Making new pins Stevens 44

[Kmrere42]

Hi,


Need some advice on materials for making new pins.



I have available 4140HT,  316ss,  416ss as well as dowel pins.  I would rather not play with home brew heat treating.
Yes, I can machine dowel pins but it is not a favorite thing to do.

The pins will be for the breach block and main lever.


Thank you,


Paul

[John Traveler]

The 4140 HT is your best bet.

What caliber?  That will be the definitive answer for the 4140HT or a requirement for heat treating machined pins.

[Kmrere42]

HI John,


32-40,  It is for the lever pin as the breach block pin is does not have as much play in it.  The lever is really sloppy and does not stay tight to the receiver but drops about 1/2"at the end. I pulled it apart but there seems to not be a spring in the lever area.  Its an older model 44.  I was originally thinking of putting in oversized pins and making a locking plate like the rolling block receivers have so I could do away with drilling and tapping the pins.


Paul

[John Traveler]

Hi, Paul!

Frank De Haas' "Single Shot Rifles and Actions" has a very informative writeup about the Stevens 44.  He stated that the rifle was chambered for the .32-40 and .38-55 as the largest cartridges, was intended for light target shooting, and that firing heavy hunting loads in these calibers loosened the action.  The five stress areas were: breech block pivot screw, receiver/block surface, breech block link pin, lever link pin, and lever tension screw.  He described how because of the multiple interaction of these parts, any looseness or wear in them translates into excessive headspace problems and failure of the lever to stay tight.

I would still recommend the 4140HT rod as suitable for the use you described.  Heat treated drill rod would have been my first choice, but unlike the Remington Rolling Block design with which I am very familiar, breech stress does not concentrate on the lever pin, but does on the breech block pin.  The stainless steels you listed are more known for their toughness in applications like barrel material.


Let us know how the project works out!

HTH
John

[Kmrere42]

Thank's John,



I am hoping to eventually make barrels in 38spc, 45colt and 32-20. It looks fairly easy as one little screw holds the barrel tight. 


As to the 32-40 I have been researching data on loading properly for the 44,  with a 170gr cast bullet with a velocity of 1550, per Ken waters pet loads. seems to be the max. Any more than this might damage the linkage for the block.

Does the back of the receiver bear any of the pressure of the block??  I might change all the pins.


What is the lever tension screw??  Is this the screw in the block that seems to have no purpose??



Paul.

[John Traveler]

Hi, Paul!

I am disadvantaged in not having a Stevens 44 in front of me at the moment, and it's been several years since I examined one.

From the Frank De Haas "Single Shot Rifles and Actions" book, it is stated that the back of the breech block bears against shoulders in the cast steel receiver when the breech block is propped up and closed by the lever and linkage.  He did state that any looseness in the various pins for linkage, lever, and block are accumulative and results in excessive headspace.  He listed the five stress areas mentioned earlier.  From his description, some of the 44 improvements included a lever tension screw that is adjusted to keep the lever in the up position.

He did mention that this is one of the weaker single shot actions, and he advised chambering/barreling only for .22 rimfire, .32-20, .38 Special, or keeping the original .32-40 or .38-55 target level loads in the 20,000 psi catagory.  I would restrict it to black powder loads or very light smokeless loads ONLY. He did not mention .45 Colt, and I suspect it was because he considered the total breech thrust to be excessive, even though it is a moderate pistol caliber pressure, but with a larger cross-sectional area, and therefore the back thump would be much more than say, .38 Special.

My educated guess is that for your purposes, the 4140 HT is plenty strong for all the pins.  Probably even unheat-treated drill rod would work okay for those calibers.  I would definitely not consider chambering in a magnum pistol caliber or anything more muscular than that mid-range 170 grain cast bullet at 1550 fps.

Sounds like an exciting project.  Show us some pictures and range report when you finish!

John

[DonH]

Having been through this with a .22 LR 44 Stevens, this is fairly fresh in my mind. I am not an expert on this action but believe the idea of the breechblock bearing on the receiver is more theroy than reality. The lock-up seems to depend more on pins linking the block to link and link to lever. The 4140 material for pins would be comforting except for the fact that internal action parts (on mine at least) are softer stee; than the new pins will be. There are things I like about the action but it is just not strong. If I were to be really serious about a 44 action, I think I would like the pin holes in block and lever to be bushed with a stronger material and a new link made of similar stuff.

Somewheere I read of a modification of the 44 action which yielded better lock-up but just now can't say where. ASSRA forum maybe?

[John Traveler]

The later model of the Stevens 44 evolved into the Model 417 in .22 Hornet in the middle 1930's.  According to Frank de Haas' Single Shot Rifles And Actions, this was a more closely fitted production of the earlier model 44, but still using the cast iron receiver.  The closer fitting of block, frame, links, and lever was felt to be sufficient for the .22 Hornet pressures.  Apparently it did not work out well, with subsequent reports of loosening of actions after extensive firing.

[JCHannum]

The 44 is a low pressure, swinging block action and should be limited to the cartridges listed in the de Haas book and mentioned above. The 25-20 WCF is another good round for this rifle as are the 22 and 17 magnum rimfires.

It relies on the pins for lockup, there is minimal, if any, support provided by the rear of the action walls. If you have 4140 available and wish to use that for pins, it will work fine. If it is not readily available, drill rod will work just as well. I would not recommend hardening either material.