1955 HRA LMR barreled SG up for a rebarrel MAC1 special: Calling it DONE

[mac1911]

As I move along with this I will post updates here and what thread #s I updated
it was a toss up of this and a 1952 SA both SG.
This HRA has the highest readings of my SG's. It did not shoot very well when I 1st received it. Disappointment really. It took some working of the hand guards, gas cyl and a recrown to get it shooting HXP @ 4 MOA and averaging 2.75" MOA with reloads... thats not bad but this rifle is a mix master of parts and will need a new stock also. I will be useing a Criterion barrel from the cmp. Been putting off a "new" barrel install for a while now. So far only a few used barrel swaps.... barrel to be ordered after the new year

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...cy-Improvement-of-HRA-with-spring-replacement here is a little history of this rifle.
I will be more than happy if the new barrel delivers under 2.5 moa or better consistently with reloads.

HXP ammo the best lot I have is 1968 and 1977 not much left of either. From my 1903a4 clone with criterion barrel im getting just under 2 moa.
The other HXP I have is closer to 4 moa. Forget testing with the mixed head stamp stuff from cmp you will struggle trying to group. The difference from year to year can be as much as a few inches from my experience. ahh already to go but no good secure bench or vise to hold the barrel vise...

MY END GOAL IS TO HAVE THE POTENTIALLY MOST ACCURATE M1 AND STILL BE WITHIN CMP AS ISSUED MATCH RULES. ITS UP TO YOU TO FIND OUT WHAT THOSE ARE. I WILL POST LINKS TO INFO I USED BUT DID NOT PERFORM ALL THE MODS. ONLY ONES THAT KEEP RIFLE LEGAL FOR AS ISSUED MATCHES.
cost thus far
M1 SG when they where 595$ or so
Orion7 g98 spring kit 28$
Barrel 184.95$ shipped
caswell stainless black 30$ shipped---- 2nd guessing this step, owell got to learn.
Stock Metal : ammogarand 57$
Stock set : DGR 207$ standard walnut fitted unfinished. Fitted to DGR house rifle. You can send in your rifle for custom fitting.

LINKS: I will add as I remember them and relocate them.
A good amount of info was found here
http://thecmp.org/training-tech/armorers-corner/http://forums.thecmp.org/forumdisplay.php?f=85 and here http://www.mediafire.com/?6nztghjjlb0 nm up grades
http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=37213 trigger, posted links in post 16 also
My best 1st hand info was gained by talking with the seasoned shooters at the range. Don't be shy.
POST 16 : TRIGGER done
POST 22 : Test Ammunition done
POST 24: Metal finish- gas cylinder done, stock metal in progress
POST 33,34 Wood--- in progress, 3/21/15 final fitting, butt plate and front hand guard needed some trimming. Rear hand guard needed just a touch of relief.
3/19/15 installed barrel, planing on reaming chamber next week.

 

[jpm]

what's the latest on this?

 

[mac1911]

Still waiting on barrel......latest is it is supposed to ship by Jan 12th
I will keep you posted and try to take some good pics....although I tend to get on a roll with projects and forget to snap pics along the way.

 

[mac1911]

Shipping notice for barrel came today!

 

[jpm]

Shipping notice for barrel came today!

wow that's timing!

 

[mac1911]

wow that's timing!

Very fast shipping also

Date/Time
Activity Location
1/09/2015 - Friday
6:45 am On FedEx vehicle for delivery MIDDLEBORO, MA
6:41 am At local FedEx facility MIDDLEBORO, MA
4:34 am Departed FedEx location WILLINGTON, CT
1:47 am Arrived at FedEx location WILLINGTON, CT
1/08/2015 - Thursday
11:01 pm Left FedEx origin facility NEWBURGH, NY
9:20 pm Arrived at FedEx location NEWBURGH, NY
6:01 pm Picked up NEWBURGH, NY

 

[Gillham]

So we'll have pictures by tonight of the whole process.
A+

 

[mac1911]

So we'll have pictures by tonight of the whole process.
A+

I will try my best to snap pics along the way. My work space at home is very small and not well lit for pictures and the lights tend to reflect off the work making for poor pics. I will most likely start a new thread in the build section.....

Now I just need to decide to refinish the parts or not....? I have a new to me field grade I might refinish also.

 

[jpm]

So I understand how you lap the receiver and new barrel if it indexes too soon, e.g. tightened barrel to receiver and its not yet close to the index mark, you lap it till its about 1/4" away. But what do you do if it goes past the index mark when you tighten it??

I'm thinking about putting a used barrel on a garand I picked up recently with a pretty well shot out barrel and wondering what to do in that circumstance.

 

[mac1911]

Its much like a AR if the parts are in spec you should be fine.
I have only replaced 4 USED barrels so far. Non have gone beyond proper "index"
The last one needed a new bolt to headspace correctly. I have been advised the lapping a receiver face is not needed or recommended. If it indexes far to early you could remove material from barrel shoulder.... you could also carefully work the shoulder edge with a roller or very careful hammer work.
Other than that I have no real experience with a late indexing barrel
Personally I would say tackle that issue if it arises. I suppose you can remove material from barrel shoulder for a late index also.
I don't have a drawing of a receiver to tell you what to measure to find out if the receiver face is within spec or not.

