Krag restoration update

[Battis]

I found a reproduction saddle ring and bar online for a lot less than an original ($39). I cold-blued it and it dropped right in. I got a barrel band spring at Numrich for about $5 (it's identical to the one in my Trapdoor 50-70).
The front of the stock where the band spring had been looked like it had been worked
over - there were no wood grains showing. Madsenshooter detected what looked like the band spring slot. I lightly sanded it and found that the whole forestock had been covered with a wood filler, including the band spring slot. I kept sanding and the spring slot appeared, along with the wood grain. I picked the filler out of the slot, drilled the through hole, and the Numrich spring dropped right in.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4802_zps02312ce5.jpg

Before sanding:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4788_zpseb8f704d.jpg

After sanding:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4803_zpsb22c4d52.jpg

I bought a butt plate, but the stock had been cut (approx. 1/2" off the end), so I have to attach and fit a piece of wood so I can use the butt plate.

[MtGun44]

Looking good.

Could you point me to the source for the saddle ring and bar? I have a cut down rifle in a real carbine stock
with the bar gone and would like to fill the cut.

Bill

[Battis]

http://therifleshoppe.com/catalog_pages/us_arms/(867).htm
Good people to deal with. Screws are about $1 each.

[Mark Daiute]

Sure would be nice to see the un-messed with carbine stock meet up with the real carbine and have the messed up carbine stock meet up with the cut down rifle////[smilie=1::roll::-D

That's assuming the butt has not been cut on the stock with the cutdown rifle.

[MtGun44]

HMM. Not sure I like the idea of the cut off buttstock. I haven't looked too close at
my stock other than to note that it is a real carbine stock with the inletting for
the saddle ring bar.

Bill

[M-Tecs]

Battis, thanks for the link. They have some parts I need for a Trapdoor.

[meterman]

S&S Firearms also has original and repro parts for Krag rifles and carbines. They are in New York, selling the last of the Bannerman stuff. Google them up.

[Battis]

I removed the Lyman front sight. The rings on the barrel appear to be from the rings on the Lyman sight.
What do experienced eyes see might have been done to the barrel, and what are my options for a more traditional front sight?
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4747_zps93d442b4.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4814_zpsf46d1b57.jpg

[madsenshooter]

That's the original Krag sight dovetail, filled in with what? Hopefully solder which you can easily remove. Krag barrels are smooth, I hope most the rings you see are solder. They may have built up the whole end of the barrel with solder to get the Lyman sight to fit. Nothing a little emery cloth, or some gentle heating won't fix. S&S has a reproduction base, which I call stud, and blade.

[Battis]

The rings weren't visible until I removed the Lyman sight. The same rings are on the inside of the Lyman sight. They also filled in the screw holes for the rear sight.

[madsenshooter]

Yea but, the rings run all the way to end of the barrel, that's why I figured the diameter was built up with something, maybe solder, then rough turned to the proper diameter. I have one of those sights and I see what you mean, it's roughly done inside, but that doesn't account for the rings all the way to barrel end. Filled the sight screw holes with a plug or solder? Either one will come out, an easy out for a plug, a little heat for solder.

[Battis]

I checked the fill in the dovetail with a soldering iron - I'm pretty sure it's not solder (the soldering iron should have burned into it, right?). It looks like they grooved the end of the barrel to give the sight something to hold onto. I cleaned the sight up and put it back on - what the heck, it's a sight.

[Frank46]

Some of the krags used the front sight from a 1903 springfield. The one with the dovetail that fits onto the base. I don't know if they still sell replacement sporter blades with the brass bead. Check with Brownells and see if they still sell them.Frank

[Battis]

Like this one? It should work.
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/517430.htm

[madsenshooter]

A Krag carbine barrel should be .635" in diameter at the muzzle end. If it's less than that, someone's turned it down a bit, if more than that, something has been added somehow, maybe some sort of solder with a higher melt temp then what we have now. Just guessing, couldn't imagine anyone brazing steel on then turning it down. Doesn't look like Brownell's Steel Bed either.

[Battis]

It measures .635" at the muzzle, but the barrel is grooved from the muzzle to the back of the Lyman sight, probably to give the sight something to grab onto. I called Numrich and they said the 1903 front sight should fit, but they can't guarantee it. That would be easier than digging out the filled dovetail, and it would look better than the Lyman sight.
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/517430.htm

Then again, how much heat would it take to remove that material without damaging the barrel? That would depend on what the material is.

[madsenshooter]

Since you'll likely be covering the filled area of the dovetail, give it a few strokes with a file, see how hard it is. If it's steel, I wouldn't mess with it. I sorta like those Lyman sights, takes a hood too. I've got one here to put on a sporterized Arisaka carbine I have. Rear sight will be a Williams Foolproof with target knobs.

[Battis]

I ordered the 1903 front sight from Numrich. Not a bad price and they look pretty good (if it fits). I picked at the dovetail fill and it's pretty hard...I'll leave it alone. The problem with the Lyman sight on a carbine is that it's almost as long as the barrel.

[madsenshooter]

Flag down, Bubba committed unecessary roughness! Yea, the one I have will probably stick out like a sore thumb on my Arisaka carbine too. I hope I can get it to shoot cast good. The stock has been shortened and the barrel is free floated. I got a 6.5 mold that casts real big (.270) too.

[Battis]

Front sight question:
I bought this Springfield 1903 front sight assembly (bottom of page), with the pin and spline:
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/517430.htm
Does the spline fit into a cut channel (dovetail) on the top of the barrel?

[Battis]

A few days ago I picked the Krag up by the stock and the stock split in half along an old repair. Ah ****. I took it apart, and found it had been wood-glued at some point, with some kind of biscuit. I cleaned up the wood with acetone, then drilled two holes for pegs in each split side and expoxied it back together. I let it set in clamps overnight, then sanded the entire stock completely. I used some of the sawdust from the drilled holes to make a wood filler with wood glue. I used a dark Minwax Provential stain, one coat of satin polyeuthrene, and it looks pretty good. The epoxied fix will never break.
The old repair before it split:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4748_zps92dbe571.jpg
Old Lyman front sight.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4747_zps93d442b4.jpg
Stock repaired. Repro saddle ring, 1903 sight.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4823_zpsbd855fdf.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4821_zps63ebf2d4.jpg
I want to build the stock out to its proper length and add the steel butt plate. I need a top handguard at some point, an authentic band ring, and an authentic rear sight, but it's good for now. The front sight is not attached or in its correct position yet.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Battis,

If it ends up the 1903 sight is too tall and there's not enough meat to the sight insert to file it down to fit, get yourself a 1903A3 front sight. You can deepen the sight insert notch to lower the sight insert and fill off the top of the sight base to fit. You'll need to drill a new lower hole for the sight insert pin, but that isn't particularly difficult.

[Battis]

This is the one I bought (last one down). They call it a 1903 and 1903A1. It's a lot lower than the Lyman sight.
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/517430.htm#517470
I also bought the spline and pin for the hole in the rear of the sight. The barrel doesn't have a dovetail cut for the spline so I can't use it. The pin is too large for the hole in the sight - I called Numrich, they checked their stock and said, Yep, it's too big, send the whole thing back (they don't know if the hole is too small or the pin is too big). I'm keeping it - I'll epoxy the sight in place.

[madsenshooter]

Line of sight looks pretty good to me, it should be within the adjustment range of the rear sight. No guarantees go with my eyeballing though.