Help with sear spring length/position

[Larks]

I’d appreciate some advice on this one before I do something drastic and irreparable.........like grinding the end of my sear spring down and reshaping/rehardening it:

It’s on my TRS Baker Rifle lock (the kit, not the completed lock) and I’ve fitted the springs pretty much in the shape that they came aside from polishing and hardening them and all but the sear spring seem perfect.

As the sear spring sits at the moment I don’t seem to be getting enough pressure on the sear to lock it into the tumbler at half and full cock. It will lock in positively if I add light pressure to the sear myself but not quite under the weight of the spring alone.

I can’t get a good clear photo but the spring seems to sit just in the crook of the sear arm and the sear screw casement (from want of a better way of describing it..).


So my question is: would I be on the right track in filing off two or three millimetres from the toe of the sear spring to make it sit more positively on the actual arm (?) of the sear, then heat and open up the angle very slightly and reharden it?

 

[HSmithTX]

I would do exactly that, right after the replacement arrived at my door and functioned as poorly. There is little risk as long as you can undo or replace the modified spring. The new spring might fix it, might not. I’d also send pictures with my request for a new spring, they might provide it free based on how badly this one fits.

 

[Larks]

I would do exactly that, right after the replacement arrived at my door and functioned as poorly. There is little risk as long as you can undo or replace the modified spring. The new spring might fix it, might not. I’d also send pictures with my request for a new spring, they might provide it free based on how badly this one fits.

Thankyou for the reply, though sadly me getting a new spring from TRS (The Rifle Shoppe) would be like getting blood from a stone - they’ve ghosted me ever since I bought the kit from them a few years ago. They did respond initially because I’d ordered the completed lock but they sent the parts kit in error and they’d promised to send the completed lock, which I was happy to pay for again (rather than return the parts set). But when the new lock didn’t turn up after a few months as promised and I politely followed up with them they started ghosting me and nothing that I’ve been able to do since has been able to solicit a response - ie very polite emails, phone calls, letters........

 

[waksupi]

Considering what is required of a sear spring, one made from an old hacksaw blade works well. Easy to do, and you still have the original.

 

[Norman Brooks]

Have you pulled the sear out and see if the sear spring pops down? If it does than all you have to do is shorten up the sear spring so it rides on sear and not the pivot point.

 

[IanH]

Half a millimeter, not two or three.

 

[Larks]

Have you pulled the sear out and see if the sear spring pops down? If it does than all you have to do is shorten up the sear spring so it rides on sear and not the pivot point.

Half a millimeter, not two or three.

I had checked the travel of the spring with the sear out and it had possibly a millimetre in it, which didn’t really seem enough to me.....

But confession time: I’m recovering from an op’ and am forbidden from doing anything physical for a few weeks so, although this has been a perfect time to get stuck into the Baker Rifle build, this lack of activity has made me very impatient...................never a good thing really....

I had not seen Norman and Ian’s posts until now, but after reading “waksupi’s” suggestion I thought I’d have a go at making a spring from a hacksaw blade. Great idea!

But impatience got the better of me and that idea turned into modifying my existing spring with the option of the hacksaw blade spring being my backup if needed.

I did have the sense to sneak up on the spring and I filed a bit less than 1mm off of it as a first go. But then I also went ahead and I heated and opened it up a fraction and re-hardened it, which actually resulted in shortening the “toe” of the spring a fraction more, probably negating the need to file it down initially.

VERY fortunately for me though (the luck of the Irish is with me) the result seems to be good and the lock seems to be working as it should, locking positively at both half and full cock:

Thankyou everyone for your responses, they really are very much appreciated.

Greg