I bought an old Mauser rifle from a neighbour about ten years ago. He got it in a trade and had no idea as to what it was, come to think of it, niether did I at the time. I did notice that it said 'Spandau' on the barrel so I knew it was German and it was old, but was unsure of the model. Honking big bore on the thing, it was rusty and dirty, bolt was loose and rattled, action loose in the stock and parts were missing.
So I offered him $50, we haggled and settled at $75. I took it home and started going through my Gun Trader Guide. I found it, a Mauser IG 71/84 in .43 Mauser. The receiver was dated 1888, Hmmm, a contemporary to my Mk.IV Martini.
Took me a while to figure how to get the damn thing apart and the action out of the woodwork. Kinda tricky unless you know in which direction to pull and push things once all the screws are out. Soaked the action in diesel for the summer and went back at it in the fall. Got the action stripped down into components. I laid it all out on the bench and went through the parts list on an exploded diagram printed off of the net. It was missing a few pieces that could only have been removed with the action apart. So perhaps this was somebody's long lost parts gun, maybe a forgotten project.
The metalwork was covered in a light coating of surface rust. The diesel dissolved alot of it, the rest came off with gentle cleaning with fine steel wool and oil. Everything cleaned up nicely. Blue was good (well, not bad, kinda plumb) and the parts that were originaly polished shone right back up. The woodwork which was suprisingly unbattered, responded to steel wool and Boiled Linseed Oil.
Parts are not that easy to find, so I made some. The bolt has a screw and big fat washer that prevents the bolt from coming right out when cycled. The screw and washer were missing, the screw gets busted easily, it is not meant to be taken right out, it has a pin retainer. Bubba don't know this and just cranked it and snapped it off loosing it and the washer. So I went through my doodad tin in the bottom kitchen drawer and found a bolt that had the correct METRIC thread. I chucked it in my drill press and using a hand file, reshaped the hex head into a domed countersink head. I cut the screwdriver slot with a fine hacksaw. For the washer I took a 1/2" bolt, chucked it in my drill press and reshaped the hex head into the domed washer. Cut it off to length with a hacksaw, held it in a vise, filed it smooth and flat on the back, then drilled and countersunk the front. Took me about an hour and the bolt retention was fixed. Not exactly the same profile as an original, but for not having anything for reference, it looks pretty good and does the job.
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I surfed the net and got chatting to other collectors of Mauser rifles. One chap had a old rusty selector switch in his parts bin. He sent it to me for free, it fit like a charm so I cleaned it up.
My cartridge elevator was buggered, it was missing the cam, and the elevator cam track was chipped and broken. It was original numbered part to the rifle so what the story was of how it got broken, I don't know, it is a tough thing to hurt.
I posted here on CGN and sang the blues about my rifle. Another collector stepped up and donated some parts that he had in his bin, gratis. Wow! (thanks Andy) I was on my way again, I now had a good elevator to work with.
The cam I made from steel material from a big washer of correct thickness. I had no pattern but found a photograph of an elevator cam on the net. Comparing it to the track it had to ride in, I printed it to scale. I could then take dimensions from my print. Took one evening and two attempts, but I got a hand filed cam fashioned that worked.
I changed it out for an original cam that I just scored. Pic shows my hand made one compared to an original. Pretty close I think.
The bayonet lug had been shaved off of the front band, maybe to make it less 'military'?. A shame really cos it was a matching numbered part. The middle band swivel screw had been busted by Bubba. Similar to the type of screw used on Martini sling swivels, there is a captive nut fixed on the end of the screw. To tighten the band, you actualy turn the screw OUT. Bubba don't know this and cranked the screw till it busted, and lost the swivel. I got chatting with a chap stateside who bought a bunch of rifles that were found in a cave in South America. Apparantly they had been stored as an arms cache in Equador. He sent me a pair of barrel bands gratis! I cleaned them with fine steel wool and oil and bingo! Their patina matched the rest of the hardware.
The only part that I couldn't make or scrounge was the extractor. These are as rare as budgies' teeth. It is a part that is very easy to loose if you take the bolt out of the rifle and they had a tendancy to break. All useable stocks of spares were probably depleted many years ago. I thought of making one but the steel is very tough and is heat treated. So I shopped around to try and find one. Numrich got a shippment and had some in stock, so I snagged one. Right place at right time, i tried to order a spare today and they are out of stock. Cost me quite a bit for such a tiny little bit of steel, but it completed the rifle. I can highly recommend Numrich, took less than a week from ordering on line to getting it in my mailbox.
I needed a lower sling swivel, they are a very hard part to find. I bought a trigger guard complete with swivel off of FleaBay. I removed the swivel, cleaned the guard up, took some really clear photographs and listed it back on the same auction site for what I paid for it plus shipping. It sold to a chap in England who was very happy that he had found one, even the numbers matched his rifle. I even tossed in some screws and a buttplate, gratis. My contribution to his restoration. But in effect, the rare sling swivel cost me nothing either.
So with the help of a few other collectors, many hours fiddling around at the workbench, the rifle is just about ready. I got to make new friends on line with similar interests and I learnt a bit about Mausers. This is the only Mauser rifle that I own. It sits on the end of the rack beside a Martini. The two are similar in length and caliber.
The bore had been greased before it was put away. At first I thought it was just a stove pipe inside, but once the goop was dissolved in the diesel bath, it came clean as a whistle. It looks promising to be a shooter.
I have no idea how I would check the headspace on this thing. Where would one find guages???
So next is to find some brass and roll some reloads, get her to bark at the moon again. I can almost smell the black powder smoke!
