I have a Win. mod 53 that has a bent upper tang. I didn't do it, and I can't even imagine how someone else bent it. (it doesn't show any evidence of being dropped) The whole gun is in rough shape, but the bore is pretty good, so I'm going fix it up and enjoy shooting and hunting with it. I'm not sure how to go about straightening the tang. It appears to have been bent up at the cut for the hammer, then bent down toward the end to let the stock screw meet the bottom tang.
I'd like to do the repair, as I'm going to re-stock, plug the 2 extra holes for a peep sight and blue it myself. I have come up with a method that might work, but sombody else might have a better one or have even have done this before.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Here is a picture of the tang with a steel rule to show the amount of bend.

Thank you all for the advice. I annealed the tang and was able to bend it back with less effort than I had anticipated. There still is a VERY slight curve,shown by the steel rule, but I decided to quit while I was ahead. I was able to measure another rifle and got the measurements between the tangs at the plug screw and stock screw to match. Also plugged two badly misplaced screw holes where somebody added a Williams peep.
Photo of the straightened tang and plugged screw holes. Next step is new butt and forend.

I have a 94 that was in the same shape. The fellow was running after a wounded coyote he'd shot, fell, and it took his weight while in one hand. It actually bent/broke the tang screw, didnt break the stock, but bent the tang.
I hate to tell you how I fixed it, but here it goes..... a 3# deadblow hammer while holding the rifle in my other hand/lap. Yup, works perfectly now, stock fit back fine and all. I now have a perfectly good 94 truck gun for $50!

Gentle pressure on the tang in a padded vise,just test the amount of movement often.
The shop hammer or BFH works as well if done in moderation.

quote:

The shop hammer or BFH works as well if done in moderation.

I do need to clarify, that 94 tang was VERY soft, it took very little to bend it, choke up on the hammer if you go that route!!

It looks to me like it is only bent in the one direction, approximately 1/4 inch from the frame. The tangs of the few Winchester lever guns I've straightened seemed fairly malleable. Although I did have a 74 come in where the tang was broken completely off and needed to be reattached. Ugly! Were it me, I would direct the straightening efforts there. The rest should follow. A small block of wood between the tang and a couple of well placed blows from a hammer should do it. You probably won't be able creep down on it, you will probably have to go a touch below level and bring it back up into alignment. Just proceed slowly and don't over do it.

I hope I am wrong and it is just the light or some such, but it looks to me as if it may have two bends in it....one just above the "6" mark on the ruler, and another just about at the "18" mark. Of course I am a nervous Nellie when it comes to whacking old iron with hammers, having had a Model '86 tang crystalize on me at the bend when initially bent, and then fracture when it was hit with a lead hammer. (The crystallization had not been overtly apparent.)

Luckily it was a lower tang, which was easily replaced back then (1963). Be careful and good luck.

I do like WestPac's advice about putting a fairly long piece of softwood between the two tangs so you don't get a sharp opposite bend when you hit it.

If you have another 94 lying around, you might even want to fit the softwood to the gap between the two tangs of that other one, then put it in between these two tangs so you'll know just how far you are progressing when you start applying the hammer.

Whatever you do, I recommend thinking it through about four times with someone else you trust before applying any force, then doing the minimal amount you think required..

How about put it on the stock gently squeeze with a clamp and install and tighten the tang bolt.

Leave it that way and see how it does. In 4-5 years when you next have the stock off see what has adjusted if anything. Squeeze, put back in the stock and go on.

If you are going to refinish it then slowly/gentley rap a wood block on the top tang.

Can yo actually the point where it is bent?

IMO it's 2 bends and IMO Westpac's suggestion is a good one.

Please be advised that some early Win lever gun tangs are harder than others, and if that puppy wuz mine I'd thoroughly anneal the tang before bending. You can imagine how I learned this....(grin).

The tendency to break is probably tied into the question of whether the parts were originally case-colored or blued, but I personally still take no chances on any doubtful Win tangs, I anneal 'em all before any bending.
Regards, Joe

Crystallize ?? Metals are crystalline to start with ! What you had is a section with large grains which is brittle .One blow may have bent it a second blow broke it.
If all the bend is at the hammer slot I'd heat that area and bend in a vise if I could .If not use a wood bloack and hammer.Get it up to about 400 F.

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
If all the bend is at the hammer slot I'd heat that area and bend in a vise if I could .If not use a wood bloack and hammer.Get it up to about 400 F.

