UK 51

1970-1980
User avatar
.270 WIN
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 2:14 am
Location: Mitcham, South London, England
PostPosted: Thu Mar 09, 2017 3:59 pm
Gentlemen of Ithaca!
I have found and purchased a 51. Bought from an auction house, after a brief examination and discovering the dreaded cracked slide I showed the auctioneer and made a very low offer which was accepted. It is a 12g 28" imp cyl choke and feels just great in the hand, not really a featherlight as described though! The Wood has cleaned up a treat and the stock fits me better than any auto I've ever had. Its sort of like an ambidextrous monte carlo stock which is great.
I have been in touch with Les at Diamond Gunsmiths and will shortly be ordering the spring and buffer replacement kit. I am awaiting a reply from a high-tech laser welding company over here regarding the slide repair. Apparently the laser process makes a super strong repair without too much heat transfer across the rest of the material.
So basically I bought a broken gun for next to no money which I love already and can't wait to shoot!
One question for the forum Ithaca-Meisters ! The split ball ended connecting rod is attached to the slide with a cross pin and spring (approximately 1" long) In the parts diagram the spring seems shorter and has a plunger at each end. Is this normal? It seems to work ok but if I need plungers are they available? Maybe a mod 37 safety plunger would work?
ithaca51 (1).JPG
My new 51
ithaca51 (1).JPG (83.46 KiB) Viewed 18482 times

ithaca51 (3).JPG
ithaca51 (3).JPG (108.61 KiB) Viewed 18482 times

ithaca51 (6).JPG
ithaca51 (6).JPG (97.41 KiB) Viewed 18482 times
User avatar
.270 WIN
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 2:14 am
Location: Mitcham, South London, England
PostPosted: Thu Mar 09, 2017 4:03 pm
So now the horrors I found inside.............
ithaca51 (10).JPG
The dreaded crack!
ithaca51 (10).JPG (106.72 KiB) Viewed 18481 times

ithaca51 (14).JPG
Guilty party #1
ithaca51 (14).JPG (76.58 KiB) Viewed 18481 times

ithaca51 (16).JPG
Guilty party #2
ithaca51 (16).JPG (92.5 KiB) Viewed 18481 times


I intend to get this fine gun back to its best, as previous pictures show, neglect, lack of cleaning and maintenance has resulted in a dreadful internal mess which the beautiful exterior does not deserve

Ok I now understand parts 31,32,33. One plunger bears on the divided link and one on the bolt handle. This explains the difficulty I had getting the handle out. I have asked Les at Diamond if he can supply, but would be grateful if any of you guys are field stripping if you could provide some measurements in case I have to fabricate or substitute.
Best wishes
Roland
Last edited by impala59 on Fri Mar 10, 2017 5:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
.270 WIN
Posts: 136
Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:37 am
Location: Hampshire, UK
PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 2:17 am
Oh, well *done*. You've been somewhat quicker off of the mark (ha!) than *I* have - I *still* haven't done anything about fixin' *mine*. (Gone off the boil a bit with the Ithacas, if truth be known.)

So, here's a question for you: is the postage a substantial amount from Les? If we put a single order in, would that be any great savings? (Are you getting a new action spring, as well?)

Regards,

Mark.
Came late in life to shooting but is making up for lost time...
User avatar
.270 WIN
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 2:14 am
Location: Mitcham, South London, England
PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 5:15 am
Hi Mark, I think that the new spring is a no brainer, reading up it appears that even originally it was a bit short. I will ask the question about 2 repair kits and let you know. It could, hopefully, be mutually beneficial. Did you get your welding done yet? I may look to an associate who works with CNC duplication to see if there are any possibilities to remanufacture . Wouldn't it be something to send parts back across the pond? As I understand it, Skal-tec, who were making slides, do not anymore. But maybe someone on here knows better?
Will be in touch
Roland
Last edited by impala59 on Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 9:07 am
Nice score Impala...damn shame people can't be trusted.

Good luck with the re-build...

