Springfield/Savage 120A

tradrick · Post by **tradrick** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:55 pm

Hey guys, I just bought one of these little rifles. Got it for $65.00 OTD. I'm in the process of refinshing the stock and reblueing it with Blue Wonder. These rifles are'nt worth much but most of them from what I've heard are real shooters.

So I've got the bolt out and the rifle disassembled. I would like to go a step further and disassemble the bolt and give it a good cleaning. I'm afraid as nasty as it was that just cleaning the exterior of it will not be suffice. So does anyone have the know how or instructions that they could post on disassembling the bolt? I would like to remove the extractor and firing pin and clean and lub the interior of the bolt. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Tradrick

Yleefox · Post by **Yleefox** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:32 pm

Tradick

Sorry, I can't help you, but I hope you figure it out and have fun restoring that ole rifle.

Y

tradrick · Post by **tradrick** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:14 pm

Here is the link to my rifle after refinishing. Not a proffesional job buy no means. But good enough for a old beater.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/sh ... p?t=314654

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 3:14 pm

Looks like you did a nice job on budget...

Post by **Bullseye** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:00 pm

That refinishing job looks pretty nice for the old gal. I'm pretty sure that the rear bolt cocking piece (knob) unscrews off of the end of the bolt to disassemble it. The mainspring retaining bolt is definitely threaded and the cocking knob attaches to it. The other parts inside the bolt are the cocking piece, rebound collar, mainspring retaining washer, mainspring retaining bolt, striker, mainspring, & firing pin.

R,
Bullseye

tradrick · Post by **tradrick** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:38 pm

Thanks Bullseye, its been impossible to find any online info on the disassembly of the bolt. I took it to the range to sight in the scope. About 3 out of ten rounds would get a light strike. I fired the light strike ammo in my Ruger so I know it was'nt the ammo. Any ideas on what I should start tinkering with first.

Post by **Bullseye** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:14 pm

First I'd disassemble and clean out that old bolt assembly. There's probably some surface corrosion inside like there was on the outside. Next, if that doesn't do it then I'd look for a new mainspring. There are several places that sell parts for these, like Numerich.

R,
Bullseye

tradrick · Post by **tradrick** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:11 am

Thanks again Bullseye. But if this cocking knob unscrews I can't get it to budge.

One problem I noticed is the the firing pin has play in it. If you push it all the way forward it sticks out enough to engage the rimfire cartridge. But like I said it has a good bit of slack in it. You can push it all the way back to where it barely clears the bolt face. I'm thinking when you push the bolt into battery it pushes the firing pin slightly backwards. Then when you fire it. It has to much slack in it to push into the back of the cartridge hard enough to set off the round. Causing light strikes. Sound resonable. Or am I just full of it.LOL

Post by **Bullseye** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:12 am

I don't know how long that knob has been attached without being taken off. It may be frozen in place, some penetrating oil may loosen it up. Inspect the cocking piece closely, check for any pins that may have it locked in place. Can you post some close up pictures of the cocking piece on the bolt. A couple of 90° views of the knob would be great.

That is normal movement, the firing pin is an indirect pin. The rear of the bolt strikes it and the resulting inertia drives it into the cartridge rim. Otherwise if you lowered the bolt manually the pin would have enough spring tension to crush the cartridge rim and fire it. The likely causes are friction inside the bolt causing drag on the striker, weak mainspring, corrosion on the firing pin causing drag, or the chamber is rough and the case rim is not seating fully against the breech.

R,
Bullseye

tradrick · Post by **tradrick** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:34 pm

Here ya go Bullseye. Here is 3 pics from different angles. I'm unable to zoom in real close with the pics just coming out blurry. I guess I need to invest in a better camera. The cocking knob is continuous all the way around. Except for a slight notch maybe 1/8'' wide. But I cleaned it out the best I could and there is no pin. So I'm guessing this old knob is just siezed up on there. I will try to put some penatrating oil on it over night and try to gently remove it with a pair of channel locks in the vise in the morning. I do believe you are right about there being drag and/or corrosion on the striker.

I could push the firing pin all the way in. Then pull the cocking knob all the way back and release it. Sometimes it would be enough to push the firing pin forward and sometimes it would not. If you have any other advice or suggestions please let me know.

This pic shows the small cut out at the base of the knob. But like I said there is no pin to be seen.

tradrick · Post by **tradrick** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:51 am

Thanks for your help in this Bullseye. Another member at RFC posted pics of the disassembly. Here is a link to it. Might be a good sticky here too.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/sh ... ost2711444

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 10:03 am

That's great! I knew there were threads on the mainspring stud bolt but I didn't know you have to push the knob in to be able to unscrew it. You may still need to use the penetrating oil to loosen up those threads. Be careful using tools that may mar the surface of your rifle's parts. Unpadded channel lock plier jaws are a definite no-no. That knob comes off of the cocker body too, but I don't think you need to take it down that far to accomplish the detailed cleaning and restoration you desire.

Looks like you folks need to find out how to use the "macro" setting on your digital cameras. Mine has a little flower symbol displayed when photographing things up close. I place (tape) a little tissue paper over the flash strobe lens to disperse the glare. The M15/120 bolt tear down description is great, too bad the pictures are of such poor quality. I'd make it a sticky here if they were better pictures.

Let us know how you make out with the bolt tear down.

R,
Bullseye

tradrick · Post by **tradrick** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:37 am

Just finished the bolt tear down. Everything went fine. You where right as usual. The cocking knob does twist off as well. I completely disassembled it, even took the main spring out of the striker bolt, which is not pictured. If I find the time I may redo the tear down and try to provide better pictures. Where it can be a sticky for future use. I know I could'nt find info on this anywhere. I have many thanks for the guy over at RFC that provided this for me. Time to go test fire this rifle to see if the cleaning helped. Or if I will have to order a few new parts. Either way its know big deal. I can replace every part in the bolt for like $20.00. Thanks for your help and shoot straight.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:12 pm

That's great! I'm glad everything worked out for you. I look forward to hearing if your detailed stripping solved the problem. A little oil on some #0000 steel wool would clean up that surface oxidation real well.

If you do reshoot those photos I'd make a sticky out of it. You can even send them to me via email and I'll make a whole "How to" post.

R,
Bullseye

tradrick · Post by **tradrick** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 5:47 pm

Well no luck at the range. The strikes seem to be even lighter than they where before I cleaned it up. I guess all that build up in there had it shooting at least half the time.

I know after I cleaned it up I was exercising the main spring and little plunger after assembling it back in the striker bolt. Even after a good cleaning it still felt and sounded real gritty.

But the main problem I think is the firing pin. When the firing pin is pushed back into the bolt. Like it would be in the firing position. There is not enough of the firing pin sticking out on the rear for when the striker goes all the way forward to push the firing pin forward. With the firing pin pushed back in the bolt and the stiker all the way forward it still is not making contact with the rear of the firing pin. It's like maybe someone replaced or made a firing pin for it and its not quite long enough.

The light strikes I'm getting now are barely visable. But they are there. I'm guessing I will order a new firing pin and mainspring. The extractor seems to work fine. It ejects the shell everytime. Do you think there is any other possibilities of what may be wrong? Or any other parts I should order. Thanks, Tradrick