ID of "N" marked gas cylinder?

[Mike in NC]

I am trying to ID a gas cylinder on a mixmaster post war SA. It is a wide base, with the letter "N" stamped on the flat of the top rear of the gas cylinder. I see no punch mark on the bayonett lug. The stacking swivel staking is perfectly centered and kind of dish shaped. Any guesses as to it's origin?

I had it set in my mind that the post war gas cylinders didn't have any letter codes.

At first I thought WWII SA, but I would have expected a punch mark. Maybe many wide base WWII SA gas cylinders missed receiving that punch mark.

Thanks for any help.

Mike in NC

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[islandhopper]

Mike look to the rear of screw head of the stacking swivel (on the right side of the cylinder). Is there a divit or dished area there? There should be. Your gas cylinder is a WWII SA wide base. Post war cylinders, as you stated already, didn't have codes stamped on that flat spot. The belief is that SA marked cylinders to denote what kind of finish was applied in an effort to track how well the finish held up. If that is true or false I don't know but I do believe it myself. It also makes sense because by the end of the war with molten dichromite finishing techniques, the issue was resolved, and therefore no need to mark cylinders anymore.

Courtesy of Bill Ricca many moons ago:

[IMGW]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa291/islandhopper11/gas_cyl_finish.02.jpg?t=1246380772[/IMGW]

[IMGW]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa291/islandhopper11/gas_cyl_refinish.jpg?t=1246381135[/IMGW]

[islandhopper]

Here's a better version that's easier to read. Sorry for the last deal. Just don't know what I'm doing I guess.

[Mike in NC]

I am at work now and don't have access to the gas cylinder now, but I will check for a divit or dished area to the rear of the stacking swivel screw this evening.

Thanks to you and Bill Ricca for the article. The finish on this one is great so it held up well if it is the original finish.

Looks like I probably have a nice gas cylinder to go on one of my WWII SA. Garands.

[islandhopper]

Mike,

Here is a photo of what I was talking about. Note that the stacking swivel screw on this particular cylinder is in backward so you get to see the staked end as well. Does yours look similar?

[Mike in NC]

Islandhopper,

Thanks for the great pictures of the gas cylinder and texts on gas cylinder refinishing. My gas cylinder does not have any sign of a divit or dished area behind the stacking swivel screw. Mine does have the stacking swivel in the "right" way. I do have gas cylinders with these divits so I know what you are talking about and could recognize it if this particular gas cylinder had it, but it does not. I will just treat it as a mid to late WWII SA gas cylinder and put it on a SA Garand in that time frame.

Again thanks for the info and pictures.

[islandhopper]

I think you would be right to consider it that. I would. Still, interesting.