.270 WIN
Posts: 494
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:10 pm
Location: Midstate, Pa.
PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:33 am
A lathe and mill comes to mind here. When face with a problem like this, I simply make new parts if they can't readily be bought.
User avatar
.270 WIN
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 2:14 am
Location: Mitcham, South London, England
PostPosted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 3:16 pm
krag96 wrote:A lathe and mill comes to mind here. When face with a problem like this, I simply make new parts if they can't readily be bought.

Inspired by you Sir! I roughed out the missing pieces simply by clamping a piece of 2.8mm stainless rod in the dremel and running a file over it, fitting with trial and error. A 2.7mm o/d spring from my trusty box of bits, completes the trio of parts. Rough being the operative word, nonetheless it works, the charge handle is securely retained but will release with a firm tug when taking down and the divided link rocks how it seems that it should and engages the ball-end easily with the cup on the mainspring follower. I can now remake a cleaner version with the dimensions I have, maybe adding a marginally stronger spring too.
pinspring (3).JPG
The 3 parts
pinspring (3).JPG (68.54 KiB) Viewed 18452 times

pinspring (5).JPG
fitted together
pinspring (5).JPG (68.63 KiB) Viewed 18452 times

pinspring (7).JPG
in situ
pinspring (7).JPG (105.68 KiB) Viewed 18452 times
User avatar
.270 WIN
Posts: 422
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:21 pm
Location: phila pa
PostPosted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 8:28 pm
the link pin ,spring and the 2 detent pins are some of the hardest items to locate if you were to build a 51 from scratch.
the slide can be found and fixed.
the little pins and springs are most often lost.

luckily they are not high wear or high stress items and your best bet is to reuse the originals when possible .

coincidently I just happen to take one of my 51s out bird hunting today.
though they are a bit heavier then a 37 , I forgot how light a shooter it is ..
I was crushing them
came away thinking that I gotta spend a bit more time in the field with it

.270 WIN
Posts: 494
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:10 pm
Location: Midstate, Pa.
PostPosted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 2:52 pm
There ya go! Great job of making parts that function!
User avatar
.270 WIN
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 2:14 am
Location: Mitcham, South London, England
PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 1:58 pm
The spring and buffer kit arrived from Les at Diamond Gunsmith, unfortunately the UK Customs and postal carrier hit me with a nasty bill before I could have my stuff. The slide laser welding was also not cheap but it is a really good job. It has made for a very expensive repair. Having said that, I did order two kits, one for fellow Brit ChAoS, so we saved a bit of shipping cost. Before fitting mine, I decided to try and duplicate for future use (and for when I buy another 51 which I am sure I will!)and turned some nylon on my old wood lathe. They are not pretty but they fit and are Nylon#6 which has great impact properties.
buffer (4).JPG
First attempt at receiver buffers, original on right
buffer (4).JPG (88.39 KiB) Viewed 18076 times

In an effort to soften the blows on the buffers I have made and will experiment with some composite parts (Nylon/Rubber) we shall see how it works in due course on the range.
comp buffers.JPG
Composite buffers, the bolt buffer much simpler to make
comp buffers.JPG (9.88 KiB) Viewed 18076 times

In an effort to also duplicate the spring, I conducted some simple tests to get my head around the tension required. Basically I stripped the gun, removed the trigger unit and the bolt, then replaced the slide and with the gun fixed vertically pointing downwards I attached a digital baggage scale to the bolt handle and pulled up to the end of travel. In this way I could measure the springs tension in Kilograms as there was no impediment to the slide or springs movement. I had a few springs around and this is the result of my testing
1 the original worn and slightly shorter spring 39kg
2 the new spring from Diamond Gunsmiths 48kg
3 1.25mm wire, 3coils per cm correct length 30kg
4 1.6 mm stainless wire 3coils per cm 70kg (thick wire would not allow full rearward travel)
5 Remington 1187 action spring 65kg (also would not allow full travel)

My conclusion is that the optimum is obviously around the 48kg mark and also a wire thickness of about 1mm with 2 coils per cm. I shall continue searching!

Return to Model 51

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests