New TNW MG34
- Thread starter touch157
- Start date
I purchased one of the newer ones from Wolverine, haven't had a real chance to use it yet. Of the 10 rounds I fired the gun cycled well. I am hoping the weather smartens up so I can really try it. The original German spec must have been works of art. Even the reworked ones are beautiful pieces of engineering inside. Hope this will hold you over, I will update as soon as I can.
I have one of the newer ones, purchased last September, put about 300 rounds of prvi fmj through it then put it in storage. Trigger pull was very heavy, used two fingers to fire it most of the time. Worked quite well but did get the odd failure to eject maybe 3-4 times, i think it may have been the belt as it only did it with one of the two i was using. Was using 50 round belt out of a drum for the most part. Picked it up on a impulse buy, had a neat serial number 9666. When i return i intend to tinker with the trigger to make it a bit more manageable.
5point9straight6
Regular
- Location
- Deep River
I ended up getting one just recently. Came directly from TNW and was built specifically for this order (wasn't taken from the shelf), as per email communication with the TNW sales rep. As part of the order it was requested that particular attention be payed to the trigger for lightness and that the damn thing actually feeds right. Took a month for the build. Upon completion, TNW sent an email to confirm the gun had been tested and reported to work flawlessly.
When it arrived some parts of the gun were heavily caked in dried storage grease. These parts were mainly the old surplus parts like barrel shroud, barrel itself (inside!) and the breech and required a lot of attention to allow the bolt to close completely. The whole action was reluctant to move prior to a thorough cleaning job. It made me very suspicious of the fact that it had actually been tested. Even if they had used a test barrel (the barrel it came would have blown up during a firing test) to test-fire it, for sure the action would not have worked. Moreover, the gun cannot feed properly, due to a machining issue with the receiver. As the bolt engages the cartridge, it pushes the head of the round slightly up in the feed mechanism and the bullet tip catches the inner top edge of the receiver and jams right up. It never makes it into the feeding path. So that part of the receiver has to be beveled a bit to provide a downward ramp to direct the bullet into the feeding path. Maybe it will work with that mod.
I'm not completely disappointed yet, as this is really just a collectors item for me, but I'm a little dissatisfied with the fact that a $4200 gun doesn't really work outright and that the testing procedure may just be a story...
And on the up side, my trigger can be pulled with one finger. It's still hard though, don't expect fast firing rates but wiggling your finger with this gun.
When it arrived some parts of the gun were heavily caked in dried storage grease. These parts were mainly the old surplus parts like barrel shroud, barrel itself (inside!) and the breech and required a lot of attention to allow the bolt to close completely. The whole action was reluctant to move prior to a thorough cleaning job. It made me very suspicious of the fact that it had actually been tested. Even if they had used a test barrel (the barrel it came would have blown up during a firing test) to test-fire it, for sure the action would not have worked. Moreover, the gun cannot feed properly, due to a machining issue with the receiver. As the bolt engages the cartridge, it pushes the head of the round slightly up in the feed mechanism and the bullet tip catches the inner top edge of the receiver and jams right up. It never makes it into the feeding path. So that part of the receiver has to be beveled a bit to provide a downward ramp to direct the bullet into the feeding path. Maybe it will work with that mod.
I'm not completely disappointed yet, as this is really just a collectors item for me, but I'm a little dissatisfied with the fact that a $4200 gun doesn't really work outright and that the testing procedure may just be a story...
And on the up side, my trigger can be pulled with one finger. It's still hard though, don't expect fast firing rates but wiggling your finger with this gun.
Bird Blaster
Regular
- Location
- Northern Ontario
This thread is useless without pics. 
5point9straight6
Regular
- Location
- Deep River
First the pics of today's test. It still doesn't feed properly (that's after I beveled the roof of the feed tunnel to properly accept the bullet tip):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q9hntjw5slu9qhx/Photo 5-16-2014, 6 15 46 PM.jpg
As the round is pushed into the feed path by the bolt, the head tips down and the bolt loses the base of the cartridge and jams it in the feed tunnel.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ex6i37pvvki9aja/Photo 5-16-2014, 6 16 11 PM.jpg
This causes deformations of the case wall near the base...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c7r9rbnhzsksy6k/Photo 5-16-2014, 6 16 36 PM.jpg
...and bends the neck. The bullet is then loose, you can spin it in the case neck. Complete fail. Emailed TNW about it now.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q9hntjw5slu9qhx/Photo 5-16-2014, 6 15 46 PM.jpg
As the round is pushed into the feed path by the bolt, the head tips down and the bolt loses the base of the cartridge and jams it in the feed tunnel.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ex6i37pvvki9aja/Photo 5-16-2014, 6 16 11 PM.jpg
This causes deformations of the case wall near the base...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c7r9rbnhzsksy6k/Photo 5-16-2014, 6 16 36 PM.jpg
...and bends the neck. The bullet is then loose, you can spin it in the case neck. Complete fail. Emailed TNW about it now.
5point9straight6
Regular
- Location
- Deep River
Quick update. I talked to Lance, the TNW builder, on the phone today and he suggested to trim back the slot in the feed tray a bit in and attempt to allow for earlier cartridge tilt downward. I widened the slot backwards by about 1/2" above stock. Still doesn't work, but it appears to be improved slightly. The next step will be to install a new feed cover.
5point9straight6
Regular
- Location
- Deep River
Problem solved. After talking with Lance at TNW again he gave me measurements off a known working feed tray he has in the shop. I filed my feed tray to the same specs (it needed quite a bit of work). A few other good tips came out of that conversation. New production belts are notoriously tight and the bolt may not impart enough momentum on the cartridge to feed properly, due to friction. Forward momentum of critical to feed properly, as the cartridge is more or less launched into the chamber and the bolt closes behind it. So new belts need some initial stretching. I use old wore-in WW2 era belts, which seem to do the job just fine. Also spray down the belt with a light coating of WD40.
I'm finding the trigger quite nice, actually. Contrary to my expectations you can achieve a reasonable rate of fire with it. Doesn't take too long to motor through a belt at all.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uikp4kb5l3e2mk2/Photo%205-29-2014%2C%208%2034%2035%20PM.jpg
I'm finding the trigger quite nice, actually. Contrary to my expectations you can achieve a reasonable rate of fire with it. Doesn't take too long to motor through a belt at all.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uikp4kb5l3e2mk2/Photo%205-29-2014%2C%208%2034%2035%20PM.jpg
Problem solved. After talking with Lance at TNW again he gave me measurements off a known working feed tray he has in the shop. I filed my feed tray to the same specs (it needed quite a bit of work). A few other good tips came out of that conversation. New production belts are notoriously tight and the bolt may not impart enough momentum on the cartridge to feed properly, due to friction. Forward momentum of critical to feed properly, as the cartridge is more or less launched into the chamber and the bolt closes behind it. So new belts need some initial stretching. I use old wore-in WW2 era belts, which seem to do the job just fine. Also spray down the belt with a light coating of WD40.
I'm finding the trigger quite nice, actually. Contrary to my expectations you can achieve a reasonable rate of fire with it. Doesn't take too long to motor through a belt at all.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uikp4kb5l3e2mk2/Photo%205-29-2014%2C%208%2034%2035%20PM.jpg
I am very happy you were able to fix it and I hope it brings you tones of great shooting!
But I find it unbelievable and disgusting that they one lied to you by saying they tested it and that they made you fix the dam thing!
It's not the first time I hear crap like that from tnw and I believe it's one of the reasons they got drop by marstar. I would personally NEVER buy from them!
5point9straight6
Regular
- Location
- Deep River
I must say it was more of a mutual agreement to fix it myself, because it was the most pragmatic solution. TNW readily took my calls and I was instantly connected with the most knowledgeable person. TNW also offered to send me parts, but I declined that, because I was wary about the legal issues.
I still need to get cold-blue to refinish the feed tray where I filed on it.
5point9straight6
Regular
- Location
- Deep River
One more thing occurred to me in regards to feeding issues, especially the first round. I'm a newb to machine guns and really didn't see through all of this at first, so I read the manual to figure things out....
The original MG 34 fired from an open bolt, so initially the bolt is pulled back and locked the open position. The manual, which comes with the gun and which is a copy of the original WW2 manual (!), says to slowly move the cocking handle to the home position after setting the bolt open. I see why that's good practice on the original gun, because if the bolt would accidentally snap forward it would load a round fire it. After cocking the bolt the cocking handle has to be latched in the home position before firing; if not, the bolt slamming forward would catch it and bring it home rather forcefully (ouch to whatever is in its way, plus potential material damage).
