cleaned surplus carbine stock

[porsche]

bought a winchester m1 carbine from SOG. metal pretty decent but stock really a mess. dinged, dirty, layers of grime, paint. this weekend i put the stock in the dishwasher and held my breath. when it came out it was pretty much stripped of the dirt and everything else. the stock is walnut. i waited for it to dry and then sanded starting with 150, 220, 300 and eventually 400. i am not a tools person. then i rubbed minwax walnut stain on the stock and rubbed off the excess. then i proceeded to apply tung oil. over several days i put on 3 coats buffing each layer with a clean cloth. i did not fill in any dings (the hot water raised most compressions) as i did not have any platic wood and i didn't want it to appear too new...it is 60+ years old and i wanted to keep the history. looks really nice. i found the following stock markings: HI in the sling indent; 2 small 50s on either side of the reciever, 2 Ps, one in a circle, the other smaller on the inside of the pistol grip, and a small 1 in a circle on the cap end of the pistol grip. if any one has any insight into these markings i would appreciate hearing. i don't think this is an original stock.

 

[blkbrd666]

If you're getting into carbine collecting, you should pick up a couple of the popular books...they will describe all the markings on each part of the gun.

Examples: WAR BABY(Not sure of the author), U.S. M1 Carbines: Wartime Production(Craig Riesch), M1 Carbine Design, Development and Production(Larry Ruth), Guide to Collecting the M1 Carbine(Robert Gibson). Then there's Doughboy to GI which is along the same line as WAR BABY but shows all the military gear. Best first book would probably be the one by Craig Reisch for info on the markings.

I haven't ever tried the dishwasher for cleaning a stock. I have wet the dings before then used a moist towel and a hot iron to lift them...works pretty well. Your stock is likely an original judging from the HI in the slingwell. It may not be the one that carbine started out with, but still an original. Do searches on the net...you can likely find info on the rebuild marks there as well as on this site...I just don't remember them off the top of my head and my books are at home. I think HI is Hillerich & Bradsby, who made stocks for Inland...Inland would be General Motors. A Winchester stock will usually have WRA in the slingwell.

Contratulations, Winchester is one of the more desirable makes!!!

 

[musher]

HI would be an Inland stock.

 

[blkbrd666]

Oh, the circle P is a proof mark. Check the circle 1 you mentioned and make sure the 1 isn't to the left...could it be a worn or badly stamped P?

 

[porsche]

blkbird. there are 2 Ps on the inside of the pistol grip. one small the other large. the 1 in a circle is very small on the cap. also, there is an RA on the right side of the stock. i believe that stands for an arsenal but i cant recall which one.

 

[blkbrd666]

AA = Augusta Arsenal
AN = Anniston Arsenal
BA = Benecia Arsenal
MR = Mt Rainer Ordinance Depot
OG = Ogden Arsenal
RA = Raritan Arsenal
RIA = Rock Island Arsenal
RRA = Red River Arsenal
SA = Springfield Arsenal
SAA = San Antonio Arsenal

Interesting:

Abstract : The Raritan Arsenal was a 3,200-acre Army facility in operation from 1917 to 1963. Its operations included receiving, storing, shipping, transferring, and packing ammunition, including projectiles, fuzes, pyrotechnics, grenades, boosters, and trinitrotoluene (TNT). From 1919 through World War II, accidental explosions reportedly scattered ordnance fragments over large areas and into the ground. In addition, Raritan personnel used various chemicals for fumigation purposes and disposed of these and other chemicals, such as mustard agent, by burying them in the ground. In 1962, the government declared Raritan excess to the Army's needs, and, as a result, Raritan began to phase out its military activities. In 1963, personnel from the Letterkenny Army Depot evaluated the site for contamination. In its report on the evaluation, the Depot designated 17 areas that were potentially contaminated with ordnance or hazardous waste. After Raritan completed phasing out its military activities in 1964, DOD transferred the land to the General Services Administration, which then sold or transferred some of the land to private parties and government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since that time, the land has been developed considerably. The site now contains a community college, a public park, an industrial park, two hotels, and a day-care center.

 

[porsche]

thank you.