Shotgun Forum banner

Pictorial "How To" clean SX1

52K views 34 replies 22 participants last post by  ordiedb 
#1 ·
Please note

As of 28th Febuary Picturetrail is closing it's hosting of pictures and pictures on here will be deleted.
I will be looking for a new host but don't know which one yet so if anyone needs these pictures make sure you copy them for yourself.


I hope this is some help to any newcomer to SX1 or to existing owners--I know all of you can do it but just thought a pictorial would be handy.

I hope this "How to" will give any newby an idea how to strip and clean gun along with easy repairs.

For a list of part suppliers please see end of this post

I will now include at end of this post problems that other X1 users have had and found a solution for.

First off remove forend and barrel then remove piston sleeve (or action sleeve) - For those with the old gas seal the picture show's the correct way to assemble - the cupped side goes towards the forend nut.

A

To remove the piston head use a piece of cloth or paper towel and hold the piston head - with other hand hold the Action sleeve and twist head either clockwise or anticlockwise and you will feel retaining clip rise out of it's notch - then just twist slightly and pull head off Action sleeve - remove inner ring and clean everything -

B

C

D

E

Further to pictures above which show Gas seal and rubber ring on mag tube - There is also the outer ring on piston head - What can't be seen is inner ring inside piston head so these next two pictures will show ring in and out of piston head.

Inner ring fitted.

pictures mislaid at moment

no inner ring

Pictures mislaid at moment


The function of inner ring is to form a gas tight seal between piston head and mag tube - This is achieved when gas from shell starts to push piston head and sleeve rearward and as soon as piston head start's to move it squeezes the inner ring onto mag tube - As you can see from picture it is a split ring and the mating face in piston head is chamfered to compress inner ring.

To assemble fit inner ring and outer if you have removed it and holding piston head towards vertical to keep inner ring in place put sleeve into head as shown - you will see the tag on circlip so place action sleeve into head as shown making sure it goes under tag then push and line two up so they will just slide together - twist till circlip clips home

pictures mislaid at moment

Now remove trigger pin by just pushing out with suitable punch and pull trigger down and back slightly - Now remove bolt - as you will see by the pictures I have drilled a small hole through the threads of rebound tube so I can insert a 1/8th rod to hold the follower down which makes things so much easier to remove bolt - also in picture was a tool I made when I had my first X1 - just put gun on bench pointing up then with one hand pull bolt down ½" and using a small screwdriver or similar hold follower down then with bolt handle lift bolt up as far as it will go and tip gun so bolt link swings forward through cutout in thread of follower tube - remove bolt handle

F

G

Now with fingers pull link bar back so bolt lines up with notches in slider rails in receiver then lift link up and bolt will lift out of receiver

H

Now if you look in back of receiver you should see the bolt buffer behind the thread on rebound tube - to replace use screwdriver to prize out of it's housing - clean any dirt out then put blob of Vaseline on knob on new buffer and put in place - I use a 12" socket extension bar through front of receiver - place on buffer and give bar a sharp tap with rubber mallet or hammer. - if you wish you can remove the stock to make sure no bit's of the old buffer remain at back of locating hole - but you shouldn't have any trouble putting buffer in if you do not remove stock.

I

Sorry about this pic but as you can see the buffer is behind thread of rebound tube.

Recoil spring change

Remove forend/ barrel/trigger and bolt followed by stock. I have found it much easier if you drill a 1/8th hole through recoil tube about 1" back from rear of follower as shown in picture - sit at bench and put telephone book on your stomach - put end of tube on book then with two screwdrivers pull recoil spring toward you till it clears the hole you drilled then push drill shank in hole and let spring slowly back till it is stopped by drill - place gun on it's side - I place it so the hole is uppermost where the pin is through follower - with a correct size punch remove pin and remove follower - pull spring back and remove drill and slowly release spring and remove - clean all bits and replace in reverse order - Check the follower for wear - it will wear on top edge of cup the link sits in - if it is worn turn follower round 180 deg and replace or buy a Wrights SS one.
The picture shows tube removed but job can be done just as easy with it in place.

J

A worn follower - this has been turned round once and now discarded

K

Renewing firing pin and spring.