I recommend a higher temp than that, at least 700F or even higher. JMOFWIW. A very dull red has worked well for me in the past.
Regards, Joe

JD Steele-According to the serial number it was made in 1925 and as far as I know all model 53's were blued. I considered annealing, but was concerned about scaling the stamped "Winchester" on the tang, and more importantly, about softening the locking bolt recesses from migrating heat. Would wrapping and packing the recesses with a wet towel while applying heat keep them from getting softened? Would some anti-scale paste keep the stamping from scaling? I would be heating with a torch and have temp-sticks to check the temp.
Sorry if I'm overly concerned, but I would like to learn how to do this right and even though I don't have much invested in this gun, don't want to break off the tang.
Thanks

It would be safe to go to 400 F.Higher than that would be OK if I knew more about the material and it's HT.

Bolt handles are bent by torch heating and wrapping the bolt with wet towels -no problem there. Anti-scale compound would work OK.

quote:

Originally posted by yellowdog1:
JD Steele-According to the serial number it was made in 1925 and as far as I know all model 53's were blued. I considered annealing, but was concerned about scaling the stamped "Winchester" on the tang, and more importantly, about softening the locking bolt recesses from migrating heat. Would wrapping and packing the recesses with a wet towel while applying heat keep them from getting softened? Would some anti-scale paste keep the stamping from scaling? I would be heating with a torch and have temp-sticks to check the temp.
Sorry if I'm overly concerned, but I would like to learn how to do this right and even though I don't have much invested in this gun, don't want to break off the tang.
Thanks

Wrapping and packing will keep the heat contained in the tang area, and anti-scale compound will keep the lettering clean. Also I have found that a dull (just visible) red heat won't usually scale the steel especially if the red color is NOT maintained for a long time, only a few moments. Sometimes the blue is discolored, sometimes not, but a few moments with some fine steel wool & oil will usually blend it nicely.

I'm fairly certain that your Win was not case-hardened and thus not QUITE as likely to crack when bent.

However I'd also suggest that you bend the tang in 2 separate operations since there appear to be 2 bends. I'd begin by clamping the tang between 2 hardwood blocks in my bench vise VERY FIRMLY.

I would clamp the tang between 2 HARDwood (or soft lead) blocks positioned across the short bent portion at the hammer slot, to avoid further bending of this weaker area when correcting the tang's 'tail' angle.

I'd make the first correction at the point where the tang is bent down, actually somewhat behind the hammer slot. This first corrective bend will actually go upward, to align the tang's tail with the short upwardly-bent portion at the hammer slot.

When the rear bend is corrected then I'd go on to correct the front bend at the hammer slot.

An alternative would be to clamp the tang between a flat steel surface on the bottom and a soft lead block placed across the top of the tang and contoured to fit the top's side-to-side curvature. The steel on the bottom surface won't bend, and the lead across the top surface won't mar the finish to any important degree. This method usually requires a hydraulic press.
Regards, Joe

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
Crystallize ?? Metals are crystalline to start with ! What you had is a section with large grains which is brittle .One blow may have bent it a second blow broke it.
If all the bend is at the hammer slot I'd heat that area and bend in a vise if I could .If not use a wood bloack and hammer.Get it up to about 400 F.

Of course metals have a basic crystal structure, but its pretty clear you knew what I meant. I suspect others do as well.

Whether the stress of bending contributed to the large grain formation, I can't say, but the crystalline structure became much more in evidence where the bends and break occured.

I know heating metal can change grain size, and I suspect bending MAY as well.

I know your description is common but it's hard for me to not be metallurgically correct !

Bending won't make for larger grains .You can bend then heat and get recrystallization producing smaller grains !

That's enough metallurgy for one day. I don't want to overtax your minds !! It's like learning a new language !
In gunsmithing school they wouldn't let me in the 'metallurgy' class !

I knew heat-treating could create or re-create smaller grains and have even found some tables of temperatures to use for that purpose.

If bending cannot cause larger crystraline size, why is it then that cold-flexing metal back and forth to where it finally breaks often seems to show very large crystal size at the break point? (I'm asking an honest question, not trying to argue.)

It's just that I have "snapped" metal several times where I didn't let it "choose" its own bending point, but carefully controlled the bending location to break it to a length I wanted.

I can certainly see where it might bend where the grain makes it the weakest, if one simply applied force to both ends and didn't support the areas where a bend was NOT wanted...but that wasn't the situation in the instances I'm speaking of.

Again, I'm genuinely curious, not disputing anything you said. I'd like to learn something more about this, so I can speak more specifically to this exact subject in the future if I need to tell someone else anything about it.

Bending back and forth is work hardening !Things happen within the grains but it doesn't make the grains larger.
Early swords of bronze or iron were often work hardened as were [and some still are ] scythes and sickles .Done with small hammer and chisel.The edges would be thinned and the material at the edge strengthened and hardened .
There is a limit though ,IIRC about 10 % reduction in area.

Bump, new photo added.