......if the lock plate has been in place for a very long period.....the screws may have to be placed back in the original holes and the screwdriver butt may be used to tap them again to better unseat the lockplate.
If you wish...you can the remove the screws in the lower tang that retain the trigger plate ....once again use one of the removed screws as a handle to dislodge the trigger plate by wiggling and pulling,(this is the best way known to prevent the wood around the lockplate and tang from being damaged during removal) the butt stock can now be removed also, if desired.
The re-assembley is accomplished by reversing these steps...A CAUTION! always be sure the lock is in half cock position and the trigger at it's rearmost, if equipped with "set" triggers, be sure to set them before attempting to re-install the lock plate.

Hope this helps, and remember not all rifles are the same, there will be variations found....but these instructions should suffice for most model variatons.

Ol'Tye,

taw1126 · Post by **taw1126** » Tue May 18, 2004 5:56 am

Tye-
Thanks much for your help- that is exactly what I was looking for. This weekend when I can slow down and think through all the steps ahead of time I'm going to print that out and give it a try.

Trey

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