smokeywolf
Well-Known Member
When I inspected the Garand prior to buying it back, the bolt would not lock back.
Tore her down on Mon. Kitchen table is occupied by a smallish piano keyboard, a laptop, case of bottled water, pressure cooker/canner, etc., etc. Too much stuff and not enough house.
So, a couple of towels on the bed and there I stripped her down.
Because of a re-injury to my back several months ago, then a foot injury a couple of months ago, I haven't been able to work in the shop.
Tues. headed out to the shop and here's what I found...
The Garand hasn't been stripped in a very long time; probably decades. Took a bit of romancing to pull the trigger group and get her to shed her stock. Dad's stocks always fit a little tighter than snug. But, along with grease lacking at essential metal to metal contact points, grease on op rod spring was sticky and very congealed.
Op rod catch had been modified to eliminate the arm that actuates the clip latch.
Some years back a fellow named John Holbrook cut the arm off an op rod catch and added a spring to the underside, allowing the op rod catch to function as it should, except that it doesn't trigger ejection of the en-bloc clip after last case ejection. He renamed this op rod catch the "Holbrook Device".
Apparently, my dad invented this back in the 1950s. Was not at all surprised to see this. Dad was extremely cautious about keeping dirt out of the actions and would not have wanted the clips to be thrown into the dirt and brush. Also, the shape of the op rod latch in Dad's Garand is different from that of the "Holbrook Devices".
At some point in time, the spring in the bottom of the modded op rod catch broke off and someone inserted a small (3-48 I think) screw to keep the latch from locking the op rod (and bolt) back before the last 2 rounds were fired and ejected. Unfortunately, that also prevented the op rod from being locked back at all.
I extracted the remnants of the broken spring and replaced it.
All now functions as intended.
Got everything cleaned up spic & span and dug out a tube of Lubriplate. Got every shiny spot treated to a thin smear of grease.
Now have to finish putting her back together.
Would love to know how much an issue stock set weighs. The stock that Dad created weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz.
Although I have a lot of cleaning up to do, it sure is nice to be able to work in the shop again. Knocked over a glass jar with a few dozen Ideal 457124 bullets in it. Got glass and bullets to clean up. Plus, Brad and I need to clean up our reloading benches.
Will add some pics to this thread in a day or two.
Tore her down on Mon. Kitchen table is occupied by a smallish piano keyboard, a laptop, case of bottled water, pressure cooker/canner, etc., etc. Too much stuff and not enough house.
So, a couple of towels on the bed and there I stripped her down.
Because of a re-injury to my back several months ago, then a foot injury a couple of months ago, I haven't been able to work in the shop.
Tues. headed out to the shop and here's what I found...
The Garand hasn't been stripped in a very long time; probably decades. Took a bit of romancing to pull the trigger group and get her to shed her stock. Dad's stocks always fit a little tighter than snug. But, along with grease lacking at essential metal to metal contact points, grease on op rod spring was sticky and very congealed.
Op rod catch had been modified to eliminate the arm that actuates the clip latch.
Some years back a fellow named John Holbrook cut the arm off an op rod catch and added a spring to the underside, allowing the op rod catch to function as it should, except that it doesn't trigger ejection of the en-bloc clip after last case ejection. He renamed this op rod catch the "Holbrook Device".
Apparently, my dad invented this back in the 1950s. Was not at all surprised to see this. Dad was extremely cautious about keeping dirt out of the actions and would not have wanted the clips to be thrown into the dirt and brush. Also, the shape of the op rod latch in Dad's Garand is different from that of the "Holbrook Devices".
At some point in time, the spring in the bottom of the modded op rod catch broke off and someone inserted a small (3-48 I think) screw to keep the latch from locking the op rod (and bolt) back before the last 2 rounds were fired and ejected. Unfortunately, that also prevented the op rod from being locked back at all.
I extracted the remnants of the broken spring and replaced it.
All now functions as intended.
Got everything cleaned up spic & span and dug out a tube of Lubriplate. Got every shiny spot treated to a thin smear of grease.
Now have to finish putting her back together.
Would love to know how much an issue stock set weighs. The stock that Dad created weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz.
Although I have a lot of cleaning up to do, it sure is nice to be able to work in the shop again. Knocked over a glass jar with a few dozen Ideal 457124 bullets in it. Got glass and bullets to clean up. Plus, Brad and I need to clean up our reloading benches.
Will add some pics to this thread in a day or two.