MutinousDoug
Member
Wrong thread
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Greek M1 Garand followed me home
- Thread starter Uncle Nubbs
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Reloadron
Contributing Member
I would clean then and use four ought steel wool followed by a final wipe using isopropanol alcohol. Warm them to about 100 F. and then spray them with flat black mate engine paint. Works fine and last a long time.
Enjoy the project and the rifle. Also congratulations on a ten year service award.
Ron
Hardtarget
Member
I remember my dad's mantra about BLO.
once a day for a week.
once a week for a month.
once a month for a year.
once a year for the rest of your life.
I think he was kidding.
Mark
once a day for a week.
once a week for a month.
once a month for a year.
once a year for the rest of your life.
I think he was kidding.
Mark
Sprouticus
Member
Any good wheel bearing grease will do fine.
Those tin handle flux/solder brushes work great and are cheap to boot.
Those tin handle flux/solder brushes work great and are cheap to boot.
wojownik
Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2009
- Messages
- 2,086
That's the same mantra I follow!
OP
OP
Uncle Nubbs
Member
I've heard that mantra before! Thanks for sharing. Found grease and matte black engine paint. Dying to get this up and running but not going to rush.
Neo-Luddite
Member
Start shopping for M-1 No. 2 ~ they get lonely. Plus, you need to procure one for each of your kids--anyway, that's the line I used on my wife. Congrats and enjoy it!
OP
OP
Uncle Nubbs
Member
Hee Hee Hee. I don't imagine this is gonna be lonely forever. Here's to hoping it puts holes in paper even better than the wallet! They're certainly not seeming to get any cheaper. The surprise windfall from work made this one possible so here's to more of those too. Just knowing I've finally got my hands on one is enough... For now.
BCRider
Member
It was true then and it's true now. BLO is no longer actually boiled since that was a recipe for frequent fires. These days driers are added to the raw linseed oil to create the faster curing "boiled" linseed oil.
Raw linseed oil will dry but it takes many months before the oxygen in the air and UV energy from exposure to sunlight makes the chemical reaction kick to turn the oil into a solid.
Way back on page one you asked about which solvent to use for cutting the BLO for a cleaning/feeding wash. Sorry that I lost track of this thread until now.
Low odor paint thinner used for basic oil based house paint is my preference. Mineral spirits also works but I find it a little more smelly.
One of my cowboy action guns is finished in BLO. I find that since it rains around here quite frequently that I sometimes have to apply a cleaning/feeding oil and solvent coat more than once a year. It just depends on the weather. The "once a year for ever" was intended for furniture that lives indoors. Not outdoor use implements. For outdoor use the amount of handling and the weather both play a part in how often it needs to be done. Basically when you notice that it doesn't bead up the water any more and instead the water just lays in a sheet on the wood it's time for a freshening up wash with the feeding mix.
Tung oil is a bit more durable and weather resistant. But it also builds to a shiner coating with feeder coats. And that's not really the look you want for a Garrand I suspect.
OP
OP
Uncle Nubbs
Member
Like many here, I am pretty careful with my guns when it comes to weather. I'm not a hunter, just a range guy so my firearms are rarely exposed to bad weather. The exception, of course, are my CCWs which get a scheduled wipe down/ cleaning monthly whether they need it or not. I'm glad yall have turned me away from my original minwax tung finish treatment. I like the idea of the straight oil finish which can be maintained over time. Me thinks it'll only improve the look of the furniture over time. I can see adding BLO at least monthly once it's up and running for the foreseeable future and probably whenever I feel it can use it after that.
I'm a single dad with two small kids. After they go to bed it's not unusual to just pull out a rifle for an inspection or wipe down just out of sheer boredom! Keep them pretty well maintained like this.
I'm a single dad with two small kids. After they go to bed it's not unusual to just pull out a rifle for an inspection or wipe down just out of sheer boredom! Keep them pretty well maintained like this.
I have a springfield armory Korean war veteran M1 that I rehabilitated with an accurized finished stock from Boyds. I also had a gunsmith install a brand new heavy stainless match barrel on it and had all the parts reparkerized. I probably ruined any collector value but I wanted this gun to be a shooter and in my opinion it's now in better shape than it was when I first got it. One thing about Garands that you need to watch is the ammunition you use. It was designed to work with low pressure military issue 150gr bullets. If you look around you can find ammo designed specifically for the Garand. A lot of the factory loaded ammo like the 165 or 180gr bullets generates too much pressure and sustained use can bend the op rod.
Flatbush Harry
Member
Chopstick's post is partially correct. The M1 Garand was designed to work with specific gas port pressures on the operating rod piston. Gas port pressures outside a narrow range for which the rifle was designed put stresses on the op rod and internal parts and receiver heel that can damage the op rod and rifle.
