Here's an interesting freebie borrowed from Facebook

[Bob Womack]

Caption from Facebook:
Winchester employee with an M1 Garand Receiver after forging prior to the machining process at the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. Factory in New Haven, Connecticut during WW2

Winchester was contracted to produce the M1 Garand in 1940 with the first completed rifle rolling off the production line on January 10, 1941.

By the time Winchester ceased M1 production in 1945, they had produced a total of 513,880 M1 Garand Rifles.

Winchester Repeating Arms Company Archives
Buffalo Bill Center of the West - P.20.3019.1

Bob

[Salt Flat]

That's a great photo and reminds me of all the workers on the home front. Talk about war heroes, that guy should have had a medal. That's about the hardest work out there. Noisy, hot, dirty and dangerous. Doing his part. Salt Flat

[browningautorifle]

Talk about war heroes, that guy should have had a medal. That's about the hardest work out there. Noisy, hot, dirty and dangerous. Doing his part. Salt Flat

All while missing a foot that he got shot off in the Argonne forest in WW1. Well, some guys were...

[eb in oregon]

All while missing a foot that he got shot off in the Argonne forest in WW1. Well, some guys were...

My grand dad didn't get a foot shot off in the Argonne, but he picked up a large piece of metal in his butt. And was to old for the next one. He still did his part in the Civil Defense. And was a Journeyman Steamfitter. He did a lot of work on Swan Island for government construction.

[browningautorifle]

a large piece of metal in his butt.

Exactly, lots of guys did stuff like that. They saw it as stickin' it to Jerry...(or the hun).

[eb in oregon]

They saw it as stickin' it to Jerry...(or the hun).

As his birthday was December 7th he was more than a bit ****ed off when we entered WWII.

[Surpmil]

Double reduction and I'd say it's a shear about to cut the forged receiver off the "sprue" in his tongs. The loop on the left side of the die, let's call it, is to keep the receiver from flipping backwards towards him as the blade comes down. Then down the chute on the left to somewhere; unless that's just a brace, which it may be considering it's proportions and attachment. Both perhaps?

[jond41403]

Are those round metal billet looking things stacked at the bottom of the picture what the receivers start out as? Yes you can definitely tell this is a cutting machine. Notice the little hook like thing to the left of the cutter that would grab the end of the receiver and swivel down locking it onto that little square platform for the cutter to then come down and cut off the excess. You can tell it's made to be loaded exactly how he has it oriented in the picture. He is fixing to lay it in that cutter bottom side up. I believe the structure on the left is a brace. The hook to the left of the cutter that holds the end of the receiver would prevent it from sliding down that brace. I believe he would have to unhook the receiver and then lay it on that brace to slide down but it would make more sense that if he had to unhook the receiver he would probably just turn and throw it in a bucket somewhere out of view in the picture

[browningautorifle]

Are those round metal billet looking things stacked at the bottom of the picture what the receivers start out as?

I believe they are the raw stock. Grab one and get at it.

You can see the receiver legs sticking up on the red hot forging.