 

[Gillham]

So I understand how you lap the receiver and new barrel if it indexes too soon, e.g. tightened barrel to receiver and its not yet close to the index mark, you lap it till its about 1/4" away. But what do you do if it goes past the index mark when you tighten it??

I'm thinking about putting a used barrel on a garand I picked up recently with a pretty well shot out barrel and wondering what to do in that circumstance.

My first thought was shims. Just make sure you check the headspace.

http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=9508

 

[mac1911]

My first thought was shims. Just make sure you check the headspace.

http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=9508

Yes headspace must always be checked.... bare minimum use a field gauge on used barrel.
I prefer a nogo gauge.

 

[jpm]

Its much like a AR if the parts are in spec you should be fine.
I have only replaced 4 USED barrels so far. Non have gone beyond proper "index"

thanks, good to know! It was just something that had occurred to me when I was thinking about it. Glad to know it would be unusual.

 

[mac1911]

thanks, good to know! It was just something that had occurred to me when I was thinking about it. Glad to know it would be unusual.

I'm not sure if this is exactly correct but .001" change will be approx 5 degrees change in rotation?
If you needed to correct indexing...

if you can fugure out the blueprints you might be able to figure out if your receiver is in spec ? more info than I am capable to absorb.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/exwlmlewoxhlyy8/M1 Garand Receiver Blueprints.pdf?dl=0

 

[mac1911]

and so it begins

I previously went through this rifle when I first received it. I checked every part I could with the US weapons Depot Overhaul Manual 1965 I replaced all the springs with a Orion7 Spring kit.
I suck at pictures and wont be taking a ton of them. My space is small and some what dark for pictures. Close ups dont do well. When I can I will snap pictures outside.

A GOOD AMOUNT OF INFO CAN BE FOUND HERE http://forums.thecmp.org/forumdisplay.php?f=85 ALSO ASK THE OLDER GUYS THAT SHOOT GARANDS WELL MANY QUESTIONS, I have found just buying them coffee gets you years of advice.
1. I decided to lap the bolt before removing the old barrel.

all that is needed is some lapping compound, a hammer spring ad a 30 -06 case cut in half with about 1/4 of case removed, stripped bolt darken the lug faces with a sharpie
a dab of compound on the lug mating areas....... insert spring case, close bolt on case and work the bolt. Avoid letting the bolt pop over the lugs.
It doesnt take much 50 strokes clean and inspect and then 50 more should do. You should have a nice even surface on the bolt lugs.

Next? I might repark the receiver ? still on the fence with that.

Barrel was a criterion built in 8-2014 1-10twist

 

[mac1911]

NEXT STEP: TRIGGER
I plan to look for any rubbing areas along the sides of the hammer/safety or any other parts that move along each orther. I will then polish all the pins and holes along with any areas that look like they are contacting each other. I will take some pics over the week end and post them. I am not working the sear engagements in this process. The DIY trigger job can be found on line if you look or send it off to CMP custom shop for 40$ they will tune your trigger to remove creep and shorten the 2nd stage pull.



Ok so what I do is I look to see any "rub" spots. I will clean all the parts, cold blue the rub area and then hit with a very fine diamond file. I think its 800 grit ? 3 pc set supose to be 800 1200 1600 grit ?
I will lightly hit all the spots that rub along with any corresponding spots on the trigger houseing.
If you look you can see on the trigger where it makes contact with the housing, just above the hammer pin. I will also polish the pins. It does not show well but the hammer pin has a burr on it. that you can feel and see. If you install the hammer and pin onto the houseing on its own you can feel where it snags a bit. As for polishing the pin holes well the hammer pin I use a drill bit with 1200 grit paper taped to it.

Im not trying to remove metal or get a supper flat surface just remove any course high marks or burrs. This has worked for me on my last 3 trigger groups. Got rid of the grittiness in them.... there is a bit of sideways slop in the trigger on this one, not sure how to fix that? nothing that will affect function just more so than the others.

TRIGGER WORK IS DONE: I got zoned out last night and didnt take many pics. I did above as mentioned and the "trigger job" as described here. I have a 5 1/2 lb weight I hang of the trigger when installed in the rifle. I stop just as it starts to consistently dropping the hammer. This keeps me well with in the 4.5# min trigger pull for the matches. Along with polishing a few spots all the grit and what I call dead spots are gone. Take up is smooth with a good repeatable snd stage feel then a nice crisp release.
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...universal-trigger-weight-system-prod9710.aspx
I made my own set up and use 5lbs of something on the end.
Bag of flour does well. Some day I will take the time to make some weights from lead/zinc I have kicking around.

JUST GO SLOW.....It feels like for ever before you get to the point trigger let's go at 5.5lbs then it comes off fast. I need to go to club soon and see if I went to far with this one. I don't have a accurate scale to measure my lead weights... right now my trigger will release right at 4lb 8 oz.... my weights may be plus or minus that though.
Member there has official weight set for matches.