The gas port pressure is determined by the propellant burn rate and the weight of the projectile, and of the two, the burn rate of the powder is the more important. Appropriate powders for the M1 Garand are medium burn rate powders, such as IMR 4895, H4896, IMR 4064 and Varget. I routinely load bullets ranging from 150gr through 180gr bullets such as Hornady A-MAX, Sierra MatchKing and Nosler Custom Competition with these powders in loads specified by the NRA as well as recommended by Hornady in its reloading manual.
The problem with factory loads not specifically designed for the M1 Garand is that they use powders of different burn rates. Most don't specify which ones. To counter any difficulties, you can replace the standard gas plug with an adjustable one such as those made by Schuster or McCann. These require calibration to each specific load but can help avoid problems.
The NRA recommendations are discussed in depth in an American Rifleman article by John Clarke in the March 1986 edition IIRC.
Good luck.
Harry
The gas port pressure is determined by the propellant burn rate and the weight of the projectile, and of the two, the burn rate of the powder is the more important. Appropriate powders for the M1 Garand are medium burn rate powders, such as IMR 4895, H4896, IMR 4064 and Varget. I routinely load bullets ranging from 150gr through 180gr bullets such as Hornady A-MAX, Sierra MatchKing and Nosler Custom Competition with these powders in loads specified by the NRA as well as recommended by Hornady in its reloading manual.
The problem with factory loads not specifically designed for the M1 Garand is that they use powders of different burn rates. Most don't specify which ones. To counter any difficulties, you can replace the standard gas plug with an adjustable one such as those made by Schuster or McCann. These require calibration to each specific load but can help avoid problems.
The NRA recommendations are discussed in depth in an American Rifleman article by John Clarke in the March 1986 edition IIRC.
Good luck.
Harry
OP
OP
Uncle Nubbs
Member
I'll be loading up on Garand ammo from the CMP when I'm up and running and my billfold is a little fatter. I've opted to order the gas plug from garandgear as it requires no adjustment and seems pretty highly recommended. My primary range does not allow FMJ, SP only so it may be a problem to shoot there. Luckily, we have a piece of land out in the country. Little further drive than I'd like but the kids can see their grandad and I can go pew pew pew. But I digress...
Last evening, I finished re blackening the gas cylinder assembly. I opted for a high temp engine paint over the caswells treatment on reccos here and some mixed reviews on the internet regarding that product. I took care to cover the internals and keep the paint exterior only. I am pretty happy with the result as it has a very matte satin finish. Looks like a new part now! Here's a picture of it on my makeshift spray booth. Boy, I can't wait to get out of an apartment and have an honest to God workspace again.
Last evening, I finished re blackening the gas cylinder assembly. I opted for a high temp engine paint over the caswells treatment on reccos here and some mixed reviews on the internet regarding that product. I took care to cover the internals and keep the paint exterior only. I am pretty happy with the result as it has a very matte satin finish. Looks like a new part now! Here's a picture of it on my makeshift spray booth. Boy, I can't wait to get out of an apartment and have an honest to God workspace again.
OP
OP
Uncle Nubbs
Member
Reblackened gas cylinder assembly
OP
OP
Uncle Nubbs
Member
So I've done a solid week plus on the stock and it's starting to develop a look I enjoy. Decided after the gas cylinder was dried I could go ahead and put it back together. I greased it per the brownells video and all is moving quite nicely. The safety, which didn't quite budge when I got it, is now firmly clicking off and on. All else seems to be in fine working order. Man, that action feels slick.
Tomorrow, I will be taking it out to function test and take my first stab at working the rear sight system. I'll be shooting at 100 yd. since I don't have enblocs (yet) I won't know about cycling and feeding because I'll be loading one at a time. Can't resist but I'm dying to hear that PING but I'll wait till my enblocs come.
As for ammo, I found a shop in DFW which carries a TON of milsurp ammo and a bought a few boxes of CMP 30.06 ball there so I should be good to go. Here are some pics of my first Garand. I'm real happy with the look because it still feels worn but much better than the dry mismatched old furniture it came with. Thanks all for your advice. I appreciated each of your comments and I'm looking forward to learning and taking part in the community of the M1.
Tomorrow, I will be taking it out to function test and take my first stab at working the rear sight system. I'll be shooting at 100 yd. since I don't have enblocs (yet) I won't know about cycling and feeding because I'll be loading one at a time. Can't resist but I'm dying to hear that PING but I'll wait till my enblocs come.
As for ammo, I found a shop in DFW which carries a TON of milsurp ammo and a bought a few boxes of CMP 30.06 ball there so I should be good to go. Here are some pics of my first Garand. I'm real happy with the look because it still feels worn but much better than the dry mismatched old furniture it came with. Thanks all for your advice. I appreciated each of your comments and I'm looking forward to learning and taking part in the community of the M1.
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