LP08 trigger work

[DavidJayUden]

The mismatched artillery Luger (Alpha commercial lower and side plate, LP08 upper) that I dearly love to shoot has a trigger pull that averages 8.1 lbs, and it doesn't break until the trigger is almost completely against the frame.
I swapped out the side plate from my Navy shooter (averages 4.0 lbs.) but it was still a bit over 8 lbs.
While I can take stuff apart, I'm reluctant to start this one on my own or without close supervision.
So I guess I'm in search of suggestions on where to start or suggestions on whom to send the gun to. Couldn't find any FAQ's on the subject either, but haven't searched YouTube yet.
Thanks;
dju

[cirelaw]

Tom Heller is the finest! Send me a PM~ Eric

[Lugerdoc]

David, For a lighter trigger pull, you may want to flatten out the trigger bar (sear) spring and shorten the striker spring. For a quicker striker release you will have to reduce the amount of over lap of the striker & sear and perhaps change the angle of the trigger lever (inside the side plate). I usually charge between $100 and $150 for these services including test firing and return S&H. TH

[John Sabato]

Careful polishing of the surfaces of the overlap between striker and sear can also reduce the trigger put significantly without a lot of measurable metal removed. I would use flat surfaces and 400 to 600 emery cloth or paper and do a few strokes (maybe 10 at a time on each surface?) at a time.

Make sure you start with clean parts, and carefully examine the surfaces under a good magnification to know where you start. Then polish some and re-examine to see what progress you are making. The objective is to remove any roughness from the two surfaces without changing their dimensions. Periodically during your polishing, clean and reassemble with lubrication and test your trigger.

The best part of this work is that you can do it yourself. If it works, all you have spent is your time and the cost of the emery cloth. If it doesn't help enough, then you can start spending some money on good help like from Tom Heller.

[rhuff]

Another place to look is at the trigger return spring. If your original trigger return spring has been replaced with some other spring, perhaps it is too strong and is increasing your trigger pull.

[Rick W.]

One might consider using some masking tape to smoke the parts as a visual aid.

[Rick W.]

Guess I should have been a little more straightforward with my masking tape comment. The lowly masking tape has a lot of uses, good for holding things together for instance in the right environment; thicknesses thereof can be used for crude measurements etc.

I used to go over to a shop where they built firearms; twas old world. I was allowed to sit and watch, and if I was quiet, some little tidbits of knowledge flowed down.

One guy was a fitter. He would use blacking off a candle or a funky lamp to coat surfaces and then work them down to a hair line fit or better. He said you had to kinda keep track of things, and visual aids were always helpful.

Good enough was never in his conversation, I don't think he meant it as a browbeating, but just he just never could accept that in his own work.

So one day he was fitting parts, and the funky lamp for blackening was on the other side of the shop. He flicked up his lighter and lit a small piece of masking tape.............it marked(smoked) the parts just like the little funky lamp. Nothing was said, but I saved that off. Today the memory was refreshed..............

[aldo35]

I was fortunate as a kid my grandfather who worked at Colt's in Hftd built a single shot rifle for me. He learned his trade in Germany and arrived here in 1893. I remember that he blackened the barrel, set it in the stock, which he carved, and then removed the wood high spots which the black marked.

[DavidJayUden]

Update: The gun is on the way to Luger Doc now. He's also going to look into tightening up the stock iron while he's got it.
Thanks for all the wisdom, guys. I believe that I will use your tips on my other Luger shooters (a 1936 and a 1917 Navy).
dju

[DavidJayUden]

A brief follow up on the triggers on my shooters, the DWM Artillery, the 1936 S/42 and the 1917 Navy.

The Artillery was the biggest problem with a trigger that had to nearly be ground back into the frame before it fired. Pull weight, via Lyman electronic trigger gauge, was just over 8 lbs, but it was a long, hard, 8 lbs. Feeling a bit out of my league because different parts were needed, that one went off to the LugerDoc, and it just came back with a heavenly trigger pull of 2 lbs, 9 oz. The gun shoots so nice now that the only problem is seeing the skinny front sight tip with my old eyes, it's that good! I don't recall the exact cost, but although Tom offered my original parts back (at a cost), I cheap'ed out and traded them to him. After all, it is a shooter. Overall, I couldn't be happier, thanks Tom!

The Navy has always been one of my best shooters of any age. That long sight radius and perfect function with any and all ammo. make it a dream to shoot. The trigger pull was at 4 lbs, 2 oz, but on the advice of forum members I polished both the firing pin and the sear catch, and it now releases at a smooth 3 lbs, 10 oz.

The 4" P08, a 1936 S/42 was always reliable, but the trigger broke at 8 lbs, 6 oz, however it never seemed as bad as the Artillery, which broke at about the same pressure. After polishing the catch on both the firing pin and on the sear bar, it now breaks at 5 lbs, 8 oz. A huge improvement.

When I say I polished them, I mean that I wrapped some new 600 grit black emery paper over a file, oiled it well, and then carefully drug the part over the emery, not visa versa. Care was taken not to round or alter the angle, just light surface polishing with each part taking less than a minute. Care was also taken to not go too far.

At the moment I am so happy with my 3 shooters that I may need to find something else to tinker with.

Thanks to all the forum members for your suggestions, and also thanks to Tom Heller, aka the LugerDoc.

dju

[mrerick]

I use "Dykem Steel Blue Layout Fluid" when doing fine polishing or other work on sear components. It lets you actually see what you're doing....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marking_blue

Marc

[Lugerdoc]

David, Thanks for your kind comment. Sorry that it took 2 tries for me to get it right. Tom