Iver Johnson hercules sxs

[Rubicron]

Last week I was given an old Iver johnson 16 gauge sxs, it has lived in the crawl space for many decades.

During the cleaning process I decided it would be a good idea to remove the hammers and really clean the reciever. That turned out to be a headache.

Now I am trying to re install the hammers,however the main coil springs are very stiff and I can not seem to get them back in. Does anybody have a trick they can share,or should I take it to a gunsmith?

Really dont like conceding defeat but it would seem a better option than destroying a really cool 80 yr old gun. Any pointers would be much apreciated.

 

[cooey43]

I had a similar problem with another SxS shotgun . I was replacing a broken hammer on a Le Fever shotgun.
I could not push the hammer against the spring enough to insert the hammer pin.
An old gunsmith told me to make a pushing tool that exactly fits the back of the hammer , including the sear notch .
So I took two steel plates ( 1/8" thick ) & screwed them together ( weld if you can ) . This made 1/4" which closely
matched the thickness of the hammer . With a grinder then a file I shaped 1 end to match the rear of the hammer .
My tool was about 5" long & 1 1/2" wide. It worked just fine . I had the receiver in a padded vice . One hand on the pushing
tool & the other inserting the hammer pin .
Hope that works 4 you ,,,,,,,,,,,,, Cooey43

 

[Rubicron]

Thanks cooey43, that had crossed my mind I have a full fab and machine shop at my disposal which really does make this the obvious route.

After looking closer,I may be able to modify a pair of channel lock plyers to suit my needs.

Another thing on my mind, what are peoples thoughts on restoring a gun like this?
The reciever portion is a case hardened coloration and the barrel was blued at one point,most of the blueing has rubbed off the barrel at this point.
The stock has no dents or deep scratches to speak of,due to storage though,the finnish is peeling a considerable amount.