Looking for an experienced op-rod bender!

[Brobee]

Hi there!

About a year ago I bought a Breda Garand that had been subject to a tanker conversion...unfortuantely the op-rod had not been bent quite right and it binds.

I have since purchased a new unbent operating rod and am now looking for someone who has experience bending these things that might be willing to help me if I were to send them the action, the gas system, and the new unbent operating rod.

The op rod would also need to be chopped and a new piston sweated onto the end.

Can anyone recommend a good garand guy who might be willing to help?

Thanks a tonne,

Brobee

 

[Lee Enfield]

Bruce at Lock & Load in Edmonton.

 

[purple]

This is a quite a specialized skill and it would be interesting to know if there is someone in Canada who can do this with a guarenteed outcome.

I've successfully re-bent 3 op rods for correct fit to date using the Kuhnhausen shop manual on the M1 as my guiding light. It is time consuming and very much a try and try again process until you get it right. In my case the op rods were not usable as they were,so I rationalized my "adventure" into the arcane world of op rod bending on the basis that failure or breakage from work hardening meant that I would need to procure a new op rod anyway. I found that my shop press provided good support for this and used a block on one side of the rod that was ground to accept the diameter of the rod tube. When trial fitting is done make sure the gas cyl is properly located on the barrel with the gas cyl lock and gas plug installed and that the lower band is tight on the barrel. The bolt must be in place to cycle with the op rod and the front and rear handgds should be removed to help see any contact points.

Your op rod for a short barrel M1 presents another complication as it must first be shortened and re-pistoned. Also, bend intervals and angles will be somewhat different than a standard op rod because your rod is shorter. This means that you cannot use a rod from another rifle that fits correctly as a control for visual comparison as you work thru the bending process.

You might first establish just where your original op rod is binding. In some cases the stock,stock ferrule or lower band can be filed or ground out to establish the necessary clearance. Also,the lower band can be re-positioned a bit from side to side. Another thing to verify is that your barrel is correctly indexed. An off index barrel will cause the op rod to bind at any of the above places plus the gas cyl. If it is possible to get a proper fit or re-bend your original op rod,it would provide a helpful visual comparison for bending the replacement rod after it has been shortened. Good luck.