hatrick Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 So I picked up a few extra Lewis gun pans and one of them has no tension on the locking lever so something is wrong with the spring and I was wondering if there is an easy way to fix that? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG08 Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 No. It would have to be dis assembled and replaced. No a trivial task, and for the cost of a working drum, not worth the trouble . IMA is selling them for under $90. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatrick Posted May 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 I had a feeling that was the case. Popping all those rivets looks like it would be a pain. I guess I can try using it without it locking with the lever. May be fine at the range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim c 351 Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Doug Stump is an expert at repairing Lewis pans.Don't do anything till you hear from him.Jim C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougStump Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Hatrick, We can rebuild it, we have the technology! The original Catch Spring was actually a pair of flat springs with one longer and one shorter. And they break, a lot, I think I've only overhauled one pan that had both springs intact. The Brits came up with a formed wire replacement, this is shown on the ordnance drawing I have for the Lewis, and I was able to duplicate the spring. I've also created the tooling to safely disassemble and reassemble the pans, so replacing the spring isn't that big of a deal. However, you need to be very cautious disassembling the pan. If the rivet holes in the aluminum hub are torn out you have a problem. I've had two welding shops melt hubs trying to fill the holes up. The shops that have the competency to weld aluminum don't want to be bothered with a small job or they want a fortune. Here's my standard offer: You send me the pan, insured, and pre-pay for the return postage. I'll disassemble, clean, debur, install a new catch spring, reassemble, rivet, and adjust the pegs and the rim for roundness pegs (I have the original gage). When I have it as good as I can possible get it, I'll send it back to you. If you are satisfied with the work, you pay me what you feel the job is worth. I accept money, reloading components, parts, pepperoni pizza, etc. Note, if you reload please include a case fired in your Lewis and resized with your dies. I will use this to adjust the pegs to the shoulder. Now the down side, the turn around time will be longer than either of us wants. I beat the cancer (stage IV terminal melanoma) but it did a lot of damage before it was discovered and frankly it knocked the crap out of me. Some days are better than others, all I can say is I'll get it done but you need to be patient. If this is aggregable to you, I'll PM you my address. Here's the replacement spring: Here's the reassembly jig: Doug 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatrick Posted May 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 Doug... thanks so much for helping out getting this pan fixed! I hated the thought of having to call it a loss. I'm in no rush since this is just a spare pan so however long it takes is totally fine with me. I am very curious what those original flat springs look like... sounds like an odd choice versus the replacement springs. The pan is in really good shape otherwise so hopefully there is no issues with the rivets and the holes in the aluminum hub. I'll PM you for the details on getting the pan to you. Thanks again as always and a huge congratulations on beating Cancer!!! Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG08 Posted June 5, 2021 Report Share Posted June 5, 2021 Well, Doug would be the expert. Back When Lewis drums were $3-400, it made sense to repair. Not sure it makes "economic" sense today, but there is the whole " I want to do it because I can" reason. I like "fixing " old stuff too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatrick Posted June 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2021 Doug currently has the Pan to fix it up. I just couldn’t stomach scrapping it just because the spring broke. I know it may not be the most cost effective decision with IMA selling pans for so cheap but it’s been very enlightening working with Doug! What a great guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APEXgunparts Posted June 6, 2021 Report Share Posted June 6, 2021 No. It would have to be dis assembled and replaced. No a trivial task, and for the cost of a working drum, not worth the trouble . IMA is selling them for under $90. I think IMA is out of LEWIS gun drums and most all the parts too... https://www.ima-usa.com/collections/lewis-gun/manufacture-type_original-items I always wondered if anyone ever was able to use the brass LEWIS drum mag bodies that IMA offered? Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougStump Posted June 9, 2021 Report Share Posted June 9, 2021 So IMA finally sold out of pans. Well, I guess my pan overhaul price just went way up! Just kidding, I wouldn't do that to you guys! Back when I got my Lewis, I ordered a couple of pans from IMA. One had broken catch springs. I sent it back and they shipped another one, with equally broken springs. At that point I started figuring out how to repair them. The brass pans were newly, and poorly, made reproductions. I had a chance to examine one and have serious doubts that it could be made to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatrick Posted June 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2021 Fortunately APEX still has pans at the same price IMA had them for. Not sure how many they have left. I'd love to get one of those full crates of pans that APEX has but I'm guessing that may cost more than I'm willing to spend. Not sure how many are in those sealed crates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APEXgunparts Posted June 9, 2021 Report Share Posted June 9, 2021 Fortunately APEX still has pans at the same price IMA had them for. Not sure how many they have left. I'd love to get one of those full crates of pans that APEX has but I'm guessing that may cost more than I'm willing to spend. Not sure how many are in those sealed crates. The LEWIS gun crates have 50 drums / pans in each one.All well greased and preserved.I have sold 2 of the crates, one full and another partial.I think we will have a couple of empty crates to offer, once we get more of this shipment handled.I am starting to see LEWIS part's over in the photo booths. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatrick Posted June 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2021 Richard, Please let me know when you may be ready to sell an empty crate. I'd definitely like to get one. I may even grab a few more pans even though I don't really need any more just to help fill it up. Also, my latest Lewis gun parts order should be arriving this afternoon... thanks again for the help! Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APEXgunparts Posted June 9, 2021 Report Share Posted June 9, 2021 (edited) Richard, Please let me know when you may be ready to sell an empty crate. I'd definitely like to get one. I may even grab a few more pans even though I don't really need any more just to help fill it up. Also, my latest Lewis gun parts order should be arriving this afternoon... thanks again for the help! Eric I will try and re-visit this thread when the crates get listed.They are an interesting bit of militaria.I was quite surprised to see that the British actually fitted curved wooden inserts into those shipping crates! We are also listing a lot of Vickers parts and should have a few more of the combo LEWIS / Vickers gun transit cases. You may want to follow our GunBroker account as some of the "one-off" items will be sold thru GB. Richard Edited June 9, 2021 by APEXgunparts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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