You will need a very good punch for this job and you will need to support end of bolt at pin end.

With said punch remove pin as shown.

L

M

N

With thumb and finger press in firing pin slightly and lift up on bolt lock. -

P

When bolt lock is removed gently release firing pin then remove - pull bolt head out of body and remove spring. Clean all parts and very lightly oil then reassemble - Slide bolt head into bolt body-- next job is to pre insert fixing pin into hole just enough to hold it in position. When you have put firing pin and spring in make sure it is in as shown on picture - long slot in pin on right hand side.

Q

Now put bolt lock in as shown - just put it in to front then just drop back into bolt - Then with thumb and finger push firing pin in and bolt lock should just drop into place - - Now turn on it's side - press firing pin almost all way in and knock pin in and job done .Close bolt up and just make sure firing pin slides back and forth.
R

S

More info on Bolt

These are a few pictures from one of my bolt locks - As you see at top end of picture there is a bit of bolt sticking up like a mountain - That should be twice as long but a bit to left of mountain has broken off - It is in fact a rib or lip and it's purpose is to keep bolt lock in place when bolt is assembled - In next pic is firing pin - That short cutout is there that lip on bolt lock drop's through when you assemble it - The third picture is showing bolt lock upside down with firing pin held in possition it will be in when you drop in bolt lock - as you assemble bolt that lip will move back along firing pin in that long slot on pin's side and lip will be underneath pin (in this picture you can see how much of lip has broken off)- you can see slide marks on pin - That then is what holds bolt lock into bolt.

So check that everytime you take bolt apart because as you can see if the remaining bit of that lip breaks of then lock can come out as nothing is holding it in place - Now whether it will jamb gun up or not I don't know (yet).

Edit
I have lost two of the pictures completely - So to recap - when you check bolt lock make sure the little lip on the bottom that fit's under firing pin has not broken off - mine had lost half of it's length and it's only about 3/16th long anyway

Bolt Beard.

If this is worn it may give problems with loading or cycling.

To remove beard turn bolt onto it's right hand side (cocking handle side) and with small drift knock out retaining pin - you can do this with bolt assembled- discard old beard and spring then put new one back in place - If pin has come out remember to replace it from right to left - This picture shows a new beard on left and other three are worn - these worn one's had a lot of fore and aft movement in hole and caused two shells to come out of mag tube at same time.

I would suggest you buy a new retaining pin and spring with a new beard.
Y

Bolt release button.

This is easy once you get hang of it - First off order a few new pins as I have found a pin is ideal thing to knock old pin out with - Using whatever you have knock retaining pin out by knocking it up into receiver - it will appear through the little hole you can see in ejection port - If you are using a smaller drift than pin then knock pin all way out - if like me you use another pin knock it half way out then remove the punch pin when you see enough of old one coming into ejection port to grip with some pliers then tap pliers to remove pin. - by this time the release button has dropped out and you have a load of bit's like this

U

http://i.imgur.com/tSmRAPX.png[/img][/url] V

Clean all bits and assemble then refit.
As you can see in picture the two main bit's have a chamfer on and these have to be face to face on assembly - before you assemble find something that will go through pin hole - I use a piece of copper electric wire just fractionally smaller in length than thickness of assembly - The piece shown is for picture but that would be cut down.
Now put small spring in release button then put smaller piece on to main part making sure those two faces mate - you have to put it over spring and press it down and back so holes line up and this is where your bit of wire comes in - put it in to hold assembly together- put larger spring in place and you are ready to fit to gun.

W

X

Put your new pin in receiver so notch end goes in with final tap - tap it in so it's nearly at groove that release button assembly fits in. Now place assembly in it's slot and gently tap pin in till you can feel it's in hole and located release in place - by now the small bit of wire will have fallen out (hopefully) - Now next bit was advise given to me by Bob Baumgart when I met him - He said tie a piece of cotton round the notch in pin before you drive it all way in - Never had one move on me yet.

If for some reason you get miss loads - fire first and second shell is stuck half out of mag tube it could be that the problem is caused by the release arm - in picture you can see how thin side of holes are - they crack on top bit - I have had both arms crack on that thin side together and know of another shooter here in UK who's cracked both sides but only on one arm.

