Maninblue1861
NES Member
Started this thread on another site, and figure i'd post here, for the few people in this site that are fortunate enough to own one of these works of art. If like me, would want your's to look like it would have looked on the front lines in WWII.
There are a few sites dedicated to this, but I believe I can simplify with pictures for references.
Starting off with it just opened from the box 3 years ago
Mod #1 the bolt. I picked up a NOS USGI bolt assembly, as I read that if the bolt was in "satin" finish was probably a swedish bar bolt. Took mine out, and discoved was a ROT usgi bolt. know is post WWII, but markings arent seen while in gun, so will suffice. Ill keep the other bolt as a spare, as the one in gun is already headspaced to gun.
Original bolt, in satin OOW finish.
Quick stop at gunshop down road, got some birchwood casey gun blue, and went to town on it. Was my first attempt at bluing, so was not perfect. couple inner portions didnt really take to the solution. overall gave it an 85% on appearance. FAR better than the silver bolt look.
Mod #2 the buttstock. I love the look of the american walnut, on iron firearms. So without hesitation that was the model I chose.
after some research, realized the buttstock was a dead giveaway to being incorrect for WWII. The main giveaway is the rear sling swivel. short and straight. Obvious korean war era
So after some searching, I finally got this 1943 made firestone bakelite stock. Afterwards, had heck of a time finding the sling swivel to match the cutout profile.
This stayed on my gun for about a year. I searched high and low for an original walnut stock in the WWII profile, but was like finding hens teeth. One day happened to be browsing the bmgparts.com site, and saw he stocked the WWII 1918A2 profile walnut stocks. I leaped at it. had to drill the holes for the sling swivel screws, and do some minor wood removal to get the buttplate to fit properly so could be screwed on. HUGE difference in appearance.
Noticable mod #3 the gas regulator.
as we know, from OOW they come with a korean war screw type adjustable gas regulator. Obviously, if going for WWII, this wont work.
I went out and searched for a WWII key lock regulator. before doing so, make sure your gas tube has the 3 notches for the regulator key to lock into. OOW used both wwii type, and korean war type that had the notches machined out. Also the vent holes will need to be drilled. I havent done so just yet on mine, but am looking into sizes needed to do it.
It came with a carry handle, but wasnt implimented till late 1945, so wouldnt have seen use in WWII. Also the web green sling it came with, had to go. Found a nice 3 hook repro m1907 sling for it on ebay for under 30 bucks.
There are a few sites dedicated to this, but I believe I can simplify with pictures for references.
Starting off with it just opened from the box 3 years ago
Mod #1 the bolt. I picked up a NOS USGI bolt assembly, as I read that if the bolt was in "satin" finish was probably a swedish bar bolt. Took mine out, and discoved was a ROT usgi bolt. know is post WWII, but markings arent seen while in gun, so will suffice. Ill keep the other bolt as a spare, as the one in gun is already headspaced to gun.
Original bolt, in satin OOW finish.
Quick stop at gunshop down road, got some birchwood casey gun blue, and went to town on it. Was my first attempt at bluing, so was not perfect. couple inner portions didnt really take to the solution. overall gave it an 85% on appearance. FAR better than the silver bolt look.
Mod #2 the buttstock. I love the look of the american walnut, on iron firearms. So without hesitation that was the model I chose.
after some research, realized the buttstock was a dead giveaway to being incorrect for WWII. The main giveaway is the rear sling swivel. short and straight. Obvious korean war era
So after some searching, I finally got this 1943 made firestone bakelite stock. Afterwards, had heck of a time finding the sling swivel to match the cutout profile.
This stayed on my gun for about a year. I searched high and low for an original walnut stock in the WWII profile, but was like finding hens teeth. One day happened to be browsing the bmgparts.com site, and saw he stocked the WWII 1918A2 profile walnut stocks. I leaped at it. had to drill the holes for the sling swivel screws, and do some minor wood removal to get the buttplate to fit properly so could be screwed on. HUGE difference in appearance.
Noticable mod #3 the gas regulator.
as we know, from OOW they come with a korean war screw type adjustable gas regulator. Obviously, if going for WWII, this wont work.
I went out and searched for a WWII key lock regulator. before doing so, make sure your gas tube has the 3 notches for the regulator key to lock into. OOW used both wwii type, and korean war type that had the notches machined out. Also the vent holes will need to be drilled. I havent done so just yet on mine, but am looking into sizes needed to do it.
It came with a carry handle, but wasnt implimented till late 1945, so wouldnt have seen use in WWII. Also the web green sling it came with, had to go. Found a nice 3 hook repro m1907 sling for it on ebay for under 30 bucks.
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