Most interesting!

[G.T.]

Hi to all, you all probably know, some of the most interesting projects are the ones in which starting out, you know little to nothing about what you're doing? I do know some of the physics crap, as in, when you do task "X" result "Y" is without fail, supposed to happen!
Last night I couldn't sleep, so around 1:00 am I got up and decided it was the perfect time to start a new adventure, this one centered around the installation of a fully intact Luger magazine safety spring! I mean, how tough can it be, all the cuts and holes are already there? Piece of cake right? Well, as is normal in my case, the rodeo is just starting, and i don't even know it?
The first part was easy, remove the grip and side plate, and slipped the "U" shaped part into the frame in to a little slot already cut for it... so far, so good! I can smell victory, so I reinstall the grip and side plate, still so far so good! Checking the interaction with the trigger and without a mag installed, it is blocked just as one might hope. So, on to step two, insert a mag and see what happens? The rodeo has now started as the magazine is hopelessly stuck it the frame, and I mean stuck, just short of welded in the mag well!
The only good news is the trigger block tab seems to be well out of the way of blocking the trigger, but still we have a stuck mag? I just at that point also discovered that a stuck mag in a luger is hopeless. You just aren't given that extra hand you need to work the release and grasp the mag all at the same time... It is right at that moment, where you suddenly discover you haven't the strength necessary for any of it, and the rodeo continues...
So finally, coming down from the top of the receiver with a wood dowel I managed to tap the mag free... OK, learned rule number one, DON'T do that again!
I disassembled the Luger and removed the mag safety spring and inspected it? The little tab that protrudes into the mag well was bent down slightly, using a flat nose and needle nose pliers in tandem, I gently straightened it out so the small span between the trigger block tab, and the mag well tab, was flat and symmetrical, reinstalled, and Walla! Mag goes in and out properly. So, all back together and it all seems to be working, but, when you remove the mag, the spring won't snap back to block the trigger as it should... Tried it a dozen times, no improvement. OK, I've run out of patience and decided to resort to some shade tree tactics.. I used a square brass drift, and placed the edge of the drift on the very edge of the spring tab that blocks the trigger and "wham!" One good tap with a ballpeen hammer, set the tab just ever so slightly back behind the back edge of the trigger, works like a charm! I win! Back to bed with a smile. All new rodeo tomorrow... best to all, til....lat'r.....GT

BTW, FYI... When you encounter a Luger trigger with the LH edge relieved along it's backside length, it was probably a result of running into the very same issue I discovered 90 years later? I elected to work on the added part, even though rare, I had a difficult time convincing myself to modify the trigger, although it would be a horse apiece either way.... Best, GT

BTW, FYI Squared ... In thinking about what i just described above, I remembered that, "rarely is the fix for a problem, right at the point of the problem, which seems most probable?" Meaning, I think the people who installed these magazine safeties, probably had a forming fixture that advanced or retracted the tab end of the mag safety by reforming the "U" shaped part of the spring! It wouldn't have to be much, '010" either way is huge in the tuning process??... Best, GT

[Ron Wood]

You are probably the only guy on the planet that gets to play with a intact magazine safety!
Ron

[Edward Tinker]

Also, as an aside - the mag safety did not always work well, thus why it was discontinued / removed

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Edward Tinker

Also, as an aside - the mag safety did not always work well, thus why it was discontinued / removed

So, not every solution has a problem???...