It works differently on the semi-auto version. The bolt won't stay open on its own (fires from closed bolt). To load the first round from a belt, you have to pull back the bolt with the handle and let go of the handle (contrary to the manual)! Bolt and handle snap forward to engage the first round and feed it with the proper momentum; it will not feed properly if you bring the bolt forward slowly, because it's not designed to do so! Make sure the starter tab is out of the way of the bolt handle latch, otherwise it might catch and jam while moving forward. After the first round is fired, every next round is fed as is intended by the original design.
A more gentle, but cumbersome way of loading the first round is to keep the bolt open using the safety, then fiddling the first round into the chamber manually. Then safety off, advance to bolt about half way and let it snap closed the rest of the way. Again it needs some momentum to close properly. Set the safety on, load belt, close feed cover, safety off, let fun begin.
The original MG 34 fired from an open bolt, so initially the bolt is pulled back and locked the open position. The manual, which comes with the gun and which is a copy of the original WW2 manual (!), says to slowly move the cocking handle to the home position after setting the bolt open. I see why that's good practice on the original gun, because if the bolt would accidentally snap forward it would load a round fire it. After cocking the bolt the cocking handle has to be latched in the home position before firing; if not, the bolt slamming forward would catch it and bring it home rather forcefully (ouch to whatever is in its way, plus potential material damage).
It works differently on the semi-auto version. The bolt won't stay open on its own (fires from closed bolt). To load the first round from a belt, you have to pull back the bolt with the handle and let go of the handle (contrary to the manual)! Bolt and handle snap forward to engage the first round and feed it with the proper momentum; it will not feed properly if you bring the bolt forward slowly, because it's not designed to do so! Make sure the starter tab is out of the way of the bolt handle latch, otherwise it might catch and jam while moving forward. After the first round is fired, every next round is fed as is intended by the original design.
A more gentle, but cumbersome way of loading the first round is to keep the bolt open using the safety, then fiddling the first round into the chamber manually. Then safety off, advance to bolt about half way and let it snap closed the rest of the way. Again it needs some momentum to close properly. Set the safety on, load belt, close feed cover, safety off, let fun begin.
5point, can u show me what and exact filing or your feed tray u modded. Mine tends to do same at times. I also noticed with mine, if the belt is left hanging it tends to not feed properly but if someone holds the belt it works a lot better. I have ordered a basket drum and gonna give it a whirle to see if that helps aswell. Also I have trouble getting my top cover to close properly sometimes and look like an idiot trying to get it closed at the range. Is there any technique or trick? I usually have first round sitting over bolt then charge the handle. But either way, bullet over bolt or empty belt, I still have trouble getting the top cover to close. Any suggestions? Btw its also a TNW
5point9straight6
Regular
- Location
- Deep River
This is my feed tray viewed from the bottom. Bottom of picture is the front of the tray. You can see where I widened the slot, continuing approximately from where the blueing remains.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a5dpqa1p08oefk3/Photo%206-6-2014%2C%201%2001%2049%20PM.jpg
Also note that the bolt was rubbing against one side of the narrow part of the feed tray slot and thus lifting the feed tray up slightly, thereby losing the round more easily. I removed some material there too.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uwvlukwz3fepwi1/Photo%206-6-2014%2C%201%2004%2014%20PM.jpg
The slot must be wide over the distance of 1 inch+ from the front (was ~3/8 from the factory, no go)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7f1z868u5adj3mh/Photo%206-6-2014%2C%201%2003%2054%20PM.jpg
Feed tray again, from the top this time.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uxnnlsqnt4fw1yr/Photo%206-6-2014%2C%201%2002%2003%20PM.jpg
5point9straight6
Regular
- Location
- Deep River
To close the top cover, the track moving the feed pawls must properly align with the prongs on the bolt. If a loaded belt sits on the feed tray and you close the top onto it, the round may shift the pawls and therefore the track comes out of alignment with the thing on the bolt... You must position the belt just right so it doesn't shift the mechanism in the top cover. On my gun that sweet spot is NOT tight against the post of the feed tray, but slightly relaxed.
I used to have a Converted Auto, before they became 12-3.
As I recall it, the bolt has a spring contained within it, and there is a small trip lever that releases the firing pin upon bolt lock-up.
So, no matter how gently you ease the bolt forward, it WILL fire.
I found this out by having an accidental discharge. Shocked the absolute shiit out of me.
I knew it was loaded, but wasnt familiar with the operation then.
Fortunately, muzzle direction was good, so no harm other than stained shorts...
Was that manual a US translation of the German one?
