Machining a new firing pin

D

davlandrum

New member
I have been looking in vain for a firing pin for an old Mossberg .243 Even Vic, the Mossberg guru doesn't have one.

I am thinking of just taking the old one (the tip is bent) and getting one machined. Does this sound workable? What should I have it made out of?

I have no machinist skills or equipment, so would have to find someone. Not sure where to start that search....
 
Knowing the model number would help. Mossberg didn't make many rifles for .243, so it sounds like a Model 800. If so, Gun Parts Corp (www.gunpartscorp.com) lists the firing pins for around $28, which is a lot cheaper than having one made. Also, if it is the Model 800, is it the two piece firing pin or the one-piece? Either should be easy to make.

If it is something else, try them also.

P.S. How badly is the tip bent? It is often possible to straighten a firing pin tip, with or without heat. Might not work, but worth a try.

Jim
 
Thanks guys. GunParts has the firing pin listed as "sold out", which is what it has said for the month plus I have been looking for this. I will check around the brownells sight some more when I have a chance, but they don't even list Mossberg rifles.

It is a 800B, if I remember right - I am at work, so don't have it handy to check.
 
I have a mad delusion about making a light Swede M-96 pin. Suckers are heavy and 7.125" long. Basically a simple turning job but three larger diameter discs were turned into the rear of the pin to engage cocking mechanism. Those disks are milled (or ground) flat on upper and lower side from the rear of the pin for a few inches forward. Not hard to do.

My mad plan was to make a hardened aluminum pin body with a steel striker. That would be titanium. Or the whole thing would be titanium. I can go with aluminum and steel. If the aluminum part held up for a couple thousand cocking/firings, fine. When it gets stocky I would replace it.
 
I will try to get a picture of it. I don't think it would be a terribly hard job for someone who had the equipment to do it and knew what they were doing.

Both of which exclude me...:o
 
depends on the pin I'd guess, my shop rate is $75 an hour. If it had weird milled features like a Makarov FP, assuming they weren't available, (they are, and cheap) I'd guess $100 would be pretty cheap, plus it needs heat treating.
 
I machined pins for my old Belgian 16ga double out of drill rod. They have lasted only about 1000 rounds, so far. Cost was about $0.20 each.

Pops
 
Just for the heck of it, I have to ask if you have tried Mossberg? Maybe you would have to send the rifle back, but factories often hold back parts for their own repair shop rather than selling them to the parts places.

Now, IIRC, there are two types of firing pins on the Mossberg 800. Both are in two parts, but the setup is different. The early one has a large rear section which includes the sear engagement part, and a front pin that is swaged into it. That swaging, once broken out, can't really be redone. It might be possible to drill the rear section out (it is harder than heck) and insert a new firing pin and hold it with a cross pin.

The newer type has the front of the large section and the front firing pin machined in one piece, with the sear engaging part being a short stub that is pinned on the back of the firing pin. That type could be machined all the way, just copying the original, and using the original "stub". It should be a fairly easy job, using drill rod, then hardening it when you are done. The two types are interchangeable.

So, if your firing pin has a crosspin in it, it is the second type. Note that the measurements are pretty critical; the large part acts as the firing pin stop, and its rear engages the sear, plus the firing pin itself has a taper that needs to be right. That kind of fitting is not hard, but it takes some study.

(Believe me, nowhere near as complex as making a Mauser firing pin!)

Jim
 
416 or 316 stainless. 316 is harder and tougher to machine but holds up better.
dont think is much in way of hardening they will work harden with use.

another place to try is www.havlinsales.com they have mossberg odds and ends can be a better place to go if numerichs and brownells dont have it.
 
I'll agree with the harder to machine part, but 316 at 95 brinell is way softer than 416 at 265, though it does work harden. I'd not use a 300 series stainless for a firing pin, but maybe I'm missing others actual experience. I wouldn't use 416 either for that matter.:)
 
Might want to use 440C. Easily machinable and heat treated to around 50 Rockwell C, should be plenty hard. Another option may be 17-4 PH. Also easily machinable and will get to at least 40 Rockwell.
 
I have made several out of plain old O-1 drill rod. Heat and quench; draw back at 800°F. About RC 50, as suggested before. It's not stainless, though most firing pins don't spend a lot of time exposed to the elements.

Buying one is still easiest, if possible. The original poster has no machine tools available, and filing accurately takes a lot of time. I've had to do that before, though, on odd shapes. My dad's old Stevens Walnut Hill, for one. Off axis .22 RF rectangular nosed pin.
 
That firing pin is long and thin, with a shallow taper, pretty tricky to machine on a lathe with a conventional tool. There are a couple of ways to run that railroad, but I would have to study the job for a while.

Jim
 
Probably a tool post grinder job for final dimensions. That'd let them heat treat it before cutting to final dimensions, so any slight warping or distortion could be ground away. Not really a job for a beginner.
 
Yes, Unclenick, that was pretty much what I was thinking, but I think I would try finishing it up then hardening it even at the risk of warpage. (I am pretty sure Mossberg used centerless grinding.) If that didn't work, I would go your route. You are right, that it would not be a job for a beginner, but if one had some knowledge and patience (and a good supply of drill rod) I see no reason a novice couldn't come up with a workable firing pin, especially having the original to copy.

With either type of pin, my first thought would be to see if I could drill out the rear part and then insert the firing pin itself and cross pin it. But IIRC, the rear of those pins is made by MIM or investment casting and is very hard, so that idea might be a non-starter.

Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top