Complete Detail Strip of my M1 Carbine with Lots of Pics

[Amsdorf]

I spent several hours this morning, doing a complete detail strip on my M1 Carbine in order to fill out the M1 Carbine Club's data sheet. Thanks for the incredibly helpful "how to" by DPD, which you can find here, I got it all done. I did not take the bolt apart though, I want to wait until I have my bolt tool.

Here is a link to my blog site where you can see all the photos I took, you need to click on each picture, twice, to bring up the largest version of the pictures.

The most baffling/interesting marking to me was on the slide "box" on the bottom, a large DD and then I noticed a small set of numbers, which are hard to read, even under high magnification.

Otherwise, as best I can tell, I have a pretty complete Inland M1 Carbine from July 1944, with no import marks and little to indicate an arsenal rebuild.

I also cleaned each part carefully and there was still a good bit of cosmoline in the nooks and crannies, which I took care of with long handled Q-Tips and Ballistol. Clearly this has been shot before, I got out black carbon, again, in the nooks and cranies, but rifling in the barrel is nice and dark, no problems there. Chamber looks great too.

I did a complete function test on it, and it chambers and extracts rounds accurately. Now to get it out on the range and see what it can do, or...what I can do with it.

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[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

I like the grain on the left side of the stock.

Nice pictures.

[Amsdorf]

Yes, the stock is beautiful. I hit it with a coat of Tung oil and it really popped the grain. The purists consider this heresy, though, I realize.

[browningautorifle]

I thought tung oil was the factory oil of choice? There should be no burning over that finish.

[Amsdorf]

From what I've read, it was Lindseed Oil.

I know the guys really into this frown on anything put on a stock, preferring to keep it "as is" but the grain on the stock I have was too nice to pass up. I gave it one coat of tung oil and it really made the grain and burling pop.

Now I have to wait a week or two for it to totally dry before I get it out to the range.

I checked the muzzle with a .30-06 round and it has 3.5/16" inch left...nearly a new barrel, which was put on in in July 1944.

It definitely has been shot before, but based on what I've been able to clean out of it, it appears whoever had it before me did not shoot it much and definitely never did a super detailed detailed strip. I was working cosmo out of the nooks and crannies of the various pieces.

The gun was purchased in an estate sale of a WW II veteran, whose son didn't want to keep the Carbine.

My gain, their loss.

The parts all match and are all Inland, with receiver and barrel all verifying a build of July 1944.

A vet may have bought this Carbine and never used it much. As the guy who sold it to me said, "Young people are idiots and have no appreciation for history."

My next purchase for it will be a WWII vintage sling and stock mag holder.

[browningautorifle]

I don't think the tung versus BLO is an issue. After all, it's not like it's a coat of black paint...

[Amsdorf]

Jim: yup, but....you don't hang around collector purists. Those guys are really obsessive about these details.

[DaveHH]

There is something oddly attractive about a stock of untouched slightly rough wood. I recall when I received my DCM Garand in 1983, a white sack rifle with new walnut, the FIRST thing I did was sand the stock. Made sense to me and looked great, but the issue was; it was only original once, you can't go back. Given that choice today, I leave it alone.

By the way, your stock looks great with that wonderful burl wood.