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Now that the site is back up and running I can post my review of Len’s “shuttle kit” for the 1918 belt loaders.
The shuttle assembly was an update to the belt loaders that was phased in around 1942. The original instructions had you file off the tip of the needle bar lever so that spring for the carrier (the bar moves back and forth to line up the rounds for belt insertion) could still be used. Not wanting to destroy a perfectly good part Len just came up with his own spring adaptation.
The shuttle replaces the needle assembly and removes 3 moving parts. As we all know the less moving parts of a machine the better! It’s more or less just an eccentric cam that opens the belt pocket so the round will go in.
To update the loader you simply take off the top cover, remove the V shaped spring and the 2 screws on the belt guide and then gently pry up the needle bar lever. You may also need to pry up the belt guide if it doesn’t come up with the needle assembly. Here’s a pic of the parts removed.
The replacement spring simply goes in like this.
After that you will need to provide clearance for the cam (shuttle) to freely move. (see above pic) I tried simply putting a .010” shim under the new belt guide assembly but couldn’t get the reliability I wanted. So then I used a little grinder to remove the metal needed on the loader body and got the results I wanted. Once the clearance is there you just slide the new assembly over to just barely touch the case of a round set at full stroke and tighten down the 2 belt guide screws. You may need to move it a little closer or further away to get run its best. It looks like this.
Once you have it set, it runs GREAT especially on new belts, a BIG plus here, as those of us belt loaders know the new belts used to give us the biggest problems! As I got a prototype please note the finish shown in the pics will not be as nice as the finished product. Although they looked fine to me, Len let me know that the finished product will be even better. He includes a full set of instructions with all the information needed to update your loader. So far it’s a 3006 adaptation only, but the 8mm conversion for it is in the works. I plan on just running 3006 in the future and reloading as ammo prices just keep going up. I feel if I am going to have to reload I might as well run the guns on the round they were designed for. If you’re going to running belts this mod is well worth the money. I want to thank Len for letting me letting me play with this kit and apologize for taking so long to get my evaluation up.
THANKS!!!
BAinMO
The shuttle assembly was an update to the belt loaders that was phased in around 1942. The original instructions had you file off the tip of the needle bar lever so that spring for the carrier (the bar moves back and forth to line up the rounds for belt insertion) could still be used. Not wanting to destroy a perfectly good part Len just came up with his own spring adaptation.
The shuttle replaces the needle assembly and removes 3 moving parts. As we all know the less moving parts of a machine the better! It’s more or less just an eccentric cam that opens the belt pocket so the round will go in.
To update the loader you simply take off the top cover, remove the V shaped spring and the 2 screws on the belt guide and then gently pry up the needle bar lever. You may also need to pry up the belt guide if it doesn’t come up with the needle assembly. Here’s a pic of the parts removed.
The replacement spring simply goes in like this.
After that you will need to provide clearance for the cam (shuttle) to freely move. (see above pic) I tried simply putting a .010” shim under the new belt guide assembly but couldn’t get the reliability I wanted. So then I used a little grinder to remove the metal needed on the loader body and got the results I wanted. Once the clearance is there you just slide the new assembly over to just barely touch the case of a round set at full stroke and tighten down the 2 belt guide screws. You may need to move it a little closer or further away to get run its best. It looks like this.
Once you have it set, it runs GREAT especially on new belts, a BIG plus here, as those of us belt loaders know the new belts used to give us the biggest problems! As I got a prototype please note the finish shown in the pics will not be as nice as the finished product. Although they looked fine to me, Len let me know that the finished product will be even better. He includes a full set of instructions with all the information needed to update your loader. So far it’s a 3006 adaptation only, but the 8mm conversion for it is in the works. I plan on just running 3006 in the future and reloading as ammo prices just keep going up. I feel if I am going to have to reload I might as well run the guns on the round they were designed for. If you’re going to running belts this mod is well worth the money. I want to thank Len for letting me letting me play with this kit and apologize for taking so long to get my evaluation up.
THANKS!!!
BAinMO
