# The Bryco Model 59 Challenge



## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

Hi guys, new to the board and new to gunsmithing. The gun Ill be working with, at least for now, is the Bryco model 59 9mm. Dont reply yet, read on. A friend of mine bought it and as it turns out, it wont fire. Well, I guess not since the working tip of the firing pin is gone. Hardened steel with virtually no radius at the bottom of the striking tip, no rigidity in any of the parts Ive looked at so far, Im not surprised it broke. Anyway, my friend goes to throw it away and find the guy who sold it to him. I had to at least try to fix it, and after several minutes he agreed to let me take it. I'm currently out of work due to disability, but I was gainfully employed for 20 years as a machinist with tool and die work being the bulk of that. I have a small, but not very well equiped machine shop at home now, because I just love to make chips. Machinery-wise I only have a lathe, but I have a milling attachment for it, so I can do anything if Im willing to take the time. I havent been doing anything with any of it for months and the idea of some gunsmithing really sounded fun. 

What I have is a Model 'Bryco 59' 9mm. The safety is missing, save a tiny chunk of gnarled up plastic that doesnt engage anything and the firing pin is broken. Besides that, all other defects seem to be generic and unavoidable with guns made by these folks. Its been an interesting couple days reading about the horrible reputation these weapons have. Honestly, Im a bit scared at the idea of shooting it after I get it to the point where it will shoot, but I think this is probably a good thing and will likely discourage me from cutting corners. 

So, obviously I want to fix the safety and firing pin, but I also want to heavily modify the other problem areas on the gun to see if I can actually make it worth more than nothing, which is about what its currently valued at. I purchased the only drawings of it I could find from Numrich and searched high and low for any other drawings or documentation on the gun. Even after watching a couple of youtube videos on breaking it down I still cant tell how this safety is supposed to work. Im not ordering a new safety for it, btw, Im making one. Im only doing this because I want a fresh project and this is just right, so dont bother telling me that a safety is only $7, I know. Can anyone point me to a picture or video or book that will shed some light on this gun's action? I want to make some changes aimed at rigidity. I also want to change how that bar coming off the trigger interacts with the cam. Both the cam and the other part are loose and the area of contact is tiny. Its no wonder to me that they go off without pulling the trigger during unloading. That is another reason why I want to make a custom safety, so it can be on while unloading. Where the sear engages the notch in the firing pin I want to rework and slightly modify for it to get a better grip since those parts were designed to fit and work together within a fairly small envelope, yet the manufacturing tolerances seem so wide open that the accumulated slop between them makes it easy for the sear to slip loose or the firing pin to not catch at all when it cycles or you try to cock it. With this weapon Im not even exagerating when I say I cant possibly make it worse.

Well, thats the high points. Im sure Ill think of some other stuff later, but for now thats really all I got. I really need help finding any documentation that may be out there so I can try to suss out how this action is intended to work. For I can tell for the most part, but not entirely. For instance, how the cam engages that piece from the trigger(whats it called?). Im not terribly concerned with how the safety is supposed to work, though I would like to see because the one I have has a metal tab protruding from the frame that says 'SAFE' and I cant imagine how a safety lever would go over it and I dont see this tab on videos of this gun being tore down, so Im pretty curious. The safety is definitely going to be modified and custom, so like I said, Im not terribly worried about how its was intended to work. 

For those who are thinking it - I did try to register at the actual Bryco-Jennings-X-X forum and it would not accept my gmail address. I could not find a reason for that, though only two possibilities seem likely. Either this is stop new registrations for some reason, or its the fact that gmail is basically an anonymous service, well, it can be if you want it to be. I only found one other person who posted about this same issue and said they accepted the email issued by his isp. That was really all I needed to hear for me to decide that they must have a problem with anonymous email services.

Thanks for reading, Ill post pics soon.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

I think that you should stick to those muzzleloaders you suggested elsewhere.

Bryco/Jennings pistols aren't worth the time you'll put into them.
There's a lot of zinc and other soft metals involved, and the actions aren't well designed.
You might see this as a learning project, but I suggest that it won't be. You'll get more frustration than learning out of it.


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## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

Thats terrible. I dont think a firearm manufacturer ever in the history of the planet has such a soiled reputation.

I appreciate your advice. I could swear I read that same reply given to everyone who proposes to whip a Bryco/Jennings handgun into usable shape, on several different boards. Your opinion is not in the minority.

