The Rohrbaugh Forum
Rohrbaugh Products and Accessories => Rohrbaugh R9 (all variations) => Topic started by: HLG on June 29, 2004, 02:13:47 PM
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I got my R9s last Friday and finally got to shoot it yesterday, Monday. I tried three different kinds of ammo, Winchester White Box 115 fmj, Winchester 115 jhp, and Speer 115 Gold Dot. I couldn't make the gun mess up no matter how I shot it. I have rather small hands and wrists, and it was painful on the wrists shooting with one hand. The gun shot to point of aim and grouped well. You couldn't ask any more of a small self defense gun. The only problems I had was in take-down and re-assembly. I bought one of the brass 1/16" punches from Brownell's, but it didn't work well for me. The pin in my R9s is in so tight, I had to use a plastic hammer and the punch to get it out. I held the gun in place and has my wife use the hammer. Once the pin was out the rest of the take-down was simple. Getting the gun back together was another problem. It took many tries to get the guide rod just right to get the slide back on. Once that was done, I had to hold the gun with the pin holes lined up, while my wife hammered the pin back into place. I am not looking foward to having to clean this gun again, which may limit target practice with it.
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Welcome HLG,
Like you, I've had no problems at all shooting the Rohrbaugh and I agree that one couldn't ask for more in a fine small self defense gun. I have about 425 rounds through mine now and consider it to be utterly reliable and broken in. Not a single bobble in breaking it in. I couldn't be happier with it. I expected a lot from the Rohrbaugh and it has exceeded my expectations.
You may have already read some of the threads here about disassembly. What I've done to make disassembly easier for me is to whittle a dowel down to just a hair under 5mm and use that in the "stovepipe" position sticking up from the chamber.
That puts the takedown pin in just exactly the perfect position on the left side, and take-down with the punch becomes a fairly easy one person job. Disassembly and reassembly have become easier with repetition, probably because the parts become a little looser, and the procedure has become more familiar.
I suspect Brownell's has had a run on their 1/16" brass punches, several of us have ordered them. And Gold Dot has probably noticed a recent run on their 115 9mms. We should call it the Rohrbaugh ripple effect.
By the way, you're fortunate to have such a nice,
co-operative wife! ;D
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I should have purchased some Speer stock (are they public?) BEFORE Chris posted his great ammo testo data.
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HLG:
Welcome to the Forum.
I have to admit that my wife is also my secret weapon when it comes to reassembling the R9S. Together, we've become pretty good at it. And yes, I also have my Brownell's 1/16th" punch. (Thanks, GeorgeH, for the advice.)
Also, 9mil.mouse seems to have broken R. J. Hedley's code, which he shared with me, for reassembling this "pocket rocket." Seecamp uses a spent cartridge. Someone should check with Karl and Eric and race to the patent office.
RS
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HLG - welcome from me too! :)
The disassembly/reassembly does get easier .. trust me!! I mentioned in a thread elsewhere here .. be sure also to ensure that recoil spring assembly is parallel both to frame laterally and vertically, before putting slide back ... it is quite critical so as the relief on the frame ''accepts'' the disc (which bears against the barrel lug).
Apart from the dowel idea .. may I suggest another ''Mr Easy'' ... cut two inches off a chopstick - the end with taper .. you'll find probably that there is a diameter there that'll just do the trick!
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I forgot to mention why the 1/16" punch didn't work well for me. It was too short. Since my pin is so tight, it had to be driven out with a plastic hammer, and the punch would only reach part way. I found a nail that would fit the hole and filed the end flat, and used that to drive the pin out. If the pin loosens up over time, the punch would work ok. Just push the pin out far enough to get ahold of it with your fingers and pull it the rest of the way out. From reading the manual that seems to indicate the way it is supposed to work. I found an orange plastic T-shaped thing that came in the bore of another gun when shipped from the factory, that holds the frame open just the distance to line up the holes. Thanks for all the help.
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HLG
Very interesting post. The little orange thing you spoke of, or something similar, has be discussed here in other posts, a much needed item!
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My Brownells bronze punch pushes the pin out far enough for me to get a finger grip on it and pull it out. I use a Glock type hold on it to reassemble. Takes a bit of hand strength but works. I am MUCH better at disassembly/assembly than I was at first. I would like a device to hold the slide back to alighn the pin and pin hole.
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I tried the dowel method. I used a belt sander, starting with a quarter inch dowel. A couple passes on the sander and the diameter was perfect. It holds the slide open perfectly now. No more wishing I had a third hand.
Thanks for the tips.
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HLG
Very interesting post. The little orange thing you spoke of, or something similar, has be discussed here in other posts, a much needed item!
Yes, it would be nice if Rohrbaugh would include a plastic "takedown block" with their guns, like Kahr does. There's a photo of one here in the "Accessories" section.
http://www.kahrshop.com/
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Here it is.....Thanks harrydog
(http://img4.imgspot.com/u/04/189/12/TakedownblockforaKAHR.jpg)
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Sooo,
Is this what we need to help us out??
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R9SCarry....thanks for chopsticks idea...just tried it and it works perfectly.......my advice to everyone is to eat Chinese on your way home from picking up your new Rohrbaugh...and save the chopsticks!
