1gewehr

The Midway bag looks perfect! It's on backorder, but I put my name on the list for one.

I usually remove the gas plug so that I can remove the radiator cover. That will let you see what's binding. It also gives you more room for whacking! I've seen a gun that had the gas tube partially unscrewed and that caused the receiver parts to bind like you are seeing. With the radiator cover off, you'll be able to see that. You might have to remove the radiator to get things back into alignment. That might take some heat. Mine likes to be tapped with a hard rubber hammer a few times if it's been a while since I last had it apart. I use Ballistol for cleaning as it seems to make cleaning and disassembly easier the next time.

It's possible, but you're looking at a LOT of work! The major concerns are: make sure that it cannot fire a projectile or be converted to fire a projectile, modify the receiver to prevent it from being usable as a firearm at any stage in your construction. Good luck! FYI, a quick trigger finger with a M1918A3 semi-auto sounds almost exactly like a full-auto BAR on slow rate.

If you put the drum on a loading tool, you should be able to spin it freely. I made a useful too from a coat hanger. Bend one end into a 90 degree angle that will get into the hollow center of your loading tool. Then, make a mark on the wire where it reaches the outside edge of your drum. Now, when you rotate the drum past the wire, you will be able to see where it is out of round. With a very gentle use of a pair of pliers, you can bend the edge of the drum to get back in shape. If you have a lot of cosmoline or crud that keeps your drum from spinning freely, try using spray solvent or a solvent bath. I used carburetor cleaner to get the crud out. Then, I used some Ballistol to lubricate it. My Lewis is a .30-06, so drums are much more expensive and I am extra careful about their care. If you don't have a loading tool, get one (or more). They are reasonably priced and you don't need a pretty one. I keep one in the gun case and another in the magazine box. I lucked out and found several ugly ones for $20 each at Knob Creek 15 years ago. They are not scarce.

Popular entertainment has a huge effect on the market. Does everyone (us old farts) remember the huge jump in Thompson and BAR prices after Saving Private Ryan and Bank of Brothers came out? The John Wick movies have caused a jump in M16 and MP5 prices with each release. When another blockbuster WWII infantry movies comes out, we'll probably see a price jump. Of course, since they are all above my price range now, I'll have to be satisfied with my M1A1. :-)

Magazines are getting too expensive to toss if they have issues. Problems with extracting the magazine point me towards too wide in some dimension. Look carefully for any bends or dents. Measure width and thickness of the rail as well as magazine body at the top. Compare with a good magazine.

Find something better to fill the automatic rifle role in WW1. Keep in mind that the BAR did not see combat until October, 1918. Other options were worse than the Chauchat! There are photos of German troops carrying captured Chauchats and Lewis guns. They did not have anything comparable.

There is an AMT barrel for sale. But, I was referring to this one: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1038033356 And if you can point me at some $100 PE57 mags, I'd love to get some! Lowest price I see is $185.

There is a barrel on GB right now. The seller indicates this one is to test the market. No matter how it works out, this will be pricey!

Got mine! It works perfectly. You need one of these to load those Black Dog .22 mags!

I got mine today, and immediately loaded up all of my .22 Thompson mags. Well made and fits the mags perfectly. Donate to the Board and you get to feel good and get a useful farkle as well!

Prior to the 1968 GCA, machine guns could be imported and transferred to individuals. But, that $200 transfer tax was a LOT of money back then! Think of what $200 ounces of silver is worth today, and that's what the real value of $200 was back then. Todays spot is $22.65/ounce/ so the $200 tax then was equal to about $4530 in today's worthless, inflated Federal Reserve Notes. That's why so many machine guns were de-milled and sold as wall hangers. The attached ad shows an MP40 for $49.95, equal to $1131 in todays dollar. So, paying ANOTHER $4530 just to transfer the gun to a buyer if it was working was a non-starter for importers. Later, when the dollar was sufficiently inflated that $200 wasn't quite such a huge bite, importing of machine guns was more tightly controlled by the 1968 GCA creating 'Sales Samples', then the 1986 Hughes amendment practically killed it altogether.

Several folks have said they are working on barrels. So far, none have made any available.

Woohoo! I got mine today! Roger, I appreciate the effort that you went to to let us have these mementos of Merle's genius and hard work. Unfortunately, weather and work will conspire to prevent me from giving it a test for several weeks. I 'might' be able to sneak out earlier, though! Thank you!

Before my wife and I got married, we had this conversation: Her: "You have a lot of guns. Do you spend a lot on guns?" Me: "Yep, I've got a good bit of money spent on firearms. Let me show you something." Opens spreadsheet showing collection. Me: "Here is what I've spent on firearms, and down here is the current totals for what I spent versus current market value" Her: Looking at totals and increase. "You know, I really don't have a problem with that. Looks like a decent form of investing." That's shortly before I proposed!