A short time ago I posted a thread asking about gunsmiths that offer parkerizing services. Adobe Wall lined me up but I was having a hard time connecting with the gunsmith. This prompted me to take the plunge and try my hand at home parkerizing. I purchased a half gallon jug of Radocy zinc phosphate parkerizing solution concentrate.
http://www.takedownguides.com/Parkerizing_Solutions.htm
Barreled receiver before.
4 ounces of the concentrate goes into one gallon of water. I used a $10 dollar store stainless steel cooking pot on top of my pressure cooker propane ring stand to heat the solution to 170 degrees.
I blasted the parts with Napa Auto fine glass beads. I rubber plugged the barrel and filled with water to prevent the fumes from etching the rifling, degreased and parked(just a few minutes in the heated solution for most parts while the receiver took about 20 minutes). I then coated the freshly minted park job with a high sulfur chlorinated thread cutting oil. I have read that this will darken the tone and eventually impart an olive green hue.
One thing I did discover about the process is that park does not like highly polished surfaces. On a rifle that is 60+ years old there are bound to be areas that have been polished through general field use. I used 240 grit sand paper to make sure the park had a good surface it to bond to. The rougher the better. Gotta like that.
I found that the trigger guard would not take the park and came to the conclusion it must be a foreign knock off that contains alloys unlike genuine U.S. steel of the era. It was the first part I tried to park so of course I was in a bit of a panic until I tried the next part and it parked perfectly.
The rifle was purchased through the CMP without wood or stock metal. It is a Danish lend/lease type return.
For those that are unfamiliar with the M1 rifle’s history.......The autoloading M1 replaced the M1903(and variants) bolt action service rifle. The military had decided to establish a new method for small arms designations. Instead of the rifle being designated for the year it was designed in it would simply be designated relative to the number one. The M1 rifle was the first in the new designation method. The two major service rifles that have followed(M14,M16) are designated in this sequence. The design was officially adopted by the military in 1936. The rifle beat all other competitors because of an incredibly simple rugged design and ease by which it could be maintained in the field. The entire rifle can be disassembled(less the gas cylinder plug) using the point on the bullet of a 30-06 service round. The designer, John Garand, originally chambered the rifle for a high velocity .276 round but MacArthur was instrumental in decisions affecting this rifle and eventually it was redesigned for the 30-06 service round. This also negated the inherent logistical problems that would have developed if a new chambering had entered service alongside with the 30-06, .45 auto and .50 BMG. Making the rifle work with the already standardized 30-06 round meant the highest possible degree of interchangeability of ammunition in the field.
No other country that participated in WWII standardized and issued an autoloading rifle to it’s infantry units. The top loading 8 round enbloc clip M1 gave American combat units an unparalleled base of fire from which to operate under the protection of. When production ended in the mid 1950's some 6 million M1's had been produced. In the 70's and 80's scores were demilled quietly by anti-gun government officials. After WWII the U.S. lent M1's to countless allied nations. The M1 was put back into service for the Korean war as fast as the Cosmoline could be removed. The scoped sniper version was used as late as the opening days of the Vietnam war.
The M1 theory of operation may seem simple by today’s standards, but it was an absolute revolution in 1936. The original ‘gas trap’ design had a projection off the muzzle that trapped expanding propellant gases after the exit of the bullet and redirected some of these gases into a chamber that contained a long stroke piston head. The gases impinge on this piston head/operating rod assembly forcing it rearward. The operating rod extends all the way back to the receiver and has a camming surface in which the right side bolt lug rides. The motion of the operating rod unlocks the bolt and forces it rearward after chamber pressures have dropped to a safe level. The spent case is ejected and the hammer is cocked. After the bolt reaches the end of its travel a spring forces it forward again stripping a fresh round off the 8 round enbloc clip and into the chamber. It is impossible for the rifle to fire out of battery because of the camming action of the bolt and a bent tang on the firing pin. The firing pin can not be forced forward until the bolt has rotated to the locked position. The rifle is ready to fire again.
In the late 1930's the ‘gas trap’ cylinder was redesigned. Instead of projecting it off the barrel a small hole was drilled just aft of the muzzle and the propellant gasses were redirected at this point instead. Most early gas trap models were converted and those that still remain in this original configuration command POR dollar amounts. It is thought that these original examples possess the greatest accuracy potential because the bullet must be completely clear of the barrel before any of the autoloading parts begin to cycle.
