Model 56 Guide - Disassemble, Assemble, Stock Refinish and Bluing

Model 56 Steel Receiver

Dis-assembly, reassembly, stock finishing and bluing would not have been possible without the guidance and assistance of RC members NAA_Silent, woodstock63 and the research of the many posts by many other RC members. NAA_Silent provided the guidance with his photo guide on the Model 57. I was fortunate to have a steel and aluminum Model 56 to work on, and when I couldn't get it right, I could take the other 56 and peer into the receiver to see what I was doing wrong. So to all of you guys on RFC, many thanks.

I hope this helps anyone out there with a Model 56. I wanted to make an easy-to-follow guide for those of you out there with these great Marlin's but haven't been able to give them a thorough clean. They are a bit complicated inside for a 56 year old design, but once you've done it a few times, like any other firearm, it'll become second nature. Enjoy and let me know if a good cleaning really improved the action and accuracy of your Model 56.

1. Remove the action screws which hold the barrel/receiver to the stock, one screw located at the underside and one is removed from the top at the rear of the receiver. Make sure the lever is open and the magazine has been removed. At this point I would assume you have checked the rifle to confirm it's not loaded.


2. Upon removal of both screws, open the lever and slide out of the stock, holding it by the barrel.


3. Now remove the lever, trigger and bolt assembly out of the receiver. To do this, remove the two screws as shown, each screw has an anti-lock washer. Now turn the receiver over, and with a punch lightly tap out the two receiver screws.


4. Once the screws are removed from both sides of the receiver, the trigger, lever, bolt assembly slides out of the receiver with the bolt attached.


5. Just above the lever on the side plate is a screw, also with locking washer, shown above. Remove this screw and the entire side plate will now come apart. You may have to giggle it around a bit, remember; these rifles may not have been cleaned or taken apart for the last 40-56 years and there are 5 pins plus the 4 holes for magazine holder. With a bit of back and forth motion however, it will come apart. Removing the side plate is the same on both the model 56 and 57.


6. Lift the bolt upwards; now remove the magazine holder and release, which are set into the holes in the receiver. As your doing this, it would be a good time to start the cleaning process. I used Q-tips along with some gun solvent, as some of the grease was pretty hard and I would guess pretty old.


7. Now remove the safety cover and expose the safety, lock and spring system.


8. You want to remove the hammer spring and hammer, paying attention to the position of the spring. Notice where it contacts the hammer, the top curved portion of the spring fits into the groove at the back of the hammer.


Pull up and remove the hammer spring and remove the hammer. Clean both of these parts with solvent.


9. Once the hammer spring and hammer are removed, the lever, cam and bolt (which are all attached together) can be lifted off the receiver plate.


10. Turn the receiver 180 degree's; you want to remove the safety spring, safety bushing and the 2-piece safety.


NOTE: Princess Auto in Canada has a number of dental picks in a package for the horrendous cost of around $5. These are great tools for cleaning those hard to reach areas of firearms.