T

It was suggested to me by Texas Ton that before you press release button pull bolt handle back first to release tension on button - since doing that I have never had a problem - I have had it break twice in past.

Slight differences.

This is a picture of the barrel tangs from each end of number range - the one on right is earlier and left the later - both barrels are interchangable with all my guns but as some people know some barrels have to be fitted to some receivers.

Z

Triggers.

As you know there are two types of trigger - Stage 1 and stage 3 -- Stage 1 trigger has a built in fault in the fact it was designed to be "adjustable" this was done with the small allen headed screw - That screw is also the weak point as I and numerous others have found out - Over there you are fortunate to have had Bob Baumgart and now other gunsmiths are into SX1 - Here we do not have that sort of repair service so when mine broke I took it to a small local gunsmiths - This guy drilled out old thread - tapped hole out to bigger thread size then turnded down a BA bolt to the thread size then turned down head of bolt to be a snug fit in cup bit head fit's in - so if you don't want to get your trigger upgraded it is still possible to repair it.

AA

Replacing hammer spring

If I recall the Stage one trigger has two springs - They can be replaced with the single spring now available.

This is easy once you have done it a few times - I would recommend practicing with a old spring with a few coils cut off just to get hang of it.

With hammer in fired possition hold trigger group in one hand with lifter in your stomach - it helps to have a padded rag on your stomach.

With other hand take a small electricians screwdriver or similar and insert it in coil of spring close to end of spring - (pic 1)

Then with thumb over top of spring to catch it pull back with screwdriver then start to lift it up - if you have pulled back far enough the wedge end will have come out of it groove and you should be able to lift spring assembly up -- (Pic 2) -

You will see from other two pictures that the rod holding spring is in two halves and one with wedge end fit's over one fixed to hammer - Just change spring then assemble in reverse order -

The tricky bit is now -you have to put screwdriver back in coil and pull back and at same time making sure one rod has gone into wedge rod.-- push spring down untill it's located in it's groove. :shock: :shock: .
BB

CC

DD

EE

I had a bit of trauma doing this one - The hammer got stuck and if I had any hair it would have been a hair pulling moment - But as usual it was simple - I found pin for lifter had fell out :oops: :oops:

Easy :roll: :roll:

Another of my observations.

I have a Wright's SS rebound tube and also a Wright's follower - I have had these for a few year and fitted them before I was well into X1 -- when I changed the rebound tube I counted the threads that were showing in receiver before removing the old tube - put new SS tube in - screwed it in so same amount of thread was showing - started to assemble gun and found it difficult to put bolt back in without fiddling - further looking revealed the follower was longer than original - I did leave it and have shot gun for years with no problems - just a fiddle to get bolt in and out - so if anyone is replacing whole tube or just follower it might just pay to check length of follower and turn tube back half or full thread. This picture shows the old follower and the new one I put in - Now I can't remember buying it but it looks identical to Wright's one in my SS rebound tube.

I do have an official takedown manual and it say's in there you should screw rebound tube in till you get a measurement from rear of receiver to front of rebound tube of 0.410 +/- 012 - presume these are inch's

FF

if anyone has any questions please ask and will do my best to answer them - Please bare in mind this is an owners knowledge of stripping down this gun - if you need any more detailed information please consult your favored gunsmith.
These are a few that I know of that deal in SX1 - if anyone knows others that can be included please leave a post.

http://www.nulineguns.com/category_part_41_3_31_41.php

I believe Steve Fischer is also a SX1 gunsmith - stevefischer2@bellsouth.net

Ernest Marlette
1410 Irving Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
M (336) 456-1818
B (336) 761-0433
marlettebuilders@hotmail.com
http://www.marlettefinearms.com/index.htm

http://www.midwestgunworks.com

http://www.bamatraders.com

http://www.gunparts.com

This I hope will develop into a list of problems other X1 users have had and found a solution to.

1 - Bolt is stuck in shut position - There could be loads of reasons this happens but try these first.

I had this happen to me, and what had happened was the the firing pin retaining pin in the back of the bolt had drifted sideways and was keeping the bolt from retracting. With the trigger out, look at the rear of the bolt and see if the pin is sticking out. Push it back in, and you should get the bolt to retract away from the barrel. Reset the pin and peen if necessary. Mark

2 - Bolt will not lock open.