So here we go again. Now I am looking for the bayonet. And of course I need to dress it with the correct sling. Dies, brass, bullet mould. . . . . . . .
So I offered him $50, we haggled and settled at $75. I took it home and started going through my Gun Trader Guide. I found it, a Mauser IG 71/84 in .43 Mauser. The receiver was dated 1888, Hmmm, a contemporary to my Mk.IV Martini.
Took me a while to figure how to get the damn thing apart and the action out of the woodwork. Kinda tricky unless you know in which direction to pull and push things once all the screws are out. Soaked the action in diesel for the summer and went back at it in the fall. Got the action stripped down into components. I laid it all out on the bench and went through the parts list on an exploded diagram printed off of the net. It was missing a few pieces that could only have been removed with the action apart. So perhaps this was somebody's long lost parts gun, maybe a forgotten project.
The metalwork was covered in a light coating of surface rust. The diesel dissolved alot of it, the rest came off with gentle cleaning with fine steel wool and oil. Everything cleaned up nicely. Blue was good (well, not bad, kinda plumb) and the parts that were originaly polished shone right back up. The woodwork which was suprisingly unbattered, responded to steel wool and Boiled Linseed Oil.
Parts are not that easy to find, so I made some. The bolt has a screw and big fat washer that prevents the bolt from coming right out when cycled. The screw and washer were missing, the screw gets busted easily, it is not meant to be taken right out, it has a pin retainer. Bubba don't know this and just cranked it and snapped it off loosing it and the washer. So I went through my doodad tin in the bottom kitchen drawer and found a bolt that had the correct METRIC thread. I chucked it in my drill press and using a hand file, reshaped the hex head into a domed countersink head. I cut the screwdriver slot with a fine hacksaw. For the washer I took a 1/2" bolt, chucked it in my drill press and reshaped the hex head into the domed washer. Cut it off to length with a hacksaw, held it in a vise, filed it smooth and flat on the back, then drilled and countersunk the front. Took me about an hour and the bolt retention was fixed. Not exactly the same profile as an original, but for not having anything for reference, it looks pretty good and does the job.
I surfed the net and got chatting to other collectors of Mauser rifles. One chap had a old rusty selector switch in his parts bin. He sent it to me for free, it fit like a charm so I cleaned it up.
My cartridge elevator was buggered, it was missing the cam, and the elevator cam track was chipped and broken. It was original numbered part to the rifle so what the story was of how it got broken, I don't know, it is a tough thing to hurt.
I posted here on CGN and sang the blues about my rifle. Another collector stepped up and donated some parts that he had in his bin, gratis. Wow! (thanks Andy) I was on my way again, I now had a good elevator to work with.
The cam I made from steel material from a big washer of correct thickness. I had no pattern but found a photograph of an elevator cam on the net. Comparing it to the track it had to ride in, I printed it to scale. I could then take dimensions from my print. Took one evening and two attempts, but I got a hand filed cam fashioned that worked.
I changed it out for an original cam that I just scored. Pic shows my hand made one compared to an original. Pretty close I think.
The bayonet lug had been shaved off of the front band, maybe to make it less 'military'?. A shame really cos it was a matching numbered part. The middle band swivel screw had been busted by Bubba. Similar to the type of screw used on Martini sling swivels, there is a captive nut fixed on the end of the screw. To tighten the band, you actualy turn the screw OUT. Bubba don't know this and cranked the screw till it busted, and lost the swivel. I got chatting with a chap stateside who bought a bunch of rifles that were found in a cave in South America. Apparantly they had been stored as an arms cache in Equador. He sent me a pair of barrel bands gratis! I cleaned them with fine steel wool and oil and bingo! Their patina matched the rest of the hardware.
The only part that I couldn't make or scrounge was the extractor. These are as rare as budgies' teeth. It is a part that is very easy to loose if you take the bolt out of the rifle and they had a tendancy to break. All useable stocks of spares were probably depleted many years ago. I thought of making one but the steel is very tough and is heat treated. So I shopped around to try and find one. Numrich got a shippment and had some in stock, so I snagged one. Right place at right time, i tried to order a spare today and they are out of stock. Cost me quite a bit for such a tiny little bit of steel, but it completed the rifle. I can highly recommend Numrich, took less than a week from ordering on line to getting it in my mailbox.
I needed a lower sling swivel, they are a very hard part to find. I bought a trigger guard complete with swivel off of FleaBay. I removed the swivel, cleaned the guard up, took some really clear photographs and listed it back on the same auction site for what I paid for it plus shipping. It sold to a chap in England who was very happy that he had found one, even the numbers matched his rifle. I even tossed in some screws and a buttplate, gratis. My contribution to his restoration. But in effect, the rare sling swivel cost me nothing either.
So with the help of a few other collectors, many hours fiddling around at the workbench, the rifle is just about ready. I got to make new friends on line with similar interests and I learnt a bit about Mausers. This is the only Mauser rifle that I own. It sits on the end of the rack beside a Martini. The two are similar in length and caliber.
The bore had been greased before it was put away. At first I thought it was just a stove pipe inside, but once the goop was dissolved in the diesel bath, it came clean as a whistle. It looks promising to be a shooter.
I have no idea how I would check the headspace on this thing. Where would one find guages???
So next is to find some brass and roll some reloads, get her to bark at the moon again. I can almost smell the black powder smoke!
So here we go again. Now I am looking for the bayonet. And of course I need to dress it with the correct sling. Dies, brass, bullet mould. . . . . . . .
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