Seems like there is some interest in this little guy so I thought I would show one little portion of this build that some may find interesting.  

I am always amazed at how the guys 120 years ago designed and built these guns we see everyday.  Every little cut and feature of the internals are  there for a reason, no matter how insignificant it appears to be.  So I thought I would show the workings of the auto safety on this gun.  This will not be anything new to those that study lots of guns but hopefully some can appreciate this feature of this action.

I'll start with a little preview of the parts and the setup for getting things to work.

Like I had said in the previous post on this action, it is really small.  

First is a picture showing it compared to a Stevens 44 action for reference.

The second photo is the cocking lever mounted on the lever spindle.  Notice the radius cut in the side of the cocking lever.  This engages an extension in the hammer as the action is cocked.

Third photo shows the hammer on the right and you can see the rounded extension that engages the cocking lever radius.  Also on the left, another view of the cocking lever and the radius cut.  The sear notch is also visible on the hammer.  It's the step just above and left of the cocking radius.

The last photo shows the safety (L shaped part) and the nose of the trigger.  The step of the the safety slides under the nose of the trigger effectively stopping any trigger movement.  

In the case of this action the step does not reach under the nose of the trigger when fully in the rear position.  The steps will be extended by welding and recutting to fit precisely under the trigger once everything is working properly.

Here is everything mounted on the outside of the frame.  A few washers under the hammer to raise it up in order to engage the other parts.

At this point in the build everything is a bit loose because I use pins that are 2-3 thousands undersized in order to make assembly and disassembly easier.  It also helps maintain the condition of the reamed holes.  In the final fit, the pins will need to be driven in.  Also for this operation there are no springs in place so nothing is tensioned as it will be in the final action.

The next 5 photos are the sequence of the action being cocked and the safety being engaged and disengaged.

First, think of this photo as showing the gun having been fired and the hammer being cocked.  The cocking lever is pulling the hammer down  (up in this picture) toward the tigger assembly.  All the parts are clearly seen, the long lever is the sear lever, the sear notch in the hammer, the safety and to the front of the safety the little hook that will contact the hammer as the hammer is cocked.  The safety is forward or off in this picture, you can see it is tight against the trigger frame and can not move forward any further.  The two legs sticking up from the trigger frame are suppose to sit at an angle.

In the second photo the hammer has started to engage the hook of the safety but the sear technically has not engaged at this point.

The third photo shows the hammer fully engaging the safety nose hook, pushing the safety to the safe or rear position.  The hook pushes back against the curved portion of the sear arm which limits the rear movement.  The parts need to be shaped properly, polished and lubed for this to happen smoothly.  

Normally when cocked, the hammer would travel further down until stopped against the sear arm, then rebound and the sear would be engaged.  If the sear spring was in place, the arm would continuely ride against the hammer.

Fourth, This shows the hammer rebounded and the sear clearly engaged.  If the sear engages while the hammer is still contacting the safety hook you would not be able to push the safety to the forward or firing position.  The hammer must rebound far enough so the deeper under cut in the hammer is in front of the safety hook, so the safety can be move from safe to the fire position, after the sear has engaged.

Last shows the hammer in the approximate position after striking the firing pin.

Of course the challenge, and fun, is getting all this fitted and timed correctly.
Bob

bobw  You certainly do very fine work, kind of like opening a good book, start reading and can't put it down, the way your work affects me. A little off subject, but that Stevens engraving is some of, if not the best I have ever seen, especially if it is factory?

Bob, The safety work is outstanding. That is a complicated little hummer.
OT: Did you do the engraving on the 44? Very nice.
Chuck