This is a continuation of the post below, just wanted all you knowledgeable shooters to pick up on it:

I read a bunch of info on Mike's site. First, I have a ca. 1982 frame. It is not the really old ones but it is not recent. The barrel is correct for the frame. It looks outwardly, identical to my 30 Herret barrel. The Herret works fine.

I think I have a tight locking bolt situation. I will do Mike's marker trick to see. It seems that I should be working on the barrel and not the frame. If I change or modify the bolt in the frame it will not be right with the other barrel.
If I am visualizing the mechanisim correctly, it seems like I could take a couple of thousands off whatever is stopping the barrel when it is fully closed and make it close a tiny bit more. Could I do that or is it taboo? Seems odd to need to modify the frame mechanisim when you change barrels... I thought these things were supposed to be capable of swapping barrels easily. Live and learn!

Scot go back and reread mikes page. I believe you change the locking lugs on the barrel. Don't mess with frame.

Right on, tommyn.

Don't mess with the frame at all unless it is the trigger group too high up into the frame preventing the locking bolts from engaging all the way. You can eliminate that factor by simply taking the long screw out of the trigger guard return spring.... under the grip, just behind the trigger guard. With this screw removed, the cams on the trigger group cannot stop or limit the movement of the locking bolts. If it turns out the trigger group is contacting the locking bolts and preventing lock up, then while the long screw is out, turn the short set screw ON TOP OF THE GRIP TENON..... IN..... just enough to prevent the long screw from holding the trigger group up too high inside the frame. Now you know what that little screw is for.

Don't mess with the barrel itself either... only the locking bolts, the little gippers that are spring loaded and slide under the locking table in the frame.

It is the TOP surface of the locking bolts that must be adjusted. They have to slide UNDER something.... so if they are too high to slide UNDER, then ya gotta lower 'em.

Likewise, if LOOSEness occurs in the lockup due to the locking bolts being too LOW, then ya gotta raise that top surface.

You cannot raise the top surface on existing bolts, BUT you can buy a higher set from TC. You ask for OVERSIZE locking bolts to raise the surface.

On existing locking bolts that are TOO HIGH, I use the 11F Diamond EZ Lap listed on my store to work this surface down, keeping it flat and retaining the original draft angle. You drop this surface until when you ink the surface and install the barrel, the locking table in the frame will mar the ink to a point about 1/32" FORWARD of the "U" notch in the locking bolts.

Make sense?

Mike

scot,
Rereading your post.... what stops the barrel from closing farther is the radius of the barrel on the bottom where it seats into the radius in the frame. Yes, you can file away material from the bottom of the barrel and make it drop farther into the frame, which is something I do on new barrels sometimes when fitting them to the shop frame..... BEFORE THEY ARE BLUED OR FINISHED.

One other point.... on occasion you will find that rare barrel that is too long from the hinge pin hole back to the end of the barrel. On these barrels, the end of the barrel hits the breech face before the barrel seats in the radius in the frame. The remedy for these is to face off the end of the barrel so it will not hit the breech face.

Many barrels do contact the breech face, but not hard enough to prevent them from locking up all the way.

You do not monkey with the hinge pin, btw, to try to change the lockup; however, my oversize hinge pins will effectively stop the barrel from teetering in its seat in the frame and thus raise the locking bolts some.... making for a tighter lockup at the locking bolts AS WELL AS AT THE HINGE.

Mike

[ 09-10-2003, 09:58: Message edited by: Mike Bellm ]

Thanks a bunch, You all are doing me a great service. Can I find a Contender cut away/mechanical drawing on the new some where? That would help me understand the safety relationships.

Ok, I read Mikes site. Great site! I have an 8 groove, split locking lug, barrel and an easy open frame with the rotary RF/CF selector.

1. When I inked the locking lug it marks almost to the bottom of the circular cut out, in the middle.
2. The breech face is making hard contact with the frame. Zero gap. A .001 feeler prevents closing.

I stoned the top of the bolt, the tiniest amount. It seemed to help. Should I also touch up the back of the barrel where it is hitting the standing breech?

Thanks again all,

Scot

I would suggest that you send it back to Thompson Center Arms!
I'm sure they will make the correction at no cost to you and you will still have the warranty!
Chuck

I had a barrel that had lock up problems. Sent it to T/C three times & they never got it right. That was with a Custom Shop Barrel. Then I had to send the frame with the barrel which they ended up replacing after enlarging the hinge pin holes to make it fit. The only problem was it didn't fix the problem & other barrels didn't work either after that. They did eventually replaced the frame.The barrel was returned for a refund.
Rich Jake

What I meant was to send the entire gun, frame and barrel to T/C! Just taking a little off, here and there is futile, you might get it right and you might take off too much metal!
Send the whole thing in and it should be no problem for them to fix it!
NOTE: I would also let them know that I had another barrel for this frame, so they don't adjust the frame too much!
Hope this helps you; Chuck

scot, if you DO happen to ruin a set of locking bolts, you are only out about $13.

You could send the barrel back with the ruined locking bolts, and all it would cost you is the shipping.... small price for the learning experience even IF you do fail.

The locking bolts must engage to a point noticeably FORWARD of the "U" notch. It varies a little from frame to frame, but nearly all must engage at least this far.

Here is a different twist.... one that is easier if you remove the hammer first, but this may be beyond you. Take the hammer out, remove the plug in the breech face that holds the firing pins. NOW, if the hammer block drops ok, it was the barrel hitting on the plug that was preventing lockup.... that combined with an increased travel of the locking bolts as indicated by the ink marks should tell you what you need to know.

There is ABSOLUTELY no harm in neatly filing .005" or more from the rear of the barrel, then cold bluing it.... in the event the barrel IS in fact hitting on the plug in the breech face and preventing the barrel from going down all the way in the frame.

Point is.... what do you have to lose by trying? And you stand to gain so much by learning how the gun functions instead of scratching your head then deciding the Contender is a piece of junk.

If you do not want to face material off the end of the barrel yourself, send it to David White or Virgin Valley, both of whom are on my forum site.
They can do it for you also.

http://www.bellmtcs.com/forum/index.php

Mike

[ 09-12-2003, 08:03: Message edited by: Mike Bellm ]

Thanks Everyone,

I have learned a lot about my Contender. That in itself was very worthwhile. I compared the locking bolts from my Herret barrel and my 30-30. The Herret bolt was about 5-thousands thinner. Since I am not interested the the Herret I swapped bolts. It works fine now. As for the back of the barrel and the hard contact wit the breech, I removed a thousand or two, from the high spot, and polished it with a stone. It is bright and looks fine.

As for the Herret barrel, it may be a good "blank" to make a somthing else. Maybe a 357 mag, 25-20 or a 30 carbine. I have thought for a long time about making a thick walled liner or even cutting it off ahead of the block and threading it. I have no use for the 30 Herret.

Scott,
I'm sure someone would take the 30 Herret off your hands if you're willing to sell it. You can use the barrel trading section to try and get something you want, or put it in the classifieds. Both have gotten fast results for me in the past.
Bill