However, I must get it to the point where it will fire and cycle at least half the clip with no issues. I really dont see it so much as a learning experience, as I see it something to do that is a challenge, and it will hold my attention for at least a little while. The zinc alloyed frame and slide are the only two things about the gun that make me feel like it's not worth the trouble since its only a matter of time, under any real use, before the frame and/or slide crack. I would like to modify the safety to work like a sane person designed it and make it more stable as far as how the sear holds the firing pin back. It doesnt even have to last. I just want to see it work well and safely one time, when I shoot it, after that he can throw it away. I have no affection towards the gun whatsoever, but Ive been out of work since 2010, and one of the things I loved about machine work, and continue to love, is solving problems like the ones this hand grenade present.

Another thing I noticed about it is the almost absence of rifling. It is rifled, but the grooves dont look deeper than .005", though I havent measured it. Is this from wear? No way someone put enough rounds through this thing to wear it down like that, stupid question, but Im gonna ask anyway :^)

One more question - Is it possible that dry firing is what broke the tip off the firing pin?


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

You're working with a very poorly-made, very cheaply-sold pistol.
If the rifling is shallow, it fits the general description of both the design and the sales efforts of the makers.
The firing pin may have been broken as a result of dry-firing. However, judging by the education level that I would expect of a customer for such a pistol, the breakage might also have been due to merely "playing around" with the gun, rather than from any serious practice.
The firing pin may have broken because it had been poorly heat-treated. That is, like similar parts of the cheaper 20th-century Spanish guns, it may have been hardened all the way through, and subsequently never properly tempered. Test it with a file, and see.


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## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

Lol, your assesment sounds fair and likely dead on. Nobody so far Ive talked to has ever even heard of Bryco or had any clue to its reputation. I dont own any guns and dont really want a handgun. Nothing anti-gun or anything. I definitely prefer the idea of a well armed public. I just dont have a need for a handgun at this time that would justify the cost of what Id want. If someone wants to give me a desert eagle, thats not hot, Ill take it right now just to prove I will :^D . I wouldnt mind having a nice rifle to hunt with and maybe a nice shotgun. A Rem 1100 or something so I could help keep the worlds dove population in check.

Regarding the pin, I knew it was too hard the first time i ever had it out. I dont have any way to actually check the diameter of the missing part since it broke off flush with that shoulder, but Im pretty sure the diameter was .187" and atleast .135" + ?" long _(how far past the breechface should the striker protrude on average?)_, and at most, had only about .015" corner radius. Thats one reason it snapped off so flush, and left me nothing to check. I know if I were making those Id finish with a .015" or smaller radius tool, simply because that long skinny shit will want to chatter with a .032" tool pushing on it with no center. I think they are obviously motivated by profit above all else, as is evident by the flooding of the country with such a thing . So, they just didnt bother to interpolate a radius in favor of faster cycle times. Had they put even .03" worth of radius on there, I seriously doubt they would be known for breaking the way they are. The chamfer on the hole where it goes in, is plenty big enough to accomodate a .03" radius. Ive done that kind of stuff for a few manufacturers that did high volumes of car parts, and youd be amazed at how much money it adds up to when you shave a few seconds off the cycle time of a high volume part. Why else would such a flaw be able to persist and not be worth fixing?

Lol, known for breaking firing pins, wtf? Its still crazy to me that there is such a gun, known to have so many serious generic flaws. I wouldnt expect any tool, certainly a handgun, to be very popular when its known for breaking, several different ways, often causing injury to the shooter, or the habit of going off without touching the trigger *while* the the chamber is open. I wouldnt expect to see that its such a common gun, even for a ghetto throw away piece. Yet, apparently they are the most common type of gun seized by police used in commision of a crime lol. My buddy didnt know its was such a pos or anything about its quality and paid way too much for it. He's anxious to have a chance to talk that dude again, I cant blame him.

I dont plan to buy a firing pin for it, but I am gonna make one. I already have the dimensions sketched out and a piece of 5/16" stainless chucked up. Im not gonna harden it, because for one its not gonna be fired enough to make that nessesary. I can see hardening the end so it doesnt mushroom over time and eventually not move freely. Or maybe pressing in something hard, 3/16" is common enough, press in a dowel. But, for now Im just gonna make one from this stainless, its tough enough to where I dont think itll start to deform right away. Its not as if he is trying to sell it. Judging by the way he talks I dont even think he would sell it to me, if I wanted to buy it.

I dont know if Ill do all I day dreamed of doing or not, but I am gonna do some basic stuff just because Ive been pretty lazy and unmotivated for a couple months and I havent did much gun work, so its interesting at the moment. Im at a disadvantage, I havent had one apart in 15 years I bet, at least not past what would be common for a good cleaning. I still cant observe the sear cam doing what it does with the trigger linkage. I know that probably makes absolutely no sense to you guys, but I havent looked at very many actions, believe it or not. Thats the main reason Im being such a crackhead about it right now, because its totally new, and I because I gotta shoot it once, at least.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

...And don't shoot it. Not even once.