Up Date: Had trigger tested at club on official NRA weight set. broke at 4lbs 14oz

 

[mac1911]

BARREL INSTALL: barrel installed 3/19/15

Nothing special to see here. Credit to tacguns and gear [video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jN9iSoIuUAU[/video]

Videos no longer will load up for me to new?

 

[jpm]

Very interesting about the trigger job, I was thinking of maybe doing one on mine. Looking forward now to the barrel work!

 

[mac1911]

Very interesting about the trigger job, I was thinking of maybe doing one on mine. Looking forward now to the barrel work!

Between many house projects I'm getting there. That's why I don't take many pics.. I never really know when I can have uninterrupted time. So when I do I usually jump in and pics are not on my priority.

 

[OldNorth]

MY END GOAL IS TO HAVE THE POTENTIALLY MOST ACCURATE M1 AND STILL BE WITHIN CMP AS ISSUED MATCH RULES.

A worthy goal! I have 5 or 6 extra gas cylinder locks in the shop somewhere. If you don't have the ideal fit with yours, I'd be happy to let you try mine and swap one out if you find a better fit.

 

[mac1911]

A worthy goal! I have 5 or 6 extra gas cylinder locks in the shop somewhere. If you don't have the ideal fit with yours, I'd be happy to let you try mine and swap one out if you find a better fit.

Thank you, if needed I will take you up on that. Hope to get a few small things done this weekend.
I will be looking for the best trigger guard with the roundest locking lugs.

 

[mac1911]

Ammuntion Test: Ok so things are at a stand still so I decided to make up 10 test rounds for when the day comes. I went a little above and beyound my normal loadings.

1: HXP 1972 same lot as all my previous testing with this rifle
2: Reloads HXP 1970 brass all resized to 0 on the RCBS Precision Mic. I weighed the cases all weighed 190 grains +/- 1 grain. I normally do not do this as you end up with so many little piles of brass
Bullet : 155gn Nosler custom comp I weighed these out to within 1 grain also-----easy to do they are very consistant
Powder: Varget my pet load is 45gn for this bullet
Primer: Wolf large rifle I have been useing wolf primers for 5 years now never a problem

 

[xp220]

Looking forward to the tests!

 

[mac1911]

Metal Finishing:
1. Gas cylinder and lock, Its stainless needs a different method to blacken it. I sand blasted with aluminum oxide at 50psi I like the finish so far. Waiting on the chemicals to arrive. maybe next week if the weather holds out?
Trying the Caswell stainless steel blackener. Will post before pics tonight. Pic below is after media blasting. The gas cylinder finish was pretty worn to start.
BEFORE:

OK so the Caswell stainless steel blackner didnt get as black as I would have liked. If you want a gas cylinder redone just ship it off to CMP or one of the specialist out there. I had to do multiple treatments. Maybe the liquid dip would do better. Any how it looks better than original before bead blasting.....which I didnt snap a pic of. the glare from the flash makes it look lighter than it is. It at least has a even color? I still might send it off to be redone. or I might even just paint it like they did before they started treating them?

PS if you take on trying to do your gas cylinder yourself and want to try do not bother with the sealer? I dont know what it is or what it does but it dries like a clear coat and looks glossy----and just wrong.

Here it is up against the new barrel....

 

[mac1911]

small up date

 

[mac1911]

New progress......NOT. nothing nada zip. Im at a stand still.
Waiting for replacement finish reamer(sent me neck only dreamer)
Stock is still in limbo....
I have no park solution....
Argh only thing I have to do is case prep and im sick of that already ....4k assorted cases cleaned sized trimmed!

 

[mac1911]

Stock: well I'm not getting the semi fancy grade I wanted appears to be a shortage of semi fancy grade wood? The next step is fancy grade....sorry not spending 500$+ on a piece of wood I will be shooting in matches. So I I went with a standard grade. I hope it's got some nice grain to it. That should be here Wednesday. I will try and do a cmp new wood stock vs this stock side by side and point out any differences. The reamer I was told should ship the week of March 9th?

 

[Sweeney]

Have you looked at the Minelli SPA stocks from Brownell's? I have their 03A3 and M1 stock sets and both are very nice. I've also seen their M14 sets and they had very nice wood.

 

[mac1911]

I hear the minelli stocks are better than boyds/dupage/cmp although they don't come unfinished.
I wanted a little step up in looks with the semi fancy walnut. If I knew it would have been this hard to get the semi fancy wood I would have bought 2 more cmp unfinished stocks. I'm slowly running out of free time to do projects with the kids getting older. So I opted for a stock set from DGR.
I will do a side by side of dean's stock vs cmp/boyds/dupage when it comes in next week.

I building this to use in cmp jcg as issued matches. I was also going to refinish the metal but that will have to wait. I'm running out of time and funds.

 

[xp220]

Here is a mid grade stock I got from Dupage a couple of months back. I accidentally order as finished since I did not know much about stocking fitting. It was not listed online, but I asked and made the arrangement to get pictures etc.