Has anyone seen one of these before? Any details on factory/military cutaways like this?
Sold as a National Postal Meter but I can't make out any markings in the pics.
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Has anyone seen one of these before? Any details on factory/military cutaways like this?
Sold as a National Postal Meter but I can't make out any markings in the pics.
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That looks great, you must have made a wooden stand for it. I remember the thread where you bought it (if it's the same one and I'm not mistaken). Someone here will surely know the manufacturer of it. Is this an oversized trainer? Or is it just a regular cutaway rifle? It's hard to tell from the pictures without any other objects for size comparison
This is not the oversized trainer...but that was me too haha.
This is a normal sized rifle turned into a cutaway. Just wondering if anyone had seen these before -- if there are any documented examples.
Hmmm, wonder what the legal status would be if someone were to build one of these off a demilled M2 rec'r, or put all the relevant M2 parts on a demilled M1 rec'r? Seems *logical* that it wouldn't matter, being demilled to the point of total inertness. But we all know how gov'ts can be...
Russ
Going to go out on a limb here and say that "Bubba" did it, maybe for a desk display. The bullet coming out of the barrel is kinda funny.
I would say the rifle being actual size, the government would definitely have a problem with it whether it was inert or not. To my understanding you're not allowed to have the entire kit, so maybe if you left 1/4 of the parts out then maybe?Quote:
Originally Posted by RASelkirk
Perhaps not if a couple of the M2 parts were demilled by welding or cutting. But I would definitely check with BATFE before doing it!
Yeah, I'd forgotten about the sins of simultaneously owning all 7 M2 pieces...
Russ
Well it arrived.
Marked as National Postal Meter.
No evidence of a serial number ever applied.
And boy is it DRY. Looks like it hasn’t been oiled in decades and moves that way too.
Neat item that will go very well with my oversized cutaway.
It would be killer if it had a military/manufacturing history. Even without it’s still cool…and it would cost at least three times as much as I paid to build one today!
I think it's cool too, I would have no problem putting that on display downstairs in the man cave haha.
What is the finish on that thing? It looks plated and tarnished? Can you post a picture of the NPM marking? Is the top of the bolt cut all the way through?Quote:
Originally Posted by rcathey
Yes, I do believe it is plated.
I’m not sure how I want to go about cleaning it yet, but I’m leaning toward a simple steel wool and oil approach. It definitely needs disassembled and cleaned/oiled.
If we can say with some confidence this does not have a fancy provenance, I may add more cutouts. For example, the gas cylinder block isn’t cut away at all. There’s some neat stuff in there to see!
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Seems like that might be another cutout:Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
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Interesting piece for sure. Personally, I would just stick with cleaning it up. Although I do believe it is homemade, there is the possibility that it was done by National Postal Meter as a display or gift or something. Probably something we will never know for sure. Curious as to where you found it?
This came from an auction in New York…and I’m just now realizing the auction house is less than hour from Rochester where the National Postal Meter factory was.
The plot thickens!
Yes, and the plating job looks very old, plus no serial#. How about the markings of all the parts? All NPM?Quote:
Originally Posted by rcathey
You could clean it up and send it about an hour and a half down I-44, where we could keep it in my gunroom! :lol:
I agree. It's very possible that this was in a trophy/display case in the reception area to show off what they were accomplishing in regard to their war effort. That was very common back then unless the item was top secret which a carbine wasn't. They were scattered all over Europe and the Pacific.Quote:
Originally Posted by W5USMC
In peacetime prior and post war that same display case would have held samples of their mail handling equipment and postage meter variants.
I’ll have to document the markings as I take it apart.Quote:
Originally Posted by W5USMC
Nice of you to offer storage space, I’ll have to keep that in mind haha.
I’ve been on some buying trips down your way before.
Once purchased 17 guns from a pawn shop in Cuba. Nothing super exciting, unfortunately.
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The real bummer about this purchase is the lack of a plaque. If you look in the pictures in my first post, you can see residue from an oval plaque in between the cases on the base. Looks like it’s been gone for a long time since the wood isn’t a different color.Quote:
Originally Posted by oldfoneguy
That’s bitter sweet to me. Without the plaque, we don’t know the history of the display. If it had the plaque, it almost certainly would have sold for more than the $225 I paid.
I agree with oldfoneguy, it makes sense that it was in a trophy case or someplace similar at national postal meter because why leave the national postal meter on it and take off the serial number if it were done by a bubba? I also agree the plating does look old because it looks like it's peeling off a little on the inside of the slide arm. I would hold off making any more cuts on it for a little while Ryan until you find out more about what you have. Can't wait to see it cleaned up!
Hey Wayne, would Dan know anymore about this type of thing if he saw a picture of what Ryan has?
Hope so, I asked him to take a look at it.Quote:
Originally Posted by jond41403
Do not make any more cut, or alter in any way! Look closely at the wood stand, is there a ghost of a missing tag? Screw holes?
It was not made by bubba.
More to follow
Dan, in post 20 he mentions that it appears to have had a plate/plaque between the 2 spent cases.
Correct. It appears that it was an oval shaped plaque. Perhaps 3” by 1.5”.Quote:
Originally Posted by W5USMC
On my mobile device it looked like two dowels in place of the cases. The cases did have bullet heads. one of them seems stuffed in the barrel stub
They look like M1 Carbine cases on my computer. - Bob
Definitely cartridge cases.
Dan tells me the Carbine Collectors Club is aware of one other example like this one. More info to come!
That's awesome! I knew Dan would know if anybody would haha
Very cool, I collect cutaway instructional Firearms and that's excellent.
Has it been chromed or just stripped to the white?
I would probably carefully paint the parts black and red paint the cuts if it was mine.
That and a proper oil up...
I have started cleaning it and I’m now thinking it is just in the white.
Some parts are very deeply blued — for contrast, I suppose.
I think a little highlighting with red is in order as well. I’ll just use something g easily removable like nail polish.
Most likely a presentation piece for a former NPM employee.
I personally know the location of two full size cutaway MK-48 Torpedoes, one of which I use regularly as a training aid.
These are not generally available for public viewing.
I also have a cutaway miniature MK-48 model on my desk and know of one other, both mounted on a very similar wood base with a small brass plaque inscribed with the recipient's name (in one case mine) and stating, "In appreciation of your contributions to the MK-48 program." presented by Gould Ocean Systems.
There, I probably just said more than I should on a public forum.
I'd love to see those. I'm reading a book about the Imperial Japanese Navy in WW2. They would routinely fire a spread of a half dozen of those big 24"Long Lance torpedoes from 10-16,000 yds and destroy a lot of things. It was the favorite weapon of the Imperial Navy and must have cost a fortune to mass produce. This isn't some artillery shell built in a factory, these things were complicated and difficult things to make.
The WWII torpedo "debate" makes for some long, fine reading! Just finished "Iron Men and Tin Fish", followed by "Nimitz at War". Don't remember which book, but there was mention that 24 jeeps could be produced for the cost of 1 US torpedo and until '44, those were all but useless...
Russ
Apparently the US torpedo detonator had a fragile framework that would simply break instead of explode. I can't imagine the feeling of going through all of that trouble to get a good shot at a nice target and have it not go off. "Wahoo" by Richard O'Kane has quite a bit about this issue. That was a book that I simply couldn't put down. It is more about how a US submarine worked and operated and the guy is such a good writer. Consider that Wahoo was a brand new boat and it didn't last a full year before the Japanese forced it into real trouble and a bad torpedo circled and the boat sunk itself. I spent a lot of time talking to a WW2 submariner who was such a calm cool fellow that you could set him on fire and he wouldn't get excited. Very, very special people in that line of work.