The "fired"-condition firing pin protrudes somewhere about 1/16", or a little more, from the breechface.
You might check a good gunsmith's reference, in your public library, for an exact specification, 'cause I'm just guessing.


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## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

.312 is smaller than .375, why then did I think I had stock? I even got so far as to take a skim cut to set the dial for the OD before I realized that Im an idiot.

I can hear the thoughts coming in from around the planet now, 'damn, this fool gone shoot his self sho 'nuff' :watching:


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## GCBHM (Mar 24, 2014)

Yeah, these things are simply throw away guns. I would never own one. I really don't know how they can even be called "guns", but there is a market for them. You're better served to destroy it and throw it away, and stick with better guns. Good luck!


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## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

I actually garbled more numbers than that one, and worse, if you can imagine. Head trauma in 2010 along with a lifestyle of seeing how far I could bend my brain has finally taken a toll.

It was a fun excersize, but I am afraid to shoot it. I told the dude I would make a working safety for it, but after that Im done. I made the cocked indicator tit too short, so it's useless. I was going to heat treat it, just on the striking end, but have decided against it. Its 4140 annealed and pretty tough as it is. I think if he just shoots it a few times and throws it away itll be okay lol.



Nevermind the safety. I think machining anything, even a hole, in the slide or the frame of this thing would only hasten any impending structural failure. I went everywhere I could get with a file on the frame and slide just to clean up rough spots and smooth surfaces that worked together. The slide casting still had flash on some of the edges lol. I had read before that the frame and slide were made from cheap zinc alloy, and fail enough to make it worth mentioning. Even so, I was really struck by how brittle the material felt. I have passed on the advice to not shot this weapon, to just cut his losses and toss it, but he just aint havin' it. I had hoped to make it as safe as it could be, since I know my friend and know he's not going to listen to me, or you, or anybody else. But, Im afraid to do anything to this frame or slide now that I have actually felt this quality of the castings.

The cheap zinc alloy aside, though, all the rest of this gun's problems seem to be due to workmanship and corners being cut during manufacturing, like the absence of a corner radius on the firing pin. If it werent for that zinc alloy thing, I think you could make one of these into a nice shooter. Sure it's not worth the effort, but it would be fun and worthwhile in that respect. Im kinda bummed out I dont have anything else to do to it. I finally made the firing pin tonight because he said last night he was going to order a new pin. Hopefully he'll squeeze off a few and be happy with it and he'll either throw it away or put it up to never be brought out again. While I was at it, though, I also polished the feed ramp and did some light file work on the extractor.

Id like to build a .22 from scratch, my own design. Has anyone here ever built their own gun of their own design? I made a small single shot dangerous toy once that used 209 shotgun primer that shot .25" ball bearings, or setscrews, or whatever else was .25". Not sure what ever happened to that thing.

Anyway, thanks for the advice and technical info. Now I want to do some gunsmithing


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## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

I couldnt leave well enough alone, and this is what it got me. Im not done, obviously, but does anyone see any problems with this? It will be spring assisted at some point as well as having something like a detent, to give positive feedback when in the full on or off position. Is there any reason why this safety cant be used during unload? I did relent and remove some material from the frame, but its just a tiny bit in the corner of that groove, as you can see. I pressed a little piece of brass tubing in the boogered up hole from the old safety then used that to hold another piece of tubing which was in turn superglued to a latch like piece that was made entirely with a jewelers hacksaw and needles files lol. I will be getting stuff to braze it together later, or 0-40 tap and stuff, not sure, but something besides super glue. Until I get that part put together in a more bullet-proof kind of way I'm not going to cut out any of the grip or otherwise commit to any particular design(as if there is a 'design' or plan lolol). I had nothing to go by from the old safety, besides an exploded view drawing, and the safety parts didnt look like much that made sense iirc. This may be exactly what was there before, I dunno. If so, though, it should work when operating the slide.

Here's the pr0n, now maybe you can suss out wtf Im on about the easy way, rather than read this babble...

Brass bushing and view of the relief cut in sear pin groove

The new part for safety


Engaged


Disengaged


Here are a couple pics relevant to previous posts- the feed ramp after a pretty light polishing and a pic showing how far out the firing pin protrudes from the breech face, hows that look? Should be .062"


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

motopotamus said:


> ...Has anyone here ever built their own gun of their own design?...


...Well, I made a few "zip" guns, back in the day.
All were really simple, single-shot guns, with copper-wire wrapped, automobile-radio-antenna tubing barrels.
They worked, but just barely.

BTW: I really like your forum/screen name.


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## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> BTW: I really like your forum/screen name.


Haha, that's funny, but understandable, as I like it too lol.

