After being encouraged with RickN's topic Plastic Trigger Guards Stink, and seeing how he made a new trigger guard from brass, I want to try to repair my old Stevens Model 94 M plastic trigger guard.
One reason is because it has killed my OCD having a broken part on one of my guns, but mostly because it was my first gun, given to me by my late Dad, so it has a lot of sentimental value to me.
The other reason I will have to repair it is because finding a replacement trigger guard for this old (obsolete) gun is impossible. Most of the search hits are other people asking where to buy them, and although I found a few websites that had them listed, no one had any, or knew where to find them.
Long story short, the trigger guard broke in the typical place at the screw hole (s). The front hole also has a hair line crack in it and the rear is completely severed. The front hole will be easy to reinforce with some epoxy on the bottom side of it so it will be unseen.
The back part of it however, is going to be a chore.
I wanted to keep the "factory shape" so I turned the guard around and traced the outline on the 2x4 so I would have a makeshift template.
I mixed enough JB weld to cover the existing entire rear portion of the trigger guard to help give it some more strength when it is finished. Yes that does mean it will be a little thicker than it was originally, but there are only so many options to help reinforce the new section.
It will also help if you put a piece of masking tape or something along the bottom of the trigger guard where the new section is going to be so the JB weld will stick to the tape, and not to the table you're laying it on as it dries. This will also keep the new bottom of it flat.
Once everything is fully dried, I took everything apart and used a dremel with a little cutting wheel to get the final shape, and used 2 drill bits to make the hole the screw will go through, and a larger one so the screw head could be counter-sunk like the original.
Obviously, it'll need some spray paint so it'll all be the same color, but that will be another day. It's too cold to do any painting today. So I'll probably break out some 800 grit paper and smooth everything up and prep the plastic part.
I did put the repaired guard on the gun to check for fit and so I don't lose anything in the meantime.
And besides, is better than not having a trigger guard at all.
One reason is because it has killed my OCD having a broken part on one of my guns, but mostly because it was my first gun, given to me by my late Dad, so it has a lot of sentimental value to me.
The other reason I will have to repair it is because finding a replacement trigger guard for this old (obsolete) gun is impossible. Most of the search hits are other people asking where to buy them, and although I found a few websites that had them listed, no one had any, or knew where to find them.
Long story short, the trigger guard broke in the typical place at the screw hole (s). The front hole also has a hair line crack in it and the rear is completely severed. The front hole will be easy to reinforce with some epoxy on the bottom side of it so it will be unseen.
The back part of it however, is going to be a chore.
I wanted to keep the "factory shape" so I turned the guard around and traced the outline on the 2x4 so I would have a makeshift template.
I mixed enough JB weld to cover the existing entire rear portion of the trigger guard to help give it some more strength when it is finished. Yes that does mean it will be a little thicker than it was originally, but there are only so many options to help reinforce the new section.
It will also help if you put a piece of masking tape or something along the bottom of the trigger guard where the new section is going to be so the JB weld will stick to the tape, and not to the table you're laying it on as it dries. This will also keep the new bottom of it flat.
Once everything is fully dried, I took everything apart and used a dremel with a little cutting wheel to get the final shape, and used 2 drill bits to make the hole the screw will go through, and a larger one so the screw head could be counter-sunk like the original.
Obviously, it'll need some spray paint so it'll all be the same color, but that will be another day. It's too cold to do any painting today. So I'll probably break out some 800 grit paper and smooth everything up and prep the plastic part.
I did put the repaired guard on the gun to check for fit and so I don't lose anything in the meantime.
And besides, is better than not having a trigger guard at all.