Why Were Carbines Factory Parkerized When ALL USGI Thompsons' Were Factory Blued?

[mpd1978]

Here is a pic that shows two kinds of staking that you will find on an adj sight.


Attachment 14462

[Tobor]

Here is a pic that shows two kinds of staking that you will find on an adj sight.


Attachment 14462

Excellent example. Would either of these types be present on a flip sight that was installed by any of the USGI Carbine manufacturers?

[Tobor]

Nope

What some fail to realize is that not all the manufacturers staked flip sights when they were initially installed. Methods varied among the manufacturers that did stake the sights. When rebuild facilities upgraded the rear sight they may or may not have staked the new sight in place. The same goes for sights that were installed at a lower level. To further complicate things not all adjustable sights were staked with a round punch, some were staked with a chisel type staking device. In order to tell the difference you need to know what each type of staking looks like for the various types of sights.

Would it be fair to extrapolate from this that the absence of these marks, or the presence of these marks, is not a reliable method to determine whether a flip sight was ever replaced with a ramp sight? Is there information printed since Ruth's books about which manufacturers did or did not stake the flip sight and by which method?

[Bill Hollinger]

The stake marks on a flip sighted receiver will be out at the edge of where the sight's outside edge is and look more flat like a chisel than a punch on the ones I've seen. They tend to be across the dovetail rather than behind it or off the edge. If the stake marks are closer together than the width of a flip sight and back from the edge of the dovetail then one can bet it was a stake for an adjustable sight.

[mpd1978]

The photo i posted shows how most adj sights are staked. If you see the punch style stake mark on a carbine with a flip sight-its been restored. As for the chisel style, it depends on where it is located. The chisel stake in the first photo is too far off to have been a flip sight stake mark.
Below is a pic of original flip sight staking on an IBM

Attachment 14468

[BrianQ]

If you see the punch style stake mark on a carbine with a flip sight-its been restored.

That's not always true.

[mpd1978]

That's not always true.

I guess i should have said it is probable that it has been restored or changed. Anything is possible i suppose.

[usgicollector]

Qhmc used round center punch marks on some of the flip sights they used and Inland used a chisel like stake mark on some if the adjustable sights they used.

[Johnny Peppers]

Same thing on the 1911A1 pistols. Colt oven (heat) blued their pistols up until the July 1941 time frame when they changed over to phosphate. Ithaca, Remington Rand, and US&S Du-Lite blued theirs over a sandblasted finish. Ordnance changed the specifications on the finish, requiring a Type II (phosphate) finish in late 1942. The manufacturers were given time to install the necessary equipment to change to the phosphate finish, and Ithaca and Remington Rand changed to phosphate in the July/August 1943 time frame. US&S had their 1911A1 contract cancelled, and ceased production before changing over to phosphate finish.

[Tobor]

Qhmc used round center punch marks on some of the flip sights they used and Inland used a chisel like stake mark on some if the adjustable sights they used.

OK. Good to know.