This was asked by a poster who had changed bolt buffer and Mark again came up with the answer.

The bolt buffer goes in a hole that goes all the way through the back of the receiver. When they break off, sometimes they leave a nub of rubber in the hole. You need to take off the rear stock and make sure the hole is clear and any old pieces of the old buffer are removed, then fully seat the new buffer by removing the trigger and bolt from the receiver, and seating the buffer with a wooden dowel and hammer. This might not be your problem with the bolt, but you want to make sure that your buffer is fully seated. You can put some lube on it to help seat it.

Please note - All the pictures have been changed from my Picture Trail Photo account to Photobucket account belonging to UK member on here in name of Valentine, - This has been done to preserve pictures in case I am unable to maintain my Picture Trail account in future.
Please Note. This is a update on 6th Feb 2021.
Since the note above the UK member Valantine has or was made redundant and was unable to keep this post up to date so I have taken it over again.
Unfortunately in trying to change pictures some got lost. Then Picturetrail is closing so I have moved pictures to Imgur (what a PITA site that is).
Reading it back it seems disjointed but I do not have any X1s to take pictures from.
Nothing wrong with the guns - just my old and weary arms couldn't lift them and my eyes have gone. :shock:

If anyone finds a problem with pictures please pm Valentine or post

Hope this has helped present and future SX1 owners

Happy shooting - Dave

Dave
 
See less See more
30
#2 ·
OK, it looks like I got it as a sticky this time and there is no "shadow" post in another forum and I did not delete the post either! :oops: It should be stuck to the end of time now.

Sorry again to DSPUK and eveyone else for the mishap with the first one.
 
#4 ·
Worc

Don't worry it was one of those things and fortunately Stephen copied the text and sent it to me so it was easy to just add the pictures this time -- Thanks for taking time to make it a sticky and thanks again to Stephen who had the forsight to copy it.

Dave
 
#6 ·
As a new SX1 owner, this is an invaluable post! I have one suggestion though. The part names in this post do not always correspond to the part names in the Super X1 owner's manual. This was confusing for a newbie as I flipped back and forth between these two documents. Improving the name correspondence between this post and the exploded diagram in the SX1 manual could significantly improve the utility of this excellent post. Thanks for considering this suggestion.
 
#7 ·
thanks for the input - can you tell me what parts are named differently - then I will add them in brackets or change them out. - It would be better if it was listed for US rather than UK as there are more SX1 there than here.

Dave
 
#8 ·
Great post!! I have a couple question concerning rebound tube. Do you lube after taking apart and cleaned,and what kind of lube if any do you use. Also I am considering Stu Wrights stainless steel rebound tube. Does stainless require no lube. I already purchased Stu's tune up kit but did change. rebound spring or follower until I need proper lube if needed. Thanks Luuc
 
#9 ·
DSPUK, thanks to you for the great tutorial and to the contributors for the information on replacing the bolt buffer. I replaced two this week, one on my Dad's trap model and one on my original 1974 field model. I took a few pictures of the field model as I went along, thought I would share. Total time from tear down to re-assembly was 1 hour. Old Hunter

The original, still intact, but clearly impacted by the bolt from years of use and showing signs of deterioration at the bottom (quarter moon shaped area).


Original buffer after being pried and picked out (very brittle, like hard candy).


Buffer recess cleaned out and ready to receive replacement bolt buffer.


Wright's Magnum bolt buffer seated in recess, installation complete.
 
#10 ·
Old Hunter

Those bits are a pain - if you get any trigger problems it could be a plastic bit - before looking too far give trigger group a good spray out then use airline to blow it clean - failing that if you are not up to stripping trigger (I count myself in that) send it off to an expert.

Luuc.

Just a drop of gun oil will surfice in rebound tube - don't over do it -- Wright's rebound tubes are good - just note that the follower is longer (or mine was) than standard so need to unscrew tube a thread or bolt is a pain to remove.

Glad to be of help.

