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 10 Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG (Read 7389 times)
Zgun
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Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Feb 8th, 2018 at 6:00pm
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Hi All,

I removed the sear/trigger from a 1896 Krag rifle to clean the parts as they were full of gunk and grime from the last who knows how many years.  Removing the assembly was straight forward.  Putting the sear back in the receiver not so easy as you have to compress the heavy sear spring while trying to fit the front of the sear into it's drilled hole in the receiver.

Any suggestions on how this can be done with a minimum of colorful language being muttered? Has anyone engineered a clamp for this operation ?
  
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butlersrangers
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #1 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 3:06am
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Well, I began working on a model 1896 Krag project today.

The trigger assembly was packed with old grease and it impaired the trigger-pull. I also needed to do some stock fitting, which would be easier with the trigger off the action.

(In the past, I have always found the trigger unit difficult to re-install).

I pulled the trigger assembly, cleaned the parts, and looked for an easy way to reassemble. (The 'Springfield Boys' had to have a trick).

The manufacturing hole, through the 'knuckle' pivot on the front of the sear, attracted my attention. The 'sear pivot hole' on the action has a small diameter blind hole at its bottom.

I put the shank of a closely fitting drill through the sear pivot and started the pivot into its receptacle. The drill shank served as a support post. I inserted the trigger spring in the front of the sear.

With the barreled-receiver lying on a work table, I firmly gripped the trigger while compressing the trigger spring with the tip of a screwdriver.

Once the spring was compressed, I could wiggle the trigger and move the assembly inward enough to catch the spring on the edge of the receiver.

At this point, the trigger can be pushed forward so the sear lowers to clear the receiver. I then moved the sear into place with light taps of a plastic mallet. The drill shank helped serve as a third hand, guiding and keeping the sear aligned.
   
« Last Edit: Feb 9th, 2018 at 5:33am by butlersrangers »  
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Zgun
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #2 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 3:28am
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Great solution Chuck with nice pics and documentation. I was going down the same path as you but no matter how hard I tried I was not able to compress that  #@^% spring with a screwdriver or punch.

I used a small squeeze clamp and came up with essentially the same set of steps you described.  That spring is incredibly stout and I would guess the engineers at Springfield designed a custom clamp tool for the manufacturing of the rifles.

So now we have 2 methods to reinstall the sear with pics. Good luck to all who have this challenge in their future. Smiley

Chuck, your sear was gunkier than mine, but I now have a smooth 2 stage trigger that has virtually no creep and breaks consistently at 5.6 to 5.8 pounds.
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #3 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 6:19pm
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I had pretty much come to the same conclusion when installing the trigger group but I thought I'd share a different installation twist.
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #4 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 6:26pm
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Find yourself a 1/4 width flat bladed screwdriver.
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #5 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 6:28pm
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Orient your trigger spring in the trigger housing so the spring tip is pointing up as demonstrated.
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #6 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 6:29pm
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Place the trigger group on the receiver.
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #7 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 6:32pm
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Place the flat of the screwdriver blade against the receiver.
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #8 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 6:36pm
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Twist the screwdriver till it compresses the spring and lays flat while using your other hand to hold the punch. 

At this point you may get lucky and the trigger just slides down, however, I usually have to shimmy the screwdriver blade to get the spring to cooperate.
« Last Edit: Feb 9th, 2018 at 9:28pm by Local Boy »  
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #9 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 6:38pm
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Push down on the trigger group.
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #10 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 6:41pm
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And your done!

I think someone has/could come up with a Krag trigger installation tool that does the same thing but much more efficiently.

Hope this works for you!
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #11 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 9:20pm
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Speaking of trigger installation tools...

I Found an old wrench, from some long ago project, and ground down the tip of the handle to use instead of a screwdriver.
  
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Local Boy
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #12 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 9:21pm
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it worked perfectly!

Just follow the trigger install procedures posted above.  Substitute the screwdriver with the trigger install tool for much better results.
  
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butlersrangers
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #13 - Feb 9th, 2018 at 10:19pm
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'Local Boy' - You win! That is a very good solution.

If spaced and angled just right, (and using a 'slave pin' guide through the hole of the sear pivot), your tool would allow the trigger to be pushed forward and serve as a lever. This would compress the sear spring against the stationary tool. Once the spring is compressed into the sear body , the trigger assembly could be pushed sideways into place.

(p.s. - Zgun gets an honorable mention, style points, and a 'Rube Goldberg Cluster' for utilizing a fancy screwdriver, a rubber band, and a clamp)!
  
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Re: Reinstall trigger/sear assembly on an 1896 KRAG
Reply #14 - Feb 10th, 2018 at 2:04pm
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BLUSH... Thanks BR.. Local boy that is an awesome solution. I will soon have a custom ground KRAG SEAR INSTALL Tool in my gun tool box. Thanks a bunch for posting with pics....

Anybody else think we ought to have a separate board index, titled something like "The Workbench", where we can post these types of topics (working on Krags and others as well) without muddying up the other indexes?  Just thinking out loud.
  
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