J. C. Higgins 101.7

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Schattenreiter

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I recently came into possession of a Sears and Roebuck J. C. Higgins model 101.7 20 gauge double barrel. It has obviously been in a fire as the stock and forearm are charred and the barrels are heavily rusted. I hope to put it back in useable condition.

Here are some before shots of it.
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As you can see she is in ruff shape. I will have to make a new forearm and stock and one firing pin is jammed because the spring for it has come apart. That appears to be the only mechanical thing wrong with it.
 

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Anything is possible but the problem with this spring is it is hanging out around the back side of the firing pin. Until I get it apart I really won't know for sure but the other firing pin spring and all other springs seem to be fine. It may wind up as a wall hanger but I hope not.
 
Here is the beginning of the process.


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The worst rust spot was under the barrels at the muzzle end. Cleaned up better than I thought it would. Still some pits there but more sanding to come.


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Beginning of making a new forearm.


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Believe it or not most of the hard stuff is under the forearm.



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Done in steps til it fits the barrels.
 
This thing is what gives me hope it won't be just a wall hanger. The spring in it works just fine and it was only shielded from the fire by the forearm.


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It still has plenty of spring in it and if the fire got hot enuff to compromise the metal to the point of it being unsafe to shoot the springs would have been destroyed first. At least that is what I am telling myself.
 
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Schattenreiter said:
It has obviously been in a fire as the stock and forearm are charred
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This gives a whole new meaning to the term, “Barbecue Gun”. :D

Love watching the progress on this.
 
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Need an opinion here. The forearm appears slightly larger at the back and more rounded than what I have made. Should I round it more and reduce the size or leave it as is?

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What do you think?
 

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Schattenreiter said:
Need an opinion here. The forearm appears slightly larger at the back and more rounded than what I have made. Should I round it more and reduce the size or leave it as is?

What do you think?
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If you are looking for it to be a shooter for you, then what ever feels the best to you. If you are try to make true replacement, try to find an un-burned one to check if it's the same.
 
B00ger said:
Will be interesting to watch the progress. But a question: is it possible the fire could have weakened the steel making it unsafe to use?
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Absolutely.
depending on how hot it got, it could have softened every bit of steel.
If it was put out with water, it could harden the barrel and cause it to rupture.

If the springs still work and do not loose power that is a good indication that at did not get hot enough to change temper, but you only get 10 fingers.
These old shotguns often have very abrupt forcing cones, and smaller ID barrels for the fiber wads of the day.
Modern shells with plastic wads are already upping the pressures.

Not sure on that model but its always good to check if it was rated for smokeless powder.
It doesn't look old enough to be a 2 1/2" chamber or need black powder equivalent loads but that would be something else to check.

I would run some hot proof loads through it from a safe distance before I trusted my face next to it.
 
The wood indicates that it could have been heat, not flame, that did the damage. Like the duration of the fire went beyond the safe's rating.

The metal in the first pictures indicates that water from the fire hoses got inside the safe.

The metal parts that you have salvaged so far also look purty good. Of course, you should treat it gently when you choot it, but I think it's going to be ok!
 
Joshua Wilson said:
Absolutely.
depending on how hot it got, it could have softened every bit of steel.
If it was put out with water, it could harden the barrel and cause it to rupture.

If the springs still work and do not loose power that is a good indication that at did not get hot enough to change temper, but you only get 10 fingers.
These old shotguns often have very abrupt forcing cones, and smaller ID barrels for the fiber wads of the day.
Modern shells with plastic wads are already upping the pressures.

Not sure on that model but its always good to check if it was rated for smokeless powder.
It doesn't look old enough to be a 2 1/2" chamber or need black powder equivalent loads but that would be something else to check.

