Extractor Stem Removal on Iver Johnson Top Break ?

W

WE0H

New member
How would I remove the extractor stem on a Iver Johnson Safety Hammer 38 top break? I bought mine with a missing cylinder friction spring and want to install my replacement spring. I tried inserting the new spring into the slot toward the barrel but it appears the old spring is broke off inside there. So now I have to remove the stem to clear out the old spring remains so I can install my new spring. Sounds easy but I don't know if the stem is threaded or pressed in there and if pressed, how to remove it without destroying it. All else fails, I could buy a new stem but it is best to ask the experts here first ;)

Many thanks,
Mike
 
Iver Johnson called that part the "quill" and it is just pressed in, but they are so tight that the company probably considered them to be part of a permanent assembly. They will come out, but the trouble is that it is pretty easy to ruin the part in the process. I didn't check the web site, but the Gun Parts catalog shows them in stock for at least two IJ revolvers so it might be an idea to buy a replacement before trying to remove the one that is in there.

If you choose to try, the way I did it was to make a copper clamp, two pieces of copper with half circles cut out so they would hold the quill. With the quill clamped in a vise between the pieces of copper, I would hit the barrel at the back with a piece of wood and the quill would come out. Try at your own risk.

Jim
 
Dang risky. Should I replace the quill or just sell the gun to someone that would want to do the repair themselves? It's a 38 cal which I am finding the ammo is not so common compared to the 32 S&W round :(

Mike
 
That is up to you; you asked a question and I answered it. Those guns, unless in new or near new condition, have little collector value or interest, usually selling for under $100. Whether yours is worth spending time or money on is your choice.

Jim
 
I hear you there Jim. I'll hold onto it and concentrate on my 32's for now and get back to it later. Thanks much for the help ;)

Mike
 
Is there a small retainer pin holding the quill in the frame? If so, carefully drift that pin out and then using Mr. Keenan's suggestion, carefully pull the quill out. I've done it.
 
Iver-Johnson-38-Safety-Hammer.JPG


That's the revolver. No pin. I'll have to do as Jim suggested. I'd be interested in trading it even up for a 32 of equal value.

Mike
 
As an afterthought, if you put a very close fitting steel rod inside the quill, you will greatly reduce the chances of collapsing it,

As far the retaining pin is concerned, I may have been thinking of an H&R. They all get blurred after a while.:D
 
Seems like so many of those low buck revolvers are real similar in design. Little differences here & there but mostly similar :) Thank you for the help ;)

Mike
 
H&R's generally have a pin holding the quill in place, but on IJs the quill is just pressed in. (Yes, the pin is called the quill pin, not to be confused with a quill pen.)

Jim
 
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