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Thread: Is an amateur capable of changing barrels on a Mauser?

  1. #61
    Boolit Buddy
    John 242's Avatar
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    I fix guns on a regular basis that were "gunsmithed" by amateurs. In many cases, they should have left the guns alone and taken them to someone that knows what they're doing. Books often give bad or incomplete advice and Youtube is ten-times worse. I've seen a lot of unsafe work, a lot of hack jobs and a lot of old or poor quality guns that should have been left alone that were turned into money pits. Lots of damage to what were fine guns, caused by someone with the urge to "fix" things that aren't broken. Danny Dremel lives among us.

    Another problem is that there are many ways to perform the same job in gunsmithing (more than one way to skin the cat) and all of them can be "right." For example, someone mentioned torquing the heck out of a barrel, but I've been taught that it's wrong to do that; that it causes distortion of the chamber which causes dogs and cats to live together. Is it right or wrong to torque the heck out of a barrel? Depends on who you ask.

    The positive side is that there are many amateur gunsmiths that are more skilled than myself, who do better work than myself, and are more knowledgeable than myself, right here on this forum. I never fail to to learn when I read through the threads here. Every day, is a day to learn something new.
    When I get to the point that I don't know what I'm doing, which is often, I research the web, I refer back to my book shelf, and if I'm short of time, I ask someone with more experience or expertise than myself. Often I'll do all three together, just to make sure I'm getting all the information I need. Never be too proud to ask for help or take advice and there is no shame in finding competent, professional help.

    Two days ago I was trying to reassemble a Savage Model 24 and Youtube, in particular https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBH9lgYdMTM saved my bacon. I made the tool depicted in the video and it saved me a considerable amount of pain, literally. Worked like a absolute charm.

    Some good advice I've been given when it comes to gunsmithing is to avoid getting in over your head. Sometimes that's hard to do. Another word of advice was that everyone screws up and most things can be fixed, one way or another.
    Last edited by John 242; 12-17-2017 at 06:32 PM.

  2. #62
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    Texas by God's Avatar
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    Amen, John 242. Excellent advice. Any one who thinks they know everything can be proven wrong when they least expect it. "Do no harm"- do your research before you turn a screw.
    Thomas

  3. #63
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by David2011 View Post
    My test for perfect chambering is that I like to feel the shoulder of the loaded cartridge just contact the chamber as I close the bolt.
    If you get that with a loaded cartridge, it is an indication that the cartridge is over SAAMI spec or the chamber is under. That is the feel you should get with a go gauge IF you want the chamber to just barely meet the low end of the SAAMI spec.

  4. #64
    Boolit Mold
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    Always good advice here. I have a Greek Mannlicher Schoenauer that I bought off of gunbroker. It was listed as a 6.5x54 MS. However when I got the rifle i noticed a 7x57 stamped on the barrel. Which was strange as it is the original barrel. Sometime in it's life is was rebored and chambered for the 7x57. And many of the Greek stamps were gone. In other words it was scrubbed.
    I have a Green Mountain 6.5 barrel that I will install on it. And a chamber reamer coming from PTG.
    I have to make an action wrench as the receiver is different from a Mauser in profile.
    Years ago I made a wrench to remove the barrel from a Turk 95.
    I'm going to make a stalking rifle out of it.
    Being the poor guy that I am I make many of the tools I need to do a certain job. Sometimes I'm on the lathe or mill longer then the job will take. LOL.
    But as they say, money saved is money earned. Along with gaining new knowledge.

  5. #65
    Boolit Master
    Scrounge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AbitNutz View Post
    I have an infinite amount of foul language at my disposal. I've been youtubing the subject for techniques and I'm now confident enough to try it.

    Once I get it off is when the fun begins...I have a couple of switch barrel Savages so I know the go-no-go gauge ritual but man it's a worry.
    I don't know about anyone who needs to youtube to learn foul language! I got my training in that in the USAF!

    You can find copies of Roy Dunlap's Gunsmithing a number of places, and he has descriptions and drawing of the tools you need. Probably lots of others. I've got copies of James Howe's 2-volume set as well. Check out Archive.org with "gunsmithing" as the keyword in your search, and you'll find a lot of stuff there, too. Though Dunlap isn't one of them, for some reason. I have a paperback of his book, a reprint, I got from Amazon, and found a hardback 1979 8th reprinting here on the forum. Love books, but I have a 500gb microsd card each in my phone and tablet with all my metalworking & shooting and other workshop stuff on it except that I haven't gotten scanned yet. I can carry a lot more books around on them than I can in my briefcase. Though there is not much better than sitting down in a comfy chair with a good book...

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check