That Damned Crack: M1 Garand Edition.

Tyler

Tyler

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
11   0   0
Location
Wasaga
Well, I few months ago I made the rookie mistake of letting the bolt go forward on a loose round on an Garand. I was fiddling with the clip, trying to get it to feed and a round popped out the top, and the rest was history. The only thing hurt was my ego and my right hand.

I believe the slam fire was in battery, as there was no damage visible at first, and the fired case looked like all the rest. Until I got home and noticed the crack on the sidewalls of either side of the receiver heel. I guess the main spring was out of spec as well.

My new receiver and spare parts are at Vulcan for refinishing, now I just need to find a local smith who can help me out with a barrel swap (paging Barney). Or maybe someone is feeling generous and will sell me or rent me the tools.

My question is: what to do with the receiver with the cracked heel. Can these (it's a Breda) be welded up? My instinct says no, but done properly, the crack isn't really in a high stress area.

What's the CGN consensus?
 
Just thinking out loud. I've already got a Breda receiver with a cracked ring, as a reminder to more thoroughly inspect used goods before walking out of the store. :slap:

This lesson was a bit more expensive, and I already have a paperweight.

Also, where are you guys sourcing receivers? I had a heck of a time finding one back in February. Seems most are bought up.
 
There are couple of Bredas in Switzers Auction, closing in less than an hour and a half. Currently $110 and $120.
 
The back of the receiver can crack from repetitive bolt battering if the op rod spring is too short or too weak. A deformed op rod can contribute to this as well. The op rod spring should measure 19.34 inch min to 20.25 inch max.

Its always a good idea to check a receiver for cracks which aren't readily visible. You can do this by suspending it on a bit of wire or cord and giving it a light smack with a screwdriver handle. A sound receiver will ring like a tuning fork. A cracked receiver will sound like a dull thud. You can do this with a barreled receiver as well. Strip all parts off the receiver, suspend it by the barrel and give it a whack and listen for the ringing sound.
 
I got two new springs from Brownells, and measure in spec.

The Op Rod came from Numrich, is there a good way to check if it's true?

Thanks for the advice so far, guys.
 
The op rod should engage the bolt and receiver and cycle without binding or disengaging from the bolt or receiver.

Best check is the tilt test. Remove the rifle from the stock, then remove the op rod spring, the bullet guide, op rod catch, follower, and follower arm. Leave the bolt and op rod installed. Hold the rifle horizontally then lift the muzzle to a 45 deg angle, then depress the muzzle to 45 deg angle from horizontal. The bolt should open and close from the weight of the bolt and op rod alone. There should be no binding of the op rod as it moves fore and aft.
 
purple said:
The op rod should engage the bolt and receiver and cycle without binding or disengaging from the bolt or receiver.

Best check is the tilt test. Remove the rifle from the stock, then remove the op rod spring, the bullet guide, op rod catch, follower, and follower arm. Leave the bolt and op rod installed. Hold the rifle horizontally then lift the muzzle to a 45 deg angle, then depress the muzzle to 45 deg angle from horizontal. The bolt should open and close from the weight of the bolt and op rod alone. There should be no binding of the op rod as it moves fore and aft.
Click to expand...

thats true but I have several garands and some will not pass the tilt test but function 100%......
 
contact148 said:
thats true but I have several garands and some will not pass the tilt test but function 100%......
Click to expand...

True, but accuracy may be degraded depending on where the op rod makes contact. Binding inside the stock channel isn't good. Ditto for contact with the lower band and stock ferrule. These areas can be relieved to eliminate op rod contact. The op rod was always a bugaboo for accuracy and match rifles were built with every effort to get it right.

Re-bending an op rod to fit correctly should be a last resort. Its tricky, and not a job for the faint-hearted. Try other solutions first. I have a National Match op rod on a Garand which wouldn't pass the tilt test with the existing bolt. I swapped in another bolt with correct headspace, and voila, it passed. There were obviously subtle differences in the bolt contour which made the difference.

I recently completed a build with a NOS Marlin GI barrel on a WRA receiver using a lot of WRA parts, incl the op rod which had been freshly re-parkerized. I found a slight bind with the op rod at the top interior of the gas cylinder. After cycling the bolt/op rod a couple hundred times to smooth things up a bit, it passed the tilt test.
 
Last edited:
millwright said:
Did you place a wtb on the EE? Should be lots floating around. I myself have a few for
future biulds.
Click to expand...

If you mean receivers, I already have one. I was just looking to avoid tossing out an otherwise good receiver (minus said crack in heel).

What I need will be the barrel vice and action wrench... and a set of go/no go/field gauges for 7.62 NATO.
 
Tyler said:
If you mean receivers, I already have one. I was just looking to avoid tossing out an otherwise good receiver (minus said crack in heel).

What I need will be the barrel vice and action wrench... and a set of go/no go/field gauges for 7.62 NATO.
Click to expand...

I’m not understanding how a receiver can be good at all being cracked in the heel? Swap it out and be happy. There are hundreds of Italian receivers around that will probably never live again, so now you get the chance to bring it back to life ��
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom