Wtb: Sten Bronze Bolt **got One**

[richard w.]

Looking for one original, unaltered bronze Sten bolt.

 

I see that IMA has them, but I'd rather not buy without seeing the exact one I'm getting. Also hoping to find one for a little less than they want for it.

 

Thanks

Edited February 9, 2011 by richard w.

[John Sukey]

Looking for one original, unaltered bronze Sten bolt.

 

I see that IMA has them, but I'd rather not buy without seeing the exact one I'm getting. Also hoping to find one for a little less than they want for it.

 

Thanks

 

I got one from an importer friend for $5, BUT unfortunately it was the only one he had

[richard w.]

 

That was a very good deal you got.

 

I have a hunch that a lot of the bronze bolts came in with the Finnish-service Sten parts sets and the owners have them stacked in crawlspaces and closets all over the country.

 

I collect Sten part variants and promise to give it a warm and loving home if some one will offer one up.

[richard w.]

I just received a bronze bolt in a trade from a very helpful member of this site, "Weasel".

 

Thanks again Kent!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard w.]

I took some pictures of my new bronze bolt. I've only seen the one photo in Laidler's book, and none that compare it to a common steel bolt.

 

There's another forum that I read that has a section devoted to semi-automatic Sten homebuilds. Someone posted that he thought he had a bronze bolt, but he didn't know for sure. He could not post pictures of his bolt, so someone advised him to take a file to it "and if it cuts easily, it's probably bronze", so that's what he did (!)

 

When I was searching for one, I saw several blurry and dark photos on Gunbroker where the bolt looked somewhat bronze colored, but it was hard to be certain. The color is very obvious in person. The difference in the milling of the feed horns on mine is huge, but Laidler shows a second variant of the bronze bolt that's cut similar to the steel bolt.

 

http://www.fototime.com/C7AF161AEDD4F11/orig.jpg

 

There are the raised letters "AB Y", and Laidler mentions "AB J" and "AB H". Mold letters for quality control, maybe?

 

http://www.fototime.com/9D80CFC6E88404A/orig.jpg

 

The rear of the bronze bolt has a dimple, but it isn't hollowed out so that the overall weight will be similar to the steel bolts.

 

http://www.fototime.com/79FC92DA0CBFC41/orig.jpg

 

Here's the famous difference in the face of the sear bent that I had read about in Laidler, but never really understood until now. The bronze bolt is cut at 90 degrees and the steel at 103.5 degrees. The extra material buys some time before the constant battering from the tripping lever makes the softer bronze bolt unserviceable.

 

http://www.fototime.com/55D73D87A127508/orig.jpg

Edited February 14, 2011 by richard w.