Broke My 1921/1928 Actuator!

[catnipman]

OK, so my actuator just broke whilst firing my 1921/1928 Navy Overstamp. It's one of the original 1921 actuators that was converted with the addition of the second piece to slow down the cyclic. It broke on top right behind the slot for the Blish lock, which is where I understand is where the weak spot is for these type of actuators.

 

The actuator apparently broke as the bolt closed for the last time after the last round was fired from an L drum. There is no ammo in the drum and no round in the chamber.

 

The bolt won't open more than about an inch. The fire selector is in the full auto position but can be moved to semi-auto when the bolt is pulled back the one inch that it will move. The safety selector is firmly in the "fire" position.

 

I assume the bolt is in the uncocked state.

 

Needless to say, the drum isn't removable in the gun's current state.

 

I have two questions.

 

First, can I disassemble the gun in it's current state, i.e., safely separate the receiver halves?

 

Second, can/should the actuator be repaired? And if so, who is experienced with this kind of repair?

 

(PK, is this something you can do?)

 

As an aside, I've been buying up various spare parts, though I haven't as yet managed to buy a spare actuator http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/smile.gif

 

Thanks, catnipman.

[PK.]

I am sorry to hear of your woes, Basil.

 

With the Pivot in the FA position, you should be able to remove the frame from the receiver and then the bolt components from the receiver. The drum will come free when the bolt nose is moved far enough back to release it.

 

Many of these riveted Navy bolts were welded as well as riveted. A repair is possible and I can accomplish it, but wouldn’t be as strong as a one piece Savage ‘28 actuator in good shape.

 

[catnipman]

PK, thanks for the quick response. I saw you were online after I posted, so I was hoping you might see my post.

 

The gun came apart just fine. Unfortunately, the damage was a bit worse than I had feared. One of the ears had broken off of the oiler pad, lodging in the receiver behind the bolt, which was why the bolt wouldn't go back. I'm going to guess that the failure of the oiler pad occurred first and was what caused the actuator to break, rather than vice versa. So, I'm going to have to buy a new oiler pad as well, as it doesn't look like a strong repair could be made where the break occured.

 

I think what I'll probably do is have you repair the original actuator and set that aside for posterity and buy a single-piece Savage actuator for shooting with. You can email me at irwin@ucar.edu for pricing and shipping instructions. Thanks, catnipman.