warren

Excellent Bob...That would have taken me a week to two finger type!!!!! I'll see if I have the headspace spec's in my huge pile of files and documents. Not sure how readily available the headspace shoulders are in the USA but make sure you have some and you will bugger a few in the process. They are tough material. Again, the screw is the hard part to find.

It's the price of the spare mags for the MP18 that will kill you as will the loader!!!!! Last drums I looked at the guy was asking $1800.00 each!!

A couple of boobo's in my note that bob picked up. The Bulgarian mags are of course 8 x 56R as to the best of my knowledge there is no 7,92 x 56R or the "r" in a LMG. Rifle yes but not LMG As to locking up, this is the reason I asked if you had a supply of locking shoulders as you would be modifying those for sure. Length and angle. The locking lugs are not that hard to find. I have a shit load of them, but the screw is the hard part to find. The screw is staked in, hard to get out and sometimes you will bugger the threads removing it. The Bulgarian mags will fit the .303 Bren...with minor modification..sometimes they do fit and other times not. The one thing I will say about the ZB 26 mags: be careful on them. There are two lengths of followers and inside dimensions. The early mags will not work with WW II and post WW II ammo. I got caught on this one and was not aware of it as was anyone else. Not nice when you are on the range and no other mags available. Don't cheap out on a barrel when looking for one to rebore. Get the best you can and hand pick looking for hot spots. Your barrel man will thank you and not want to throttle you. If you have a Canadian Inglis 7.92 Bren converted to 7.62 x51 I also question why you would want to change the calibre. 7.62 x 51 and 8 mm is a lot easier and cheaper than .303 Just get a spare barrel made and enjoy. My Inglis Mk. II 7.92 Bren was unfired when I got it . It was one of the ones left in the Inglis factory vaults then sold off to the public in the early 60's.

Before we get too far into this: what do you have now ??? And are you looking for a drop in conversion? If you have a L4 Bren it makes a difference, as it does with a .303 or 7.92 Bren or if lucky enough to have one of the Formosa 30-06 Brens The different Bren calibres were not a straight conversion but actually a different set of spec's inside. The only Bren that was a jury rig conversion was the Chinese 7.62 x 39 conversion of the Canadian 7.92 Bren and they had to modify the piston post assembly and the sear bents due to the reduced gas volume of the cartridge. In the Bren Gun Saga (2nd Ed.) all this is laid out in detailed photographs along with the magazine adapter and ejector assembly. ZB 26 mags will work with the Canadian 7.92 Bren...UNLESS the mags are early eastern European manufacture mags. Then they are about 2mm short and current 7.92 ammo will not fit. Not nice to find out when you are at the range.... :-(## Am I correct is assuming you have a .303 Mk.X Bren set up in 7.62 x 51 Just be sure you get a decent barrel for re-rifling and there is no evidence of hot spots on the outside.

The answer to your question is both a yes and a no. The 7.92 Bren was not a conversion of the .303 but a complete re-design. HOWEVER, some .303 Brens will operate with a bolt and a barrel but the magazine is the fly in the ointment. The Bulgarian 7.92 x56R mags can be fitted to the 7.92 Bren NORMALLY taking care of the mag problem. I have had shot out .303 barrels re-barreled to 7.92 as a spare for my factory original 7.92 Inglis Bren, however I''d recommend using a new barrel if you go this route. The used barrels get hard spots in them from overheating and are hard on cutters and drills. Your barrel maker will either love or hate you. Take a new barrel for conversion. It is mostly a matter of trial and error if you are looking at a straight conversion. Ran into the same thing with 7.62 x 51 conversions and a 7.62 x 39 Chinese Mk.II Bren conversion..some work and some do not. Do you have a supply of headspacing shoulders as well. I seem to think you are looking for a drop in conversion that you can swap back and forth at the range depending on what ammo you have and I wish you luck with that conversion. You might get lucky and have one that works with total reliability but you are really pressing the cloth there. Pick up a copy of the Bren Gun Saga (second edition) by Dugelby and you will see the difference in the components.

Found the collar and it is was in rough shape when I got it so I spun it in the lathe and cleaned it up a bit.. I suspect it was in a junk box as it was well rusted but at least the copper jack did not corrode. Anyhow: OD: 1.652 ID: 1.375 Length: 1.035 Hope this helps.

Give me a day or two and if no one else chimes in I'll dig mine out and give you the spec's. It is just a piece of pipe that fits between the jack and the rad. You can get pretty close just starting the jack on the barrel and running it down about half an inch or so and then measuring the distance from the barrel jacket to the bottom of the jack. I've made spares out of grey iron pipe, as it seems to be the piece that disappears at the range all the time. Once the rad moves it will come off easily. It just takes that initial 1/8 - 1/4 inch to get it loose. REMEMBER to remove the gas take off first. You have no idea how many try to remove the barrel from the jacket without doing that.