This basic operational design was used again in the M14 and M60 with minor improvements to the bolt/operating rod camming surface including a bearing on the lug to reduce friction.
If you are interested in a historic rifle like this CMP is currently out of M1's but may have more this fall. If you are into .30 cal carbines CMP recently received a fresh batch of USGI returns from Italy and sales have just begun. They will even have some .30 cal carbines manufactured by the rare companies like Irwin-Pedersen and Rock-Ola juke box company. If you are into that stuff.
http://www.odcmp.com/Services/Rifles/index.htm
For those that are interested in this type of rifle but don’t want to go the CMP route there are many options for you. SA offers new M1's with new reproduction receivers.
http://www.springfield-armory.com/armory.php?model=21
Other companies offer rifles built on USGI receivers. Some sell national match spec M1's.
http://www.fulton-armory.com/
http://www.garandguy.com/issuegrade.htm
http://www.tanksrifleshop.com/m1garand.htm
http://www.miltecharms.com/rifles.htm#GARAND
http://www.nationalmatcharmory.com/homepage6.html
Originals with authentic USGI barrels and stocks can be had at places like this.
http://www.simpsonltd.com/index.php
Or as long as the barrel isn’t shot out, with home parkerizing(and a dishwasher cycle run through for that 60 year old cosmoline encased stock), the $500-600 beater gun show specials could easily be rejuvenated.
M1 Specs: (for those military hardware buffs out there)
1.17 mil Springfield Armory receiver(January of 1943)
Lead dipped receiver heel(prevented heel breakage upon firing rifled grenades)
New Krieger/Criteron USGI grade parkerized barrel
WWII lock bar rear sights
SA cut operating rod
Black ceramic paint and bake on gas cylinder job($5 rattle can Napa engine manifold paint)
Milled trigger guard($5 rattle can Napa engine manifold paint as it would not park)
Some small parts are Winnie or BMB
Dupage rework of the ‘fat’ Boyds stock offering. I hand fit the stock to prevent binding/random flyers as the barrel heats then hand rubbed BLO on top of Chestnut Ridge red stain.
Stock metal purchased from Doug’s Stock Pile(bead blasted and parked)
The M1 sling is a M1907 reproduction from River Bank Armory
The ammo is Greek M2 Ball from CMP. It comes in a tin ‘spam can’ pre-loaded on M1 enbloc clips in ready to go bandoleers. Many call this Greek ammo cheater match ammo.
The entrenching tool is a 1945 Ames.
The .45 is a SA M1911A1 GI reproduction that I outfitted with small parts to make it closer to the originals. These parts include late type Colt bakelite large reinforcing ring grips, a stubby wide spur WWII type hammer, checkered arched mainspring housing and a WWII type narrow shelf thumb safety. The holster is a M1916 reproduction.
Home parkerization is surprisingly easy. If you don’t have access to bead blasting equipment you can remove the old finish with muriatic acid(found at your local spa and pool store). I also discovered that small parts can be cleaned and parked as is and the new park will adhere to the areas where the original finish has worn away. The parked finish isn’t as durable as most modern gun kote/teflon moly offerings but is authentic for this rifle and is the only way I could retain the lead dipped heel contrast(the black/gray contrast can be seen in the after pictures). What is really neat about parkerizing is it’s porosity. When you oil the weapon the oil seeps into the pours created by the way the park bonds to the metal and is held close. Blueing just doesn’t offer that kind of protection.
In a time of black composite rifles, I find there just isn’t any other rifle out there that feels as natural in the hollow of one’s shoulder as an M1(sorry M14/M1A/AR fans) although it is heavy coming in at about 9.5lbs. The adjustable 100-1300 yard thick post iron sighting system and it’s 6 o’clock hold is a testament to user friendly operation. The reduced recoil of the 30-06 ammo due to the timing of the action makes it is such a pleasure to shoot. And who wouldn’t like the distinctly audible ‘ping’ of the enbloc clip being ejected after the last round is expended.
Someone else wrote this.
It satisfies the eyes. It looks warm, robust, serious, and capable. It
looks like victory, freedom and liberation. It looks friendly. It does not look evil. It does not look delicate. It does not look cheap.
It is the good guy's weapon. It is just the ticket to liberate a country. It opens the doors of concentration camps. It saves people from tyranny. It topples dictators. It squashes fascists. It pushes communists behind their walls. It defends the homeland. It provides for the common defense. It is necessary for the security of a free state.
Just be careful of your thumb!!
U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1
cwh
And yes, I like to play the banjo form time to time.
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