Thanks, though.

You guys are sticking firm to not encouraging any type of work or handling of this gun, arent you lol.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Well, you can learn from working on it. That's a positive virtue.
I say that, if you can make that pot-metal popper work well just once, you will be well on your way toward gunsmith-dom.
But certainly, I wouldn't actually use it, past one magazine-worth of proof-of-the-pudding testing.


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## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

Well, he took it. I assume he will fire it tonight, but thats raw uncut assumption. Only time, and likely a text message, will tell. I havent completely finished the safety, but its close. The hold up has been soldering brass, I can't seem to do it. I went and bought silver solder, but it still isn't the right kind. It's only 3% silver and besides that, Ive done enough soldering of other types that I can just tell my problems are all from needing a better heat source. Things Ive read the last couple days also point that way. Tomorrow im gonna find proper silver solder, and hopefully some brazing metal as well. Id really dig on some brazing, that would be pretty cool. I dont have anything in the 'stick metals together' category of tooling _or_ in experience, so I have to be careful or Ill spend twice what I should and still not get what I need. That oxy-acetylene tank combo at harbor freight for $300 is calling me, but I really need to not do that. Im already planning to grab a bandsaw from there tomorrow and then a dremel from elsewhere, and hopefully, another vise for the bench that isn't a couple hundred dollars. I wont even talk about the sad state of my measuring tools. Anyway, I digress, point is- I dont really want to make several $300 purchases on the same day and none of them be brunette. I do believe that having a fuel mix I can tweak and adjust, much more than a plumbers torch, will be key to sticking things together now and in the future. Anybody here know anything about soldering or brazing?

Beyond not being able to braze or solder small brass pieces together, commiting to a particular plan on this last part is also difficult. Remaining as flexible as possible is what saves my ass lol. There is a SAFE indicator on the frame, right above the right hand thumb if you were holding the gun intending to fire(assuming youre right-handed of course) I would like to make use of this if possible. Then, I have the issue of the safety latch itself staying still until moved by the shooter along with someway to positively feedback to the shooter that they did indeed just engage or disengage something. That stuff, to me, is fun. I enjoy the challenge and in the end I enjoy the work too, he just wants his gun haha. Maybe he'll bring it back to me for a couple days, maybe not, we'll see. I made drawings of most of the action anyway, so I dont _need_ the actual gun right with me to finish what I got left.

I ended up having to remake the piece in the other pics. I totally ruined it by getting it way too hot. Those small parts and then a torch with pretty much zero control over the temperature, made that shit inevitable. The new latch is better, it's about .06" thick, twice the thickness of the first one. The other thing that is different is the small length of copper tubing stuck to one side, opposite a small .150" diameter by .12" long, brass boss, that has half of its length cut to look kinda like a drill. This puts one tiny area of contact at the bottom of that bushed hole the latch pivots about. I also reamed the inside of the small busing I pressed in to the frame. It wanted to bind at every movement, and reaming that bushing and putting that point on the bottom, fixed it. The copper tubing really needs to be stuck to the latch with some kind of molten metal since this one point get's all the torque imposed during operation and people dont want to be gingerly with throwing the safety off, thats why they calling it throwing lol. There is a .312" hole in the grip that will accomodate an aluminum bushing of sorts, which in turn will accomodate the copper tubing. I already have the aluminum in the lathe, but havent made the first chip yet.

Obligatory pr0n



Forgot to take a pic of the grip hole etc


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

motopotamus, very good work,


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Brazing requires only acetylene. No oxygen.
But you gotta have a really good flux, and good coverage with it.

Silver solder can be melted with a Bernz-o-Matic torch, and patience.
It seems to work best if you do a sweat-solder job, but you can flux both sides of the joint, clamp it up, heat it, and then flow solder into it.


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## motopotamus (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks, denner.

Steve: It just so happens that I picked up a small benzomatic pencil torch today since it was only $10 and when I tried to solder brass on brass, it went picture perfect. The smaller flame with higher silver content solder did the job quick and the joint came out ridiculously strong and hardly any discoloration. I cant beat the two apart with a hammer. My second attempt, on a live part, did the same old shit-- turned the brass pieces deep shades of wtf and turned the solder into dry balls of uselessness. I think I had the flame up too high on the second try as well as was getting impatient. Now I have to remake some of the safety, doh!

I wish I could grab an acetylene rig, that would be nice as hell, but I spent enough today. I will get one when I can, though. \

Thanks for any and all tips and advice you happen to find laying around, Ill take it.

Edit: Flux. Any specific recommendation on the flux? From what I gather, the flux I want is white and in fact, thats all Ive seen it called so far is the white stuff, white flux, etc.


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