Bren Gun Pistol Grips

[TactAdv]

The Mk2 guns had the press-fit gas cylinder and ain't not interchangeable with the Mk1 (or 3) guns

I'd actually given this some thought, before Vincent sent me a spare Mk II cylinder. Looking at a bone-stock Mk I cylinder, it appears a trip through a lathe, turning off the threads would render a smooth cylinder shape. Followed up by hot-dip-brazing a proportional sleeve back on the formerly-threaded area would finally render a modified cylinder able to be fitted as-normally into a MK II receiver body.

A bit of fill-in TIG work on the un-needed extra gas relief holes would finish the conversion, with suitable clean up. A couple hours shop time, but still much less than turning and machining a new one.

If someone HAS the original Mk II cylinder DRAWINGS......I'd be happy to price out a new run of them.......

-TomH

[Peter Laidler]

Or better still, what about just machining the rear now UN-threaded diameter down, sleeving/bushing it and then pressing that into the Mk2 body. Cross bore the existing tapered hole and press in a suitably sized roll pin that will secure the gas cylinder to the bush AND the gun body.

Or just thread the Mk2 gun body to suit as per the standardised L4A3 and 5 guns.

As for the total-waste-of-time vent holes under the tapered part where the bipod sleeve fits and rotates. Just machine down parallel and press fit on a new suitable tapered section. After all, it ain't goin' nowhere. I can only imagine and cringe at the cost of new manufacture - with the radial milling for the bipod sleeve, angled rear gas vents etc etc.........

[Kev G]

The cupboard is bare on MK2 cylinders

[Vincent]

Thank you, Peter.

How do you fit a Mk1 cylinder to a Mk2 gun?

[Peter Laidler]

Pretty well as per thread 32. 1) Machine thread the Mk2 body to accept the Mk1 or 3 threaded type gas cylinder or 2) Machine off the approx .8" long threaded part of the plentiful Mk1 or 3 cylinder to make an undersize diameter. There's plenty of meat there..... Press on a high chrome* steel collar to increase the size back to the approx .9 or so standard dia and press in then align to suit**.

*The collar could be made from any suitable higher than usual carbon steel and in any case, it ain't goin nowhere as it's retained at the rear by the start of the gun body shoulder and at the front, by the larger dia shoulder that it's pressed against. Cylinder is pressed in place, gun is ready to go
** we had a special gauge to align the gas cylinders but a good engineer or Armourer could align it by eye using a suitable barrel. Forget the grief and aggro that we had to go through reaming the tapered hole........... Drill out and press in an unshakeable roll pin

Just my thoughts as someone who might soon be doing loads of 'em!

As you'll quickly realise from this thread, I don't belong to the 'where there's a will, there's a way' school of thought but from the slightly similar 'where there's a will, there's an EASY way' school of thought.......

[Kev G]

Or just thread the Mk2 gun body to suit as per the standardised L4A3 and 5 guns.

Peter the L4A3/5's had the MK2 MG2482 push fit gas cylinder.A small point but may save someone some confusion at a later date.

ATB KG

[TactAdv]

Just a stupid question....... but why are seemingly all manner of Mk II parts so hard to come by now?? I guess I always figured that the Mk II were largest by number run of Marks manufactured, hence the amount of Mk II parts made, and made as spares, should have left a reasonable legacy??

-TomH

[Brit plumber]

Approx 150,000 mk2s and 300,000 mk1s produced then at least 65,000 Mk3s so mk2 production is quite small in comparison to the Mk1 and 3 combined.

[Peter Laidler]

I was half expecting someone to bounce back with that KG (thread 36)......... But hold on to your horses because that may not be exactly correct, especially regarding the proposed UK Military spec L4 guns. I am meeting someone v. soon with all/most of the paperwork for this project and it's already been confirmed that during the conversion* all the gas cylinders were removed in any case for another reason to do with 'standardisation' so all this might be answered
* Seemingly, there was the UK Military spec and the CA commercial spec. (I suspect that the CA is Crown Agents who usually dealt with the commercial/export arm of arms trades and all that stuff - that's beyond my depth and pay grade!)

[TactAdv]

Approx 150,000 mk2s.......

Okay. Does this take into account all the Inglis production, too, comprehensively, or is this just Brit Mk II's??