Just for the record the Lefever Arms Co guns are box locks. If you search my posts from the day I came on board here you will not find be saying otherwise. As to their compensations the Doll's head has no adjustments or built in wear compensation at all. Reason, it is un-needed.
The one thing the Lefever & L C Smith has in common is they are both Top Bolted only.
On the Lefever the hold down bolt is wedge shaped so self compensating with the lever moving left as it wears. This on guns built from around 1890 on to the end. Wear in the hinge can be compensated by turning in the ball hinge pin which fits a socket in the barrel lug. This should only be done to the extent of hinge wear & "Should Not" be used to compensate for bolt wear to bring the lever back to center. As it wears to the Left it should remain to the left until such time as a new bolt needs to be fitted.
The Brown rotary bolt is Self Compensating by being on a taper in Two directions. This requires absolute precise fit to two wear planes simultaneously & unless they wear in absolutely the same then they will no longer "Fit" in both directions. As already noted the rotary bolt is well known for being a "Self-Opener" even when you don't move the lever to withdraw the bolt. In short it is simply not all its cracked up to be.
Several years ago right here on this board as a result of comments made concerning the rotary bolt a number of owners of guns with them, Smiths, NID's & Foxes did a smoke test on their fit. Not a Single one of them found the secondary function of the bolt making contact, thus they were only doing ""Half" their intended duty as envisioned by Brown. As such they were no better, or worse, than the simple cross wedge bolt of a Baker or Stevens.
"IF" anyone desires to discuss any of this further we can start a new thread on it. Note I am not an engineer but have dealt with mechanical things for a large portion of my 80 years on this old Earth. 35+ years of that has been as a machinist, culminating as a Machinist Model-Maker.
RGD, I don't Snow as easily as some because if I don't know a bit about whereof I speak I keep my Mouth Shut.
Last edited by 2-piper; 08/07/18 08:19 AM. Reason: spelling errors
