Replacing cartridge guides on an 1894 Winchester

[David LaPell]

I have an early 1894 Winchester that has some worn out cartridge guides that need to be replaced, these are the older style where the screw heads are on the inside of the receiver. Has anyone ever had to take them out before? What did you use since there's no way to get a screwdriver in there and some of the 90 degree screwdrivers even look too wide to get the job done?

[Sixgun]

They can be a PITA, especially to reinstall......if your 90 degree screwdriver won't fit your going to need to grind it so it will fit. This takes skill and patience as you cannot mess up the screw head AT ALL......your better off using a short bit screwdriver on a one bit ratchet.......getting the old guide out can be accomplished by (after removing the screw) a few whacks on the outside of the receiver by a hard plastic hammer.......then your going to have to clean out the groove real well as the new one needs to be seated perfectly. Getting that hole to line up can be frustrating. Your going to need a pin punch that fits the hole exactly so the hole in the receiver will line up with the hole in the guide so the screw will meet the threads in the receiver. If there is any kind of a misfit between the guide and the groove in the receiver you will need a brass punch to tap it in on an angle.

Only a couple of thousandths will prevent the screw from screwing in and if the screw is not all the way in perfectly or has a buggered slot, the bolt will drag on the head of the screw.

It's better and easier if you remove all the guts so you have an empty receiver and no parts to get in the way.

Sometimes they slip right in and other times you will need a sedative if you are not patient inclined.----6

Good luck.....I recently put one in a '92 and have done them on other '92's and '94's-----6

[AJMD429]

You can get little ‘screwdriver/bit sets’ where the bits are usually just standard 1/4”-hex bits and the ratchet instead of bring a square-drive that adds all the length of a 1/4” hex socket, the ratchet is basically a 1/4” box-end wrench with a ratchet mechanism. So the bit goes through the ratchet instead of being in a socket that fits onto a regular socket-set type ratchet.

Those add no extra depth and can fit anywhere a naked 1/4” bit can fit.

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You could do the same with a 1/4” box-end ignition wrench and a proper ordinary hex-shaft bit, but it would be slower without the ratchet.

May want to use penetrating oil a day before to loosen things, AND get a wedge of hardwood or something to slip in between the blunt end of the bit and the other inside of the receiver and put pressure on the bit to keep it from slipping out of the screw slot.

If needed you could cut the bit shorter by cutting off some of the blunt end.

As Sixgun said, if needed, grind or hand-file the bit tip to fit the slot perfectly if needed.

I’d be tempted to replace the screws with Torx ones when all is said and done....

[Sixgun]

Doc,
You are always sooooooo classy! Those tools you posted are the ones to have......

I'm still in redneck status.....on a sizer/lubricator for cast bullets they give you a little ratchet that you use to compress the lube reservoir to squeeze the lube onto the bullets. It just so happens it's the same size as screwdriver bits.

[Griff]

You'll play hob locating replacements. Took me several years to find a pair that I needed to assemble a very late pre '64 that'd never been assembled. I finally found a pair from Buckingham's estate.