BillinBama Posted June 17, 2023 Report Share Posted June 17, 2023 I have several Suomi stick mags that I'm planning to modify to fit my incoming Model 76. I'm familiar with how to slightly shave a bit off the rear locking lug, but I also want to parkerize them. I was looking at one in preparation for disassembly to sandblast before parking them, and can't figure exactly how to remove the base plate. There are tabs on both front and rear so it looks like I'll have to bend a tab to get it off. Is this correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted June 17, 2023 Report Share Posted June 17, 2023 While pushing in the retainer button, push the floor plate toward the front and it will move forward enough for the rear two tabs to clear their holes. After the rear is clear and tilted up, you can slide the floor plate out of the front hole and remove. Be sure to guard the spring because at this point nothing is holding it back from launching across the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted June 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2023 Thanks, I'll give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted June 17, 2023 Report Share Posted June 17, 2023 2 hours ago, tommyboy said: While pushing in the retainer button, push the floor plate toward the front and it will move forward enough for the rear two tabs to clear their holes. After the rear is clear and tilted up, you can slide the floor plate out of the front hole and remove. Be sure to guard the spring because at this point nothing is holding it back from launching across the room. You beat me to the punch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted June 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2023 Worked like a charm. When I first looked at the mags it appeared there wasn't enough clearance to get the Floorplan out, but I should have known better. Now I'm cleaning all the mags of grease, oil and gunk so the sandblaster will have clean metal to work with. I've never done any parkerizing before but it seems simple enough. I'm looking around for a stainless steel pot big enough for the magazine bodies, I have a two burner camp stove that will supply heat, ordering the chemicals from Brownells. I think I'll enjoy this project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted June 18, 2023 Report Share Posted June 18, 2023 (edited) Glad it worked ok! If you decide it’s not with the investment/trouble prepping and parkerizing them, Sam at Practical Solutions will do them for $20 each with a pretty quick turn around time. Edited June 18, 2023 by tommyboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted June 18, 2023 Report Share Posted June 18, 2023 16 hours ago, BillinBama said: Worked like a charm. When I first looked at the mags it appeared there wasn't enough clearance to get the Floorplan out, but I should have known better. Now I'm cleaning all the mags of grease, oil and gunk so the sandblaster will have clean metal to work with. I've never done any parkerizing before but it seems simple enough. I'm looking around for a stainless steel pot big enough for the magazine bodies, I have a two burner camp stove that will supply heat, ordering the chemicals from Brownells. I think I'll enjoy this project. Post pics when done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonlmg41 Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 On parts like that I just have a double hot plate and put a teflon/aluminum pot and park them. I'd do them on the stove in the house......but. The brownells stuff works fine, but do follow the instructions and clean, clean, clean. I've sanded parts since I don't have a bead blaster and they've come out fine with a good finish, but bead blasting can be faster for sure. Pretty fast and easy compared with hot bluing at 290F with corrosive material. If you suck at first, just re-do them until you get the results you like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted June 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 Thanks, I'm sure, like with most things, there's a learning curve, so I'll try with one mag until I get it right. Zinc phosphate solution isn't that easy to find it seems. I'm wondering if I need to keep the parts of each mag separate or will they all interchange? I would think they should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted June 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, johnsonlmg41 said: On parts like that I just have a double hot plate and put a teflon/aluminum pot and park them. I'd do them on the stove in the house......but. The brownells stuff works fine, but do follow the instructions and clean, clean, clean. I've sanded parts since I don't have a bead blaster and they've come out fine with a good finish, but bead blasting can be faster for sure. Pretty fast and easy compared with hot bluing at 290F with corrosive material. If you suck at first, just re-do them until you get the results you like! Huh, aluminum pot is OK? Every how-to says use stainless steel. Walmart has cheap pots, also there's a restaurant supply place with the food trays like at a buffet line pretty cheap. I have a parts washer so getting the grease and oil off is not hard, and I have plenty of oil for the soak. Do I need to put any steel wool in the solution first? Some say yes and others don't mention it. Edited June 19, 2023 by BillinBama Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 Just be careful. Johnsonlmg41 uses the same pots to cook in. Apparently he loves a sprinkle of phosphate with his MSG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonlmg41 Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 Stainless is the easiest if it's available, but I don't have any on hand, so the pot it is, but the coating has to be fully intact. I "seasoned" the park solution, if I recall with steel wool, but keep in mind, that has to be degreased before you drop it in, since it has lube on it to keep it from rusting in the package. I