Broken safety/decocker

Mods and Fixes by P-64 users...
garybok
Junior member
Posts: 32
Joined: April 26th, 2014, 11:43 pm

Broken safety/decocker

Post by garybok »

Hello,

New member here. I've had my P64 for about two months and am quite pleased with it, but...

Today the safety/decocker lever broke. I've found several threads on this forum in which people were searching for this part, but not within the past few months. It appears this part is nearly impossible to find. I've emailed several sellers on Gunbroker who offer other P64 parts, but so far no luck. I'd even be willing to buy a lot full of old used parts if there was a safety/decocker in it, but none of the lots offered on Gunbroker include this part.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!
User avatar
Weasel640
Forum supporter
Forum supporter
Posts: 680
Joined: March 13th, 2010, 9:14 pm
Location: Nothing permanent.

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by Weasel640 »

If you have an FFL that can order for you Century still has the "Poland Deactivated Training Version Pistol (Condition: Poor, Incomplete)" for about $40 plus shipping. The are known to have holes cut in the barrel and slide, as well as the firing ping channel welded. As they say there is no guarantee to what if anything is missing. But these have had working safeties in the past.

Otherwise get a new P-64, or just keep searching. They do come up on the gun forums every now and then. But you have to be the first one to see it.
Weasel

When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force my friends is violence.
garybok
Junior member
Posts: 32
Joined: April 26th, 2014, 11:43 pm

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by garybok »

Thanks, Weasel640,

Getting a new P-64 is out of the question for now -- I've only had this one a couple of months. I might go back to the gun shop where I bought it and see if they would order one of the parts pistols for me. But I'm a little hesitant since, with my luck, I'll end up with one that's missing the one and only part I need. I'm also wondering if a true gunsmith (not just a dealer) might have sources that aren't available to the rest of us.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Thanks!
User avatar
Curly1
Elite member
Elite member
Posts: 2529
Joined: September 20th, 2011, 11:35 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by Curly1 »

I did not see any parts pistols on the century site.

http://www.centuryarms.biz/categories.asp
Laugh Hard and Often.

Gary
garybok
Junior member
Posts: 32
Joined: April 26th, 2014, 11:43 pm

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by garybok »

Thanks, Curly1. I don't see parts pistols on the Century site either, but I assumed it's because I'm not registered as a licensed dealer. All of the P-64 listers on Gunbroker have now responded, but none of them had a safety switch either. Gotta keep looking, I guess.
User avatar
Weasel640
Forum supporter
Forum supporter
Posts: 680
Joined: March 13th, 2010, 9:14 pm
Location: Nothing permanent.

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by Weasel640 »

They can be found here:
http://www.centuryarms.biz/proddetail.a ... G2809%2DPI

You don't need to be registered to find it, just know what it is that you are searching for. Hence I gave you all the correct search terms above.

They don't have it listed as a P-64. However for a "Poland Deactivated Training Version Pistol" in 9x18mm, Century has only ever carried the P-64.
Weasel

When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force my friends is violence.
User avatar
Curly1
Elite member
Elite member
Posts: 2529
Joined: September 20th, 2011, 11:35 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by Curly1 »

Maybe they will verify to your dealer that it would have a safety if you pay a hand pick fee.
Laugh Hard and Often.

Gary
garybok
Junior member
Posts: 32
Joined: April 26th, 2014, 11:43 pm

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by garybok »

Thanks for the link, Weasel640. (Yes, I was searching for "P64" -- my mistake.) If I don't find one somewhere else within the next few days, I'll take this link to the dealer and see what he can do.

Appreciate the help!
User avatar
Curly1
Elite member
Elite member
Posts: 2529
Joined: September 20th, 2011, 11:35 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by Curly1 »

Let us know how it works out.
Laugh Hard and Often.

Gary
garybok
Junior member
Posts: 32
Joined: April 26th, 2014, 11:43 pm

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by garybok »

Sorry for the delay but I finally have some news on the broken safety. I asked my gunshop about ordering a deactivated training pistol from Century, and they said they would, but they recommended I try another route first. They referred me to a local gunsmith who keeps a small storefront that's only open a few days a week. I checked him out he's the type of local craftsman you wish you could find more often -- a semi-retired guy who simply enjoys his work, has been around forever, remembers how people used to be able to fix things, and is proud to be able to solve problems. He ended up crafting a new safety for me, using a safety from another pistol -- he couldn't say what it came off of since it was just in with a bunch of scrap parts he saved over the years. What mattered was this safety was of the same basic design and, above all, the same diameter as the P-64 safety. So with a little machining and tinkering here and there, he says it's now a perfect replacement and works perfectly.

I'm going up in a few days to pick it up, but I'm pretty confident I'll be happy with it. Sometimes you can just tell when a guy knows what he's doing. Total cost was $75 -- which is about the most I'd want to pay to repair it, considering what I paid for it in the first place. But it was still less than a Century training pistol, once you add in shipping and (apparently) Century's minimum order fees.

Plus my pistol has now been looked over by a qualified gunsmith, just for added peace of mind. Happy ending! I'm only sorry it's not the kind of solution everyone else could use -- sometimes you just get lucky.

Thanks again for the pointers and advice. Great forum -- I'll be hanging around some more!
User avatar
Curly1
Elite member
Elite member
Posts: 2529
Joined: September 20th, 2011, 11:35 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by Curly1 »

Good news, let us know how it functions.
Laugh Hard and Often.

Gary
User avatar
Weasel640
Forum supporter
Forum supporter
Posts: 680
Joined: March 13th, 2010, 9:14 pm
Location: Nothing permanent.

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by Weasel640 »

When you say local what location where abouts are we talking? Where I live in the states now, the local gun stores have so much business selling new guns that they don't seem to want to bother fixing the old. Glad you got it running again.
Weasel

When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force my friends is violence.
User avatar
Curly1
Elite member
Elite member
Posts: 2529
Joined: September 20th, 2011, 11:35 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by Curly1 »

There are 3 guys in my area that I know of that do gun smithing and will make parts.

They are one man operations, 2 of them are pretty far up there in age and nearing their expiration date.

These guys are from an era before the big box gun stores like Gander and the internet.

If you needed a part you made it.
Laugh Hard and Often.

Gary
garybok
Junior member
Posts: 32
Joined: April 26th, 2014, 11:43 pm

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by garybok »

That's exactly the kind of guy this is. (BTW, Weasel, He's in Stuart, Florida, on the Atlantic coast about 100 miles north of Miami.) He appears to be past retirement age, but keeps a little shop open, primarily for repairs, I think. In fact, I bet he had no more than a couple dozen pistols and rifles for sale, and as near as I can recall not a one of them was brand new. Guys like this are getting all too rare. Fortunately, his son works with him, so I may be in good hands for a while!
garybok
Junior member
Posts: 32
Joined: April 26th, 2014, 11:43 pm

Re: Broken safety/decocker

Post by garybok »

Well, phooey. Looks like I spoke too soon. I picked it up from the gunsmith today and all seemed fine at first. Took it to the range and ran a box of ammo through it. I noticed a couple of times the trigger did not seem to reset properly after firing. When you pulled the trigger it was completely inactive, as if the safety was on (but it wasn't). But when you tried it a second time it would engage and fire. Not good: a gun that may or may not fire when you pull the trigger. Not good at all. Butt I thought maybe just some grit or something was getting between the rebuilt safety and the disconnect bar -- give a good cleaning, I thought. But when I manipulated the new safety a couple more times, suddenly I couldn't get it off safety at all. It's now completely inoperable, with the safety lever firmly stuck on "safe." I'm beginning to despair.
Post Reply