1873 lever hold up spring ques.

[Alphawolf45]

 Anybody who has an 1873 can answer this question..I dont have a complete 1873 so cant check for myself..Want to know if the spring for the lever is supposed to hold the lever up in contact with the lower tang or let it ride bit low to allow the trigger blocking lever to maintain the rifle in safe position?... I am making that spring without an exact example to copy.Working from pictures. Some help would be appreciated.
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I started with a deeply rust pocked and  empty 1873 receiver with a equally rough lower tang and a Ruger 10-22 barrel and  am machining all the other pieces..A year an a half later she feeds, fires and shucks like a champ.. Its been quite a project. 

[Jubal Wilson]

Alphawolf,
On the Uberti Winchester 1873 the lever does not come all the way against the lower tang. The trigger block spring holds it open a bit until you grip the lever and unblock the trigger as you suspected.
Now about the lack of pictures of your project. It must be corrected soon.
Have a great day.
Jubal

[Alphawolf45]

Excellent response. Thankyou  Jubal Wilson
 
Nothing special .This one looks like any other working class rifle..I plan to rust blue the barrel and colorcaseharden the receiver and other bits this week..But.but, but I do not build anything fancy.I like the old guns in the form that my dirt poor and frugal ancestors would have used....and I am slow..have other projects in the pipeline but bothing as close to completion......Will finish a Sharps -Borchardt in .22 caliber next....I have a target inside my shop and gets me off to shoot .22s in there..

[Alphawolf45]

I enjoy reading this forum..Lots of guys here are really sharp on the subject of these firearms..I am pretty ignorant by comparison.. I am not able to get out to a gunclub and I dont hunt anymore..but I like the old guns...I am building several other 1873s and plan to build a Winchester 1892 and gathering stuff to build a couple Marlin 1893s...........am recently working on several Highwalls...I have the problem that I start well but lose interest and project has to sit and rust a while............ Here is one I did finish..Its a copy of my original Marlin 1892 .22LR .I used a rifled barrel blank and bought tube magazine but made every single other part..Every bolt and pin and spring. Even cast bronze buttplate for it..Months of fun building it.

[Jubal Wilson]

Alphawolf,
It looks like you are doing a great job on that 1873. And the Marlin is absolutely beautiful. I wish I had the skills to do things like that.
I agree with you that old guns with character are the best. When I started shooting back in the Stone Age all I could afford was junk that nobody else wanted. I went through several 1873s trying to find one that would shoot then I found out they were worth more as collectors so I sold them to go to college. I was very happy when the replicas came out because now I could have a good shooter that I didn't half to worry about the collector value. But I still like the original ones in whatever shape.
Jubal

[Alphawolf45]

 I finished this .22LR 1873 trapper length carbine  to my own satisfaction. Still lacks the dustcover and the lever holdup wing...This started as a rusted relic that I TIG welded on for literally hours to fill deep pocks and to build up the front end where receiver meets wood was rusted away to  just a wire edge....

.I bought the trigger, sear ,bare  receiver and lower tang on gunbroker.. I made the lever, cartridge carrier with its lever , made the hammer, carved the wood .Cast the bronze buttplate..Made those side covers and made the toggle links and the firing pin assembly..The barrel is off a Ruger 10-22 that I machined to do duty here....

.Nice little gun..Fun to bring one to life and be able to empty a magazine as fast as can bust cap and lever out the empty and lever in a fresh one.......Someday I may finish similar builds that I have started  in . .32-20 , .38 special  .45 Colt..and another in .22 LR.

   This is my hunter plinker..It wouldnt win any awards for appearance... It still has lots of little defects from the rust so I tried giving the whole gun a used appearance .I am real proud I actually got this one working this good.

[Grizzly Adams]

Splendid work, Sir!  I really like the "open top" 22.  Some of the earliest model 1873 were made without the dust cover.

[Alphawolf45]

Splendid work, Sir!  I really like the "open top" 22.  Some of the earliest model 1873 were made without the dust cover.

  Grizzly Adams The rails were rusted nearly off the old receiver so I milled them off..I had intended to screw the separate type rail to the receiver and have the dustcover but I then decided I like it the way it is . This one with Ruger barrel with Ruger sights and the modern tubular magazine is far  from authentic anyway so I dont think a missing dust cover counts for much consideration.......I have 4 more 1873s that I am building for myself over the next couple years and will try to build at least one of them closer to authentic and give it a new-ish appearance....Not claiming I am gonna go Turnbull on the next one- I sure aint THAT good  but I can do better than this one if I am sufficiently motivated...
  Got to say though, I'll say it again this is one sweet little gun that I couldnt be happier with it. I am loving it.