followed the instructions (other than the stainless pan). A little phosphate is good for ya! The zinc keeps the rona at bay! Gunsmith z-pac and the neighbors horse paste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted June 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2023 Okay, I've been reading up on the process, it goes from the sublime to the ridiculous. One guy even did it in his microwave! I've scrounged around in my basement shop and garage tool bins to find nearly everything I need. I ordered a stainless steel pan from Amazon, like food is kept warm in for buffet lines. I've got plenty of wire to suspend the parts from, and tons of 30 wt. motor oil to dunk the parts in after parking. It's left over from my oil business, so it's about 20 years old, should be well seasoned! I'm picking up a pair of chemical resistant gloves from Harbour Freight tomorrow and already have shop aprons and safety goggles for personal protection. I'll try to take a few pics during the procedure. The guy I'm using for the sandblasting indicated it would be about a week before I get the mags back, I'm still waiting on the solution from Brownells, maybe everything will show up about the same time. The Form 3 has been filed on jy 76, so hopefully it will show up in 10 days or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted June 21, 2023 Report Share Posted June 21, 2023 My transfer from individual to dealer for my 2nd M76 is now in it's 8th week of limbo.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted June 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2023 I don't have any info on those transfers, form 4i's to individuals are 9-10 months, dealervto dealer are two weeks or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted July 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2023 I finished my parkerizing today, forgot to take any pics of the process, and overall it was a smooth process, my 3 burner stove wouldn't heat up and it turned out the regulator had failed. I had a used one from my defunct gas grill (never throw anything out) so once I swapped it I had plenty of heat. I'll take some pics soon and post, I'm pleased with my first try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted July 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2023 Before and after pics, there are a few places on the mags where the parkerizing didn't "take" as well, and I think I know why, but overall I'm very pleased, and now I'm casting around for other things I can subject to this process, it was fun (if a bit hot in the Alabama summer humidity). I won the bid for a batch of 10 more Suomi mags, so I guess I can try some more.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted July 19, 2023 Report Share Posted July 19, 2023 Woah, very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted July 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 Thanks, I'm hoping to do another batch soon,just have to arrange more sandblasting. I got 10 more mags today and 10 additional are pending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted July 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2023 After this first batch of mags were finished, I started thinking about other ways of removing the bluing from the original Finnish mags in order to get to the bare metal for parkerizing. A bit of Googling showed several ways to accomplish this, and the two easiest ones, for me at least, seemed to be using mild acid baths. Vinegar (acetic acid), and Muratic acid are both readily available, cheag, and fairly safe with common sense precautions. We have white vinegar in our laundry room, so I dumped some in a plastic tub and dropped a stripped down 36 rd Suomi mag in it to sit for a while. 4 hours later it showed good removal, not perfect, but a good bit of the original bluing was gone. I left it overnight and nearly all was removed. A simple rub-down with an abrasive pad produced a shiny bare finish, ready for the parking bath. The follower and bast plate were similar in appearance, I didn't bother with the spring and inner base plate, they don't show and are much harder to get down to bare metal. So I'm ready for some more parkerizing once it cools down a bit, that big burner I use puts out lots of BTU's. Sometimes simple works great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted July 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 I meant to say that naval jelly will also remove bluing, it's phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted July 25, 2023 Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 2 hours ago, BillinBama said: I meant to say that naval jelly will also remove bluing, it's phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid. That sh** removes everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted July 26, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2023 (edited) Pretty much. Of course, aqua Regia is better for that. Edited July 26, 2023 by BillinBama Add info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted July 27, 2023 Report Share Posted July 27, 2023 I made the mistake once of using Naval Jelly on a nicely blued item just to attack a small rust spot... never again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted August 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2023 I just saw a listing on GB for five Suomi mags modified for the model 76. Price is $300 plus shipping. I overbought these mags, have filed several for the Smith and have some for my K, but still way too many. Instead of asking $60 each for modified mags I think I could ask $25 each for unmodified ones and have a clear conscience. There's also a pretty nice 76 listed for $15K, it expired last night with no bidders and is now re-listed for 13 days at the same price. I thought 15 was a pretty decent price ofr a transferrable gun but apparently not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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