Reader Forum

Tightening The .30 Carbine Does RK Campbell, the author of "Tightening Up The .30 Carbine", really recommend routing out the M1 Carbine barrel channel until there’s a whole half inch of clearance below the barrel? William R. Mc Cants We asked Mr. Campbell to handle this one. When you take the barrel band off a Carbine, note the the barrel springs free. There is actually about a half inch of clearance at the front when the barrel springs are free.

Be aware there are different strokes for different carbines and you may need to work differently with other types but remember this is not something that is responsive to some single standard remedy. Refinishing Gunstocks Which issue of American Gunsmith would provide me with information on the steps to refinishing a gunstock? We have not yet entered into the preparation of a series of articles on stock refinishing.

Details of the process call for application of a wide range of techniques dependent on an equal range of factors. For example, the expanding use of polymers in the manufacture of rifle and shotgun stocks probably would not apply to anything published on the refinishing of wood stocks. For the moment, we’ll assume the stock you have in mind is traditional wood.

Walnut preferably, though quality walnut is rapidly becoming downright precious and substitutes have become an economic necessity in keeping the manufacturing cost of a finished rifle or shotgun within the reach of the average sportsman or woman. While we have not pursued a series on stock refinishing we have answered a number of reader queries regarding it.

All those answers have been based on information found in a single book, Professional Stockmaking by David Westbrook published by Wolfe Publishing Company of Prescott, AZ. It is a step-by-step, large format hard bound volume covering all aspects and techniques employed by the very best craftsmen in the trade. That may sound like overkill to you if all you intend is the refinishing of an existing stock.

That too is covered in detail by Westbrook, along with contributors Monte Mandarino, Mark Silver, Ed Webber, Richard Schreiber and Bruce Farman. Most if not all those names are known well to and called upon regularly by members of the Custom Gunmakers Guild. We strongly recommend you locate and purchase a copy of the book and deeply digest the advice it contains.

Of course, if you’re dealing with a polymer stock, simply fi ll any dents, sand them smooth and spray the material with the color or camoufl age pattern of your choice after speaking with Steve Lauer of Lauer Custom Weaponry, John Wetzel Winchester Model 1905 I am looking for a forend fitting a Winchester Model 1905 self loader. The part number I need is 869150. I have tried Numrich Gun Parts Corporation but they do not have any in stock and did not anticipate a resupply. Do you know where I could obtain this part?

Failing that, can you recommend where I could have one made? Philiip R. Burns Call Brownells and request a complimentary copy of their Parts Source List. It deals primarily with sources for out-of-production firearms and includes some that specialize in Winchesters.

If your fingers get worn out making long distance calls resulting in "not available" responses, call Boyds Gunstock Industries and Wenig Custom Gunstocks Stuck Hoppe’s Bore Snake Do you have any advise on removing a broken off Hoppe’s Bore Snake out of a rifle barrel? It will not be driven out. I need to dissolve it I think. Kent Williams We think anything you pour in that is capable of dissolving a Snake could also harm the rifl ing.

Our suggestion is to introduce penetrating oil into the barrel to about two inches below the chamber. Plug the breech with a tightly rolled cloth patch and allow the barrel to rest at least overnight. Using a brass or aluminum rod barely fitting inside the bore apply one end to the patch. Tap on the opposite end to drive the patch ahead of it. If you have both patch and rod tight enough against the bore you will create enough hydraulic pressure to push out the snake.

We know this solution may sound like something Rube Goldberg thought it up but it has worked to oust objects stubbornly stuck in a gun barrel. Mossberg 183KE I have a Mossberg 183KE bolt action .410 shotgun. Have you ever published an article regarding disassembly and assembly? This would save me reading through years of indexes to locate it. If you haven’t published something on this, where would you recommend I request this information, specifically regarding the disassembly of the bolt.

My Mossberg does not fi re consistently and I believe the striker/firing pin spring is weak. The striker assembly appears to be threaded into the cocking piece and the firing pin protrusion is adequate. Kittery, ME SFC Thomas Muscolino You’d be wasting your time in searching our archives as we’ve never done an article on the 183, which was last made in the mid 1980s. We’ve checked

our files and can find no schematic, only a parts layout. All is not hopeless, however. No one knows more about obsolete Mossbergs than Vic Havlin of Festus, MO. He’s the head honcho of the Mossberg Collectors Association. Call and pass along Chick Blood’s best regards. 1917 Enfield Info Numrich still catalogs a cock-onopening "speedlock" for the 1917 and P14 Enfield.

The coverage of this item in their "phonebook" has dwindled from a full page in several places to a single entry on page 1081 of catalog #31 (part #303560, $36.70). I’ve used five or six over the last 30-ish years. The procedure is to unscrew the stock striker from the bolt body, while blocking the striker against the shroud with a penny to relieve spring pressure, and screw in the replacement. Quick, easy and this doesn’t compromise value or condition.

Numrich cautions against using anything but the military trigger with it, but on one of my keeper Enfields I installed a Timney Sportsman and satisfied myself that this is a safe and robust system. However, one example rifle is not a good basis for going against the manufacturer’s specifications. I contacted Bob Obarska with this and passed it along here. Thanks for sharing Mr. Roca. Shop Product Question What is carding cloth?

I’ve seen reference to it, including your April 2010 issue where author Brian Capps mentions it. I’m familiar with carding wheels and carding brushes. I was of the impression the carding cloth, versus cloth carding which serves a separate function not related to gunsmithing, was a material used to clean the metal surfaces. What is this product and where might I purchase it? Among his friends and acquaintances author Brian Capps must count at least one weaver. They also card in following their trade or avocation.

If traditional in nature, meaning as performed by American Indians, carding is accomplished with multitined wooden forks to separate textile strands prior to weaving or spinning. Needless to say, such forks wouldn’t do well in prepping a metal surface for either initial or additional coating. One of our staff is married to a weaver and she has mentioned carding cloth as a substitute for forks.

While it might serve well to comb out textile strands, it’s suitability for clearing deposits from wheels, brushes, rasps and files could be questionable. This despite the fact that samples of the product we saw on the web appeared to be in the same abrasive league as the skin of a large shark. Google turned up some sources after we entered a search for Carding Cloth. One was Danish Village, Solvang, CA There are several grades of carding cloth available.

We suggest you call the Solvang operation for a discussion of how you intend to use the product so you don’t waste any money purchasing from whatever source you finally choose. Mike Roca Brian Capp further adds he has never purchased any cloth products for the purpose of carding gun finishes. When he is ready to do the job, he digs through a rag basket which contains worn out clothing items, bed sheets, etc.

Some of the coarser stuff, such as old blue jeans, works very well particularly when doing browning as it seems all too easy to build up excess material on the surface and, even better, it doesn’t cost anything. Most any cloth will work, the coarser material just requires less rubbing pressure. Mike Rumsey Fairfax, VA Shotgun Parts I have a Charles Daly 12 gauge Auto Field, model KBI-HBG PA, made in Turkey that needs a bolt handle. I have tried Jack First, Numrich, and several parts supliers with no luck.

Do you have any idea where I might find a bolt handle? Also I have an old High Standard Flite King K2011 automatic in 20 gauge that needs a stock and a trigger guard. Duane Wolfersperger Try contacting KBI, by phone or on the web. AG