I would run some hot proof loads through it from a safe distance before I trusted my face next to it.
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Sound advice. I think the date of manufacture is 1950 indicated by the letter B in a circle so it is not old enuff to need black powder. It also has "Proof tested" and " 2 /34 in chambers " stamped on the barrels. At the end of the day if it turns out to be a wall hanger I am ok with that. I would really like to shoot it but I am still ok with doing the work to bring it back even if I don't shoot it. I really enjoy what I am doing.
 
Been slack the last few days. Still polishing the barrels. That is a real pain.

Gunsmithing on a budget here so I am making the tool I need to put the hammers back in after having to remove them to get the right firing pin unstuck. Here is the beginning of the tool and what's left of the firing pin spring. Happened to have something close so I only had to remove a couple of coils. Hopefully it.will work ok.


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Well my spring repair appears to be good to go. It has gone from not cocking at all to cocking manually to cocking when the barreals are opened. Looks like it will be ok.


Now for the bad news. Went out to the walnut pile to get a piece for a stock blank and it ain't going so good. Cut 3 pieces so far and everytime I can hear it crack over the sound of the saw. Looks like I will have to take two pieces of the 5/4 stuff I have and glue it together. The piece I saved for gun stocks ain't gonna work.
 
And the process continues. As I said earlier the piece I saved for gun stocks isn't going to work. Everytime I saw off a piece it develops a crack. Can't have that with a stock so I took some of the 5/4 stock and glued up a piece. Took a while cause the first time I glued it together I didn't like the way it turned out so I sawed out the glue joint and did it again. That was complicated by the fact my jointer quit so I had to hand plane it flat.

Got that done and glued up and I like this time a lot better. Here are a couple of shots after sawing to ruff shape. Glue joint looks much better and hopefully it wont be to noticable that it is two different pieces.


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As always opinions are appreciated. Even negative ones.
 
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Schattenreiter said:
It was made by Stevens. It actually has 311A stamped on the opposite side from the J. C. Higgins number.
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That's good to know. I didn't know about the break action shotguns. Sears bought good stuff.

You're giving it an extra lease on life....that's really cool!
 
JohnFreeman said:
That's good to know. I didn't know about the break action shotguns. Sears bought good stuff.

You're giving it an extra lease on life....that's really cool!
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If the truth was told it is actually giving me a new lease on life. I am really enjoying working on these old guns.
 
@Schattenreiter you are doing a great job on the old girl. Can't wait to see what she looks like when you're done. And my vote is to round off and reduce the forearm a little bit. Thanks for taking the time to post your progress!
 
Reading this really makes one appreciate the craftsmanship of manufacturers like Winchester whose work in inletting stocks for actions during say from the turn of the century to the 50's was so remarkably good. There's VERY few gaps or "proud" metal bits. Given that the work is in 3 dimensions (fitting it flush on the top may make the action protrude more on the bottom) makes it all the more impressive.

I'm really enjoying this thread too, thanks for the time taken to post it. :)
 
Work is progressing at a painstakingly slow level, but is progressing.

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I have to try to turn this


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Into this

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That requires removing material on three different levels without removing to much in any one place.
 

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Measurement say I have another 100 thds to remove and the action will be in place. Slow going when only removing a couple at a time. There was a good bit of material removed at the factory for clearance inside the stock. The rounded area at the front is for the hammers to clear and the deeper area that extends to the back is for the sears to move but I think I will only remove enuff for these parts to function properly and no more. After that shaping of the stock can begin.


Oh and I am reducing the forearm slowly but surely.
 
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Time for opinions again. The original butt plate was damaged by the fire. I have another identical to it. I also have one a little fancier. Here are the pics.


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What do you think? Original or basket weave design?
 
I have a small stack of internals for 311/savage/springfield/fox. Free. Let me know. Levers. Triggers and springs. Hammers I think. Prolly coil springs for hammers. .may have Sears, may also have firing pins and springs. If ya need it I'll look/drop it in a flat rate to ya. No use for it here.
 
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I like the basket weave. I think your fancy-fying deserves a little (subdued) bling!
 
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