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I hope someone can help me.
I have a low number Springfield receiver, and I can not remove the floor plate or trigger guard. From what I read it may be a Greek return. I have looked for a pin but can not find one.
After removing the screws I even tried a rubber mallet without any success.
Please help.
If you have the wood off, then you can tap it out from the top.
Thank you Jim for replying. I can not get the wood off between the receiver and the trigger guard.
The following advice is not Springfield-specific, it applies to all old rifles.
That is very dangerous for the woodwork! If the floorplate/trigger guard assembly is a tight fit, then driving it out is likely to split off some wood at the point where it jams.Quote:
Originally Posted by paramedic
I also have come across a rifle (not a Springfield!) where the floorplate had been firmly glued in with bedding compound. It was left in peace! Trying to drive out a floorplate that has been fixed in this way would certainly be destructive to the surrounding wood. The same would apply if the guard/plate has been effectively glued in by application of varnish. In this case, you would need to dissolve (or at least soften) the varnish first.
If, on the other hand, the metal is merely(!) jammed*, then insert one of the guard screws some way (or use a suitable piece of rodding) and use it as a lever to rock the assembly slightly, while pushing down on the assembly from above, through the magazine well and/or guard screw holes. The idea is to SLOWLY wiggle the plate out, NOT drive it out.
And if you have ever wondered why so many old service rifles show split-off areas around the trigger guard and floorplate, now you know why!
*Jamming is common on lockplates and trigger guards in old percussion and flintlock rifles, from any one or more of: wood shrinkage, warped wood, bent metal.
I'm with Patrick.
The use of boiled linseed oil could have glued the receiver and trigger guard
to the stock. Or it may have been bedded without release agent.
What is the value of this rifle? Is it a collection of parts, or totally original?
If the rifle is fair to middlin', I would soak it in alcohol to dissolve the old oil.
Isopropyl alcohol at 70 to 90% is what I would use, and it will remove oil, but not the bluing/Parkerizing.
If it is original and you don't want to disturb the patina, then you have a bit of work ahead of you!