How many makers of the oiler cans was there or does anyone know? I have a small quantity of the brass oilers and all except one are unmarked One is marked NOERA MFG CO. made in USA ,while all the others have nothing except made in USA in very small print on the top collar around the spout. The writing in all cases is too feint to photograph. How many makers was there and is the marked can and early or late one? Curios minds want to know :-)##

An original WW I British Lewis Gun BFA. before and after a pannier of ammo.

I'm starting on a chest for the M1 and M1A1 this week. No issue chest exists for the single M1 and m1A1 so it is a home grown design. However will be using dovetail joinery and original hardware for the first couple as they are spoken for. Depending on the magazine stowage, which is still in limbo, it should be a bit simpler to construct than the 28 series chest.

I've also got one left, so if anyone is interested PM me and we can go from there. Warren

Boil them in hot water and skim off the grease and oil when it floats to the top. That is how we used to clean .22 mags that you cannot take apart. Works for the big stuff as well. Make a mesh for the bottom of the pot and pop it on the BBQ. Gotta keep the wife happy...........

Thanks for the kind words on the chest, and yes, it is one of mine. I made a few and just want to recoup a bit of the outlay. I sourced the original hinges in the UK and the shipping on them was horrendous. Original hardware was used where possible and also all slot head screws were used in the construction, which are now special order. Also, a minimum of three coats of paint The only difference on the first chest design is the carry handle. I now have the larger handle and will do a few of those shortly. All the wood is planed to the original factory blueprint dimension. I had a huge pile of the originals but that was a LONG time ago and all were beat up rather badly. The best of the lot which I kept is now pictured in a book with the new owner. It was a lot of fun making the chests and I originally did a run of No.15 Lee Enfield No.4(T) sniper rifle chests to keep me off the streets and the Legion. Gotta keep us old guys off the street somehow. I'm going to design a chest for the M1A1 as more of a range case in the near future, much like I did for a chap with a Lewis gun chest. I did this one for a chap a some time ago as you have to remove both the bipod and carry handle on a Lewis to put them into the original chest and he did not relish bending and re-bending 100 year old parts. Pic attached..I hope I have one chest on Ebay (shameless plug) and one more here and that is it for now.

Most Canadian arms chests were made by HCF... Hill Clark Francis of New Liskeard, Ontario. I've probably had and played with more of the T gun chests than anyone and most were in a condition that it was hard to determine the maker. I still have one in the basement and only a couple of numbers away from the one shown, so I will try and find something in a makers name but it will be a UK maker. The 2 gun chest that surfaced in the UK I have looked at and it is a modern dream chest. When I saw it, it had two Mk. II STEN's jammed in it. Canada did have lots of timber but we shipped HUGE piles of it to the UK in "billet form" which is sawn and not planned. Scotland was not nearly clear cut until later in the war.

The chests in question might all have minor modifications as the print was updated in: 3-28-1940 7-18-1940 7- 4-1940 All makers codes and dates were stamped on the right hand edge of the end panel approximately 1/3 from the bottom. The drums will only fit with the key to the front Joints were dovetail. Original stencil has been over-painted on all the chests as the ones shown were all from on batch from Pakistan than came to Canada. When I get some time I can show what it is. If anyone is interested, I have some reproduction copies of the chest so PM me if interested. Stowage is a term for secure storage. All you had to do was remove 4 screws and you could open the chest while the rifle chests had a rivet in place of one screw so you could not do that. Go figure....only the British.

I've had it happen twice with two sniper rifles...mixed rifles and scopes. One we did a deal and the other got strange ???? go figure. Told him to get me a scope in the same shape and we had a deal. He had the rifle and I had the scope. Never heard back from him again yet he still advertises looking for the scope.

The sling swivel is not British... I'd put my money on Balkan....Eastern European. A huge pile of Thompsons went to the UK after the break up of the old Yugoslavia. I'll try and remember the dealer that got them........ A lot of eastern European Thompsons and other sub guns had similar embellishments.

There is another lady with a registered T gun in Canada..... So....you do have another "sister in arms".

A 1928A1 T gun from "down under".

The date for owning full auto in Canada was Jan 1, 1978 There was around 1278 on that date and now under 600.

Sten mag loader

Yes, I am aware it is a Savage gun by the "S" serial number prefix. Just a syntax error on my part.

The price ($240) is a very good price on the MP 40 transit box. I make the British transit chest for the 1928 Thompson and the wood, hardware, felt and period screws cost me half the asking price of the MP 40 box. If you have to import any hardware from the UK the price is staggering.......

Get rid of the lightweight breech block and get yourself a new main spring!!!!! Get a spring cup and a retainer cup while you are at it. Check the retainer cup for battering and also the lugs on the spring cup as well. You need the engineered recoiling mass for 9mm and playing with the bolt and spring is a recipe for disaster!!!!! I have seen the spring cup and retainer cup broken from hardening under the constant pounding with a soft spring by guys removing a coil or two trying to speed up a STEN.

The Lewis guns he bought were: serial number: 12633 12298 (mentioned above) 2066 2865 which was listed as calibre 7mm ??? 13512 again in 7mm All guns were apparently SAVAGE mfr. but British proofed. The sale was on July 16, 1970 and approved by BATF July 24, 1970