soldierofhistory1898 wrote on Jun 30^th, 2012 at 12:40am:

Hello John42768.    If you are going to remove the upper hand guard for an extended period of time place a 25 cent piece in the rear spring and a Nickel in the front spring. They can be a bear to insert in some as some springs seem to have a lot more tension than others.

I just did a complete disassemble of my 1898 rifle (probably the first it's had in over 95 years).  I used a quarter in the rear clip, but I used a penny in the front clip... worked like a charm!  I tried a nickel in the front clip, but it was way to big, and I would have cracked the handguard trying to get it in.