MG34 Lafette

Musicsetsfre1

Musicsetsfre1

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Since MG34 Lafettes are so rare up here in Canada, I am curious if anyone here knows how difficult it would be to convert a MG42 Lafette to accept a MG34 if I have the inner cradle with the barrel swivel assembly attached. I know a large number of 34 Lafettes were converted to 42s during and after the war, is it possible to convert one back to a 34 configuration?

I currently have a MG3 Lafette that accepts my MG34 but the trigger mechanism had to be notched out a bit to fit the MG34s trigger. Would the MG42 Lafette need a similar simple notch to accept the MG34 Trigger or is it completely different. Any help or information will be greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
Musicsetsfre1 said:
No worries my friend, I appreciate your time and efforts! If they weren’t so rare I’d just buy a 34 configuration Lafette but 42s are a lot more common.
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yes and a little cheaper as well no? I had an MG3 AA tripod with a US made MG34 adapter. I cant recall if the name of the company that sold that adapter but I think they sold others as well maybe for the lafette
 
I converted a Yugo one to work on my mg34
I had to grind a bit of material off the back edge of the front catch block to clear the lip on the 34 barrel shroud
You also need the tnw “block” so that the barrel shroud clips in the tripod like the mg42 does
The only other thing you need to do is remove the trigger actuator piece and make one that lines up with the mg34 trigger ( I used a piece of angled aluminum)
I can text you pics if you want
 
I have a postwar German MG3 mount with that I bought already modified for the MG34 and it's great. I can take photos if it would help...but here are a couple of shots from last weekend. I also have a .308 conversion barrel that works flawlessly...
...life is better with belt-fed!

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Thank you for your reply, I currently have the adaptor block so my MG3 Lafette accepts my MG34. However I am curious about removing the entire inner cradle that attaches to the buffer system that rests on the rollers( inside the outer rails) and replacing it with a MG34 inner cradle that has the original barrel change swivel attached. So you can open up the barrel shroud and perform a barrel change while it’s still mounted in the Lafette. I wish I knew how to post a picture of the assembly in question that I purchased in the thread lol
 
Musicsetsfre1 said:
Thank you for your reply, I currently have the adaptor block so my MG3 Lafette accepts my MG34. However I am curious about removing the entire inner cradle that attaches to the buffer system that rests on the rollers( inside the outer rails) and replacing it with a MG34 inner cradle that has the original barrel change swivel attached. So you can open up the barrel shroud and perform a barrel change while it’s still mounted in the Lafette. I wish I knew how to post a picture of the assembly in question that I purchased in the thread lol
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Sounds a bit tricky to get everything installed and aligned, but would be a cool project once it's done with the ability to swap barrels!
 
From what I understand it’s quite the job to take the cradle apart and rebuild/ replace it as there is lots of fasteners and springs and parts and crap in there. Some of the rivets and stuff can’t be reused and there are no available spare parts
There was a guy on mg42.us that redid a lafatte tripod and highly suggested not to remove and replace the cradle assembly
I looked for a proper mg34 lafatte and realized that one was going to cost as much as the gun so modded a 42 one to work instead
 
Most sellers in the US won’t ship a lafatte tripod up here, must be because of ITAR or something
Sellers in the U.K. and Europe will ship here but it’s costly
If you want a Yugo mg42 one check out Marstar
That’s where I got mine from
The MG42.US has a lot of great info, can’t remember if you can still browse the site as a guest though
The tripod rebuild post was in the accessories section I believe
 
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