My Winchester 1897 12 ga. shotgun was about .015" loose between the barrel extension and the receiver. There was no adjustment left in the adjustment sleeve. If you shook the gun sideways you could feel the side to side movement. Here's how I repaired it:
Rational: The outside threads of the adjustment sleeve are 20 tpi. The inside threads are 30 tpi, therefore every half turn of the adjustment sleeve into the barrel pulls the barrel .0167" towards the receiver. It would seem logical to simply tighten the ajustment sleeve 1/2 turn on the barrel, cut new notches for the adjustment sleeve lock, and gain the .0167" I needed; but that would NOT work because if set up this way the outside threads of the adjustment sleeve will not engage the corresponding threads in the receiver deeply enough. This is because the barrel extends too far towards the breechbolt, even with the barrel chamber ring removed. Therefore I figured that if instead I were to LOOSEN the adjustment sleeve on the barrel 1/2 turn from its original minimum adjustment position, that this would allow the external threads on the sleeve to reach down one more thread than original into the receiver. That would gain .050", but subtracting the .0167" of loosening the sleeve 1/2 turn on the barrel would equal a net gain of more or less .033".
Results: I removed the barrel chamber ring and opened the breechbolt. To test my theory I marked the position of the outside interrupted threads on the face of the adjustment sleeve facing the breechbolt with a red paint marker. In this way I could make sure the sleeve was in the corrrect position to properly engage the receiver threads by looking in from the breech when I assembled the barrel to the reciever. This was a bit frustrating to line everything up. When I finally did get the sleeve in the correct position I found that the barrel extension when tightened to the receiver came to about 23 degress short of the proper closed position. I called that look'n good!
I disassembled it all and cut two notches in the opposite side of the adjustment sleeve in what will now become the MINIMUM adjustment position. This is exactly 180 degrees from the original factory minimum position. (To do this I put the adjustment sleeve in the lathe chuck, turned the carbide cutting tool sideways and fed it manually into the sleeve with the hand wheel, cutting a depth of .0025" at a time. Kind of slow, but easy to cut!) If I ever need to tighten the barrel up again I'll cut a few more notches. I also trimmed off .025" or so from the breech end of the adjustment sleeve so that it didn't protrude beyond the chamber of the barrel. Then I reassembled the sleeve, locked it in place with the sleeve lock, and finished fitting the barrel extension and barrel to the receiver. For the final fitting I followed the instructions at http://www.nulineguns.com/part_part_2046_3_31_42.php
(These folks also sell new adjustment sleeves and related parts.)
Conclusion: My gun is tight! It has lots of adjustment left for the future if needed, and the whole thing didn't cost me a cent.
Ecc 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
Rational: The outside threads of the adjustment sleeve are 20 tpi. The inside threads are 30 tpi, therefore every half turn of the adjustment sleeve into the barrel pulls the barrel .0167" towards the receiver. It would seem logical to simply tighten the ajustment sleeve 1/2 turn on the barrel, cut new notches for the adjustment sleeve lock, and gain the .0167" I needed; but that would NOT work because if set up this way the outside threads of the adjustment sleeve will not engage the corresponding threads in the receiver deeply enough. This is because the barrel extends too far towards the breechbolt, even with the barrel chamber ring removed. Therefore I figured that if instead I were to LOOSEN the adjustment sleeve on the barrel 1/2 turn from its original minimum adjustment position, that this would allow the external threads on the sleeve to reach down one more thread than original into the receiver. That would gain .050", but subtracting the .0167" of loosening the sleeve 1/2 turn on the barrel would equal a net gain of more or less .033".
Results: I removed the barrel chamber ring and opened the breechbolt. To test my theory I marked the position of the outside interrupted threads on the face of the adjustment sleeve facing the breechbolt with a red paint marker. In this way I could make sure the sleeve was in the corrrect position to properly engage the receiver threads by looking in from the breech when I assembled the barrel to the reciever. This was a bit frustrating to line everything up. When I finally did get the sleeve in the correct position I found that the barrel extension when tightened to the receiver came to about 23 degress short of the proper closed position. I called that look'n good!
I disassembled it all and cut two notches in the opposite side of the adjustment sleeve in what will now become the MINIMUM adjustment position. This is exactly 180 degrees from the original factory minimum position. (To do this I put the adjustment sleeve in the lathe chuck, turned the carbide cutting tool sideways and fed it manually into the sleeve with the hand wheel, cutting a depth of .0025" at a time. Kind of slow, but easy to cut!) If I ever need to tighten the barrel up again I'll cut a few more notches. I also trimmed off .025" or so from the breech end of the adjustment sleeve so that it didn't protrude beyond the chamber of the barrel. Then I reassembled the sleeve, locked it in place with the sleeve lock, and finished fitting the barrel extension and barrel to the receiver. For the final fitting I followed the instructions at http://www.nulineguns.com/part_part_2046_3_31_42.php
(These folks also sell new adjustment sleeves and related parts.)
Conclusion: My gun is tight! It has lots of adjustment left for the future if needed, and the whole thing didn't cost me a cent.
Ecc 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.