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hehe ...... works just great eh Jim .....
As Forest might have said .... ''Simple is - as simple does'' ... ;D
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Question about the brass punch:
I had read some of the other discussion about getting a brass punch, and wondered why the R9 manual didn't mention brass. So, I called the factory, and Eric (I think) said brass is not necessary; steel is fine.
Are you using brass out of an abundance of caution, or is there some other factor to be considered? I want to treat my R9 right.
I tried briefly to get the pin out and found it too tight to move with just hand pressure. Will try later, and see what happens - - after getting a chopstick.
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Bob ...... IMO steel is OK .. I happen to already have a steel one and so did not specially get one in brass. On balance I reckon brass is good because even safer but, I think folks would have to be very rough with steel to cause any bad marring.
My pin is firm but not over tight so - once ready to drift it out, there's not too much needed, more than a few light taps.
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I returned my brass punch to Brownells (great company) in favor of bamboo skewers. They are the perfect diameter and very strong and there's no chance of marring the finish.
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The Kahr Takedown Block apparently would work for R9 if the part that goes into the chamber is the right diameter. Does anyone with a Kahr and an R9 have one of these to try? Cost is only $5. We could drill the hole needed for the R9 pin punch.
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There have been several discussions about ways to make the take down process a little simpler, and I tried some of those. I had a chopstick which was just the right diameter (actually almost square), and it works well. To put the pin back in, I cut the chopstick short enough to allow turning the R9 over with the chopstick section in place. The idea of a leather-covered 2 X 4 with a hole to receive the pin when it comes out was good, and that got me to thinking about another approach.
Basically, it is a board with two pegs to hold the gun in place, a hole to receive the pin, and two holes to serve as anchor points for a rod used to lever the slide back. I used a 10 inch section of decking plank (actual size 1 X 5 ½ X 10). Pegs are ½ inch dowel. Lever rod is 3/16 inch steel (a 3 ½ inch 12d nail is just as good). Everything was dipped or sprayed with Plasti Dip rubberized coating. The three photos and a general description may be enough for most people. If anyone wants more detail about materials or methods, I will be glad to provide it. I will be making some improvements later.
This device makes pin removal and replacement very easy.
Photo 1: Board showing pegs; pin hole; two lever holes, with lever rod in one. And punch.
Photo 2: Gun in place, with slide levered back to create alignment for pin removal.
Photo 3: Gun in place, with slide levered back to create alignment for replacing pin.
[Can't get the photos to transfer here. I don't have photo software on my PC. The photos were on a CD and I transferred them to my C: drive. If someone can tell me how to do it, I will put up the photos. Or, if someone would be willing to post them, I can e-mail them to you.]
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Bob ... I'll throw you a PM and give you info so you can send me the pics - I'll host them and put them up for you.
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Here you go Bob ..... for those looking .. refer to Bob's post above.
(http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/thr/r9s-tests-03/bob-tdown-01.jpg)
Photo 1: Board showing pegs; pin hole; two lever holes, with lever rod in one. And punch.
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(http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/thr/r9s-tests-03/bob-tdown-02.jpg)
Photo 2: Gun in place, with slide levered back to create alignment for pin removal.
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(http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/thr/r9s-tests-03/bob-tdown-03.jpg)
Photo 3: Gun in place, with slide levered back to create alignment for replacing pin.
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Neat. Let me know when you'll accept orders.
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That's great.. we have another "Thinking Man"...
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Bob ... a thought .... seeing as you have done all the hard work ...... could you add just a diagram with dimensions. If you could sketch something on paper and scan it perhaps - or take a digi pic .. I'll put it thru CAD and post a final dimensioned dwg. if you can do that .. (grovel! :D ) ... send me a pic again by email and I'll do the rest.
Looks like this set up will work pretty well.
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Chris,
Yes, I will do a dimensional drawing, and get it to you, along wilth a description of some of the process, and thoughts about modifications. If you want to post the text with the drawing, that suits me. Or, I can post the text myself if you prefer. I just want to make the info available to other R9 owners so they can use it if they want to make one for themselves.
But, am I missing a chance for a fortune? Suppose in a few years there are thousands of R9 owners, and maybe 25% of them would pay to have one of these, at $??, plus shipping. I could afford to have an R9 for each of my Mercedes, Porsches, Lears, and yachts. Well, let's hope some one doesn't jump in and patent it, and take away my chance for a little comfort in old age. >:( :'(
Bob
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Bob, that 25% who might pay for a ''device'' .. will always be there ... they want no hassles making stuff ... easier to buy!
A ''production'' version would IMO be made out of a piece of injection moulded thermoplastic (''hollow'' underneath except for reinforcing gussets)... with the holes all included (blind holes) ..... and the dowels would be nylon with a taper so they insert to fit tight. The levers ... well they could be heat treated aluminum perhaps, or very rigid plastic.
However ... I think the majority of us here are sufficiently ''DIY'' to make up something like this. I could work out dimensioning with experiment as you probably did but hey ... I am a lazy ol' toad!! ;D We'll call this the MkI ... and see if we can come up with any further mod's between us.