Actually, I need the part for a "Ted Williams Model 300" 12 gauge auto-gun that was purchased at Sears about 20+ years ago.  It belongs to a friend of mine and to do him a favor I told him to bring it over and I'd clean and lube it for him, since he hadn't touched it in about 15 years.  While re-assembling it, I lost the "ejector retaining pin", a tiny little pin maybe 1/16" diameter and maybe 1/4" long.

From other research I've learned that this shotgun is basically a Winchester 1400.  Numrich does not carry this part I need.  Can anyone recommend to me where to look for the part, or even better, give me specs for it so that I can make one?  I have access to machinery to do this, and I know a gunsmith who'd just make me one if I ask, it's just that I'd rather simply buy the proper part if I can locate one.

Any ideas/recommendations?

The part is part number 23102 (ejector retaining pin) in this diagram (my apologies for it being such a huge diagram):

I don't suppose you could mic or gage the hole and hand-fit a similar-sized pin?

Ben

That's probably what I'll do.  (Just checked a few more online parts places without luck).
For now I have a piece of pipe cleaner (with white fuzz on it) stuck into that hole in the receiver, so the gun will function.  I'll probably end up getting a variety of small dowels and experimenting until I find a snug fit.

If I get REALLY lucky I might find the part.  I was using a pair of hemostats as tweezers to put it in the hole and must have squeezed too tightly.  SPROING!  I heard it hit something in the middle of my garage and that's still where it is.  Lost an AR15 detent pin spring like that 6 months ago and found it last night while crawling around on my hands and knees looking for this other pin.   

That looks tiny enough that I wouldn't start with drill rod.  Piano wire - basically spring tempered round wire, also called music wire, etc... - can be bought in hobby stores and it is a good bet that they will have a fractional size that will fit right in.

It's nice to have some of it around anyway, as you can fashion all kinds of useful things out of it.  I once made a conical spring out of some to replace the tiny spring in the rear tangent sight of a Chinese contract John Inglis High Power.

Well, I suppose I have some unusually tiny drill bits.

Ben