Dave
 
#12 ·
Dave,

Thanks for your thread. I was having cycling issues with my Dad's old SX1 until last week when I installed a Wrights bolt buffer. I have not had any issues since then. However, upon replacing the buffer, I noticed the old aluminum follower was pretty mangled and ready for replacement. So I ordered a new SS follower from Wrights, along with a new recoil spring. Im going to try replacing these 2 items tonight. My question is this...is it possible that the new heavy-duty recoil spring will cause cycling issues, since its stiffer than the old worn-out original recoil spring? I dont shoot light loads by any means, I just hope Im not making a wrong decision by installing a new recoil spring. The loads I shoot are typical factory 3 dram with 1&1/8 oz of 7.5 or 8 shot. I think the reason Im second guessing the spring replacement is because my friend also has an SX1 that has trouble cycling anything but handicap loads. His recoil spring is fairly new and much stiffer than the old worn-out spring in my gun. Everything else on his gun is fairly new and very clean so the only reason I can see why his gun is having issues cycling is due to a stiff recoil spring. Thanks for your input.
 
#13 ·
Bonzai.

I have used Wright's magnum and standard springs and had no trouble cycling any 28g shell or above -- I would say that the standard spring will do the job - here our shells have a bit more punch than yours (different powder I think) my gun ejected them 18ft but when I went over there it only ejected the shells I bought 10ft and they were Armusa Trap - they were even too kicky for me so swopped them for Sporter. - Only shell it won't cycle reliably is 24g but you can tune spring by taking off a few coils at a time till it cycles correctly but then only use it for 24g. - Make sure all the seals and rubber ring are in good condition and it should run like a train.

If you post again put it in main Winchester forum as more people will pick it up and there are users much more experienced on SX1 than me who can answer any questions you may have.

Hope this helps and good luck with the gun.

Dave
 
#15 ·
Dave,

First, let me say thank you. Your post has already answered one of my questions that I had today of how to disassemble the bolt assembly. I have 2 SX1s had have never been shot much when I bought them. I will post up my other queston in a separate post and post pictures of my 2 SX1s. This forum is the best!

Scott
 
#17 ·
Dave : You have blown my mind,I am an old trapshooter from the late 60's till about 2000.However I got this thing called COPD and haven't tried any registered targets since.I was a fair shooter late seventies early eightys. Experimented with o/u,bt99, my model 12 and I still like my sx1 purchased in 1972(still have original box).You have just given all these young ,old or I justdon't know shooters a wealth of info on a Winchester SX Model 1 shotgun.I admire you for that.Sure wish I could find a way to get back and evev shoot a practice round.Happy Shooting to Y'ALL. BOB NEWTON (NIAGARA CANADA) {hs#
 
#18 ·
Gentlemen,
Can some one tell what size allen key fits the screw at the end of the rib.I have one that sheared off and has to come out. I wanted to tighten down the other on my skeet barrel and add a drop of lock tite. But the sets of allen keys I have metric and American don't seem to be "right". Could the screws be torx?
Thank you
Alanb
 
#19 ·
Thank you very much for a great thread Dave! The O-ring and metal ring came off the mag tube when I removed the barrel after shooting today. They both fell to the floor, and I had no idea which way the metal ring was supposed to face when it was re-installed. Your very first pic cleared that up for me, and I thank you very much. Are you supposed to lube up those parts before shooting, something like shooting an 1100 "wet", or do you leave them dry?

Have a good day, Rodbuster.
 
#20 ·
Rodbuster

Thanks for the comment's - much appreciated.

I run mine dry - some may say put dab of oil on them -- Unlike my old Remmy 1187 I used to put smear of Semi Synthetic engine oil on mag tube and rings - just wiped clean -- I tried same thing with X1 but it didn't work.

Dave
 
#24 ·
rjk.

As far as I go I clean it after every shoot - sometimes a thourough deep clean and others just quick wipe and light oil.

Keep eye on buffer - if it looks quite worn just change it they are a cheap expendable item - otherwise you could change recoil spring every 2 years or 20k rounds which ever come's first - There are no hard and fast rules - provided it's clean and oiled regulary it will be fine.

Read through the post's on here for more info - There is a mine of info contributed by other owners - read those and you can't go wrong.

Happy shooting

Dave
 
Top