Thread: what steel and what hardness for a 22lr firing pin

have a 22 coming that has a broken firing pin its a simple one and I've already organized my mate whos a tool maker to make a couple so I have a spare
he asked me to find out what steel and hardness as he is not a gunsmith and never made a firing pin before

Use a Ramset nail as the parent metal donor

its a flat firing pin similar to a ruger 10/22 sort of thing (as far as I understand) so a ramset nail would need to be flattened out?

Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

its a flat firing pin similar to a ruger 10/22 sort of thing (as far as I understand) so a ramset nail would need to be flattened out?

Yes, grinding flat will do the trick, one of those jobs where a shearing comb sharpener comes in handy

i have made them before out of silver steel i think its called, then hardened and tempered them, worked fine and didn't wear out.

Gauge plate (O1) or spring steel is fine. The pin needs to made so that it does not touch the end of the barrel when it is at its fullest forward extent, otherwise it will create a burr on the chamber if it is dry-fired. The finished pin needs to be tempered to full blue after hardening or it will be brittle and subject to fracture. What make and model is your rifle? I may be able to give you some useful tips if I know exactly which rifle it is for.

Gauge plate is what I'd use.

Tell your mate to Harden then temper back to Blue 300c.


Cheers
Pete

Originally Posted by gundoc

Gauge plate (O1) or spring steel is fine. The pin needs to made so that it does not touch the end of the barrel when it is at its fullest forward extent, otherwise it will create a burr on the chamber if it is dry-fired. The finished pin needs to be tempered to full blue after hardening or it will be brittle and subject to fracture. What make and model is your rifle? I may be able to give you some useful tips if I know exactly which rifle it is for.

@gundoc its a saurio model 700 leaver action made in Argentina I was looking for a project and put a post up on here a couple of months ago and got it of a fallow forum member
never herd of saurio before looking them up them mostly make pistols
thought it would be an interesting little piece

heres a pic off the web

Rambo, I have never come across one of this make in 45+ years of gunsmithing! It looks very much like a copy of the Marlin Model 57 .22. Hopefully there is enough of the broken pin to make a good copy. My only comments would be to make sure there are no right angled corners on the replacement pin. They should all be radiused to avoid stress cracking in the corners. The nose of the flat firing pin should be tapered at the contact area with the rim of the cartridge until is is about 1mm wide and the edges lightly radiused to ensure positive ignition. I assume it is a hammer-fired system and I would suggest that the back 1/4" of the pin is only drawn back to brown colour to make a harder surface for the hammer to strike. This will prevent the back of the pin from 'mushrooming' from extended use.

Originally Posted by gundoc

Rambo, I have never come across one of this make in 45+ years of gunsmithing! It looks very much like a copy of the Marlin Model 57 .22. Hopefully there is enough of the broken pin to make a good copy. My only comments would be to make sure there are no right angled corners on the replacement pin. They should all be radiused to avoid stress cracking in the corners. The nose of the flat firing pin should be tapered at the contact area with the rim of the cartridge until is is about 1mm wide and the edges lightly radiused to ensure positive ignition. I assume it is a hammer-fired system and I would suggest that the back 1/4" of the pin is only drawn back to brown colour to make a harder surface for the hammer to strike. This will prevent the back of the pin from 'mushrooming' from extended use.

Awsome information mate ive been arround gun shows and collectors alot and never seen one you've been a gunsmith a lot longer than ive even been alive so they are certainly not that common
Both peices of the old pin are still there apparently so should be a a reasonably simple copy job

The main part of the pin is there but not the striker piece. Action looks different from the Marlin 57. Have searched for ages to find a rifle that it could be a copy of but haven't been successful

Photo from the web

Originally Posted by specweapon

The main part of the pin is there but not the striker piece. Action looks different from the Marlin 57. Have searched for ages to find a rifle that it could be a copy of but haven't been successful

Photo from the web
Attachment 60674

That looks a similar to stirling semi auto

Originally Posted by specweapon

The main part of the pin is there but not the striker piece. Action looks different from the Marlin 57. Have searched for ages to find a rifle that it could be a copy of but haven't been successful

Photo from the web
Attachment 60674

Your rifle is a Savage and was made for many years under various model numbers (6, 87, 187). Gun Parts Corp in the US will have parts available, and their website will show pictures of the pin.

Originally Posted by specweapon

The main part of the pin is there but not the striker piece. Action looks different from the Marlin 57. Have searched for ages to find a rifle that it could be a copy of but haven't been successful

Photo from the web
Attachment 60674

all good mate didn't arrive today id say it should be here tomorrow...... should be easy enough to guess the striker piece @gundoc? as long as the main shaft of the pin is there to copy so it fits in the bolt properly the actual tip probably doesn't matter too much as long as it hits the rim of the case and ignites the powder

I am now confused as we seem to be talking about two different firearms here. Where does Specweapon's Savage semi-auto fit into this discussion? The Savage firing pin attaches to a cylindrical hammer and the piece missing has a tab that extends sideways (so a vertical view of the pin is a T shape) which slots into the cylindrical hammer. The Savage firing pin also passes through a slot in the cocking handle to hold it in place. This pin is quite different to the Saurio lever action pin.