Bought an Underwood...need help

[emmagee1917]

Posted this over on Culver's too.

Bought an Underwood sight unseen from a guy who needed money for house payment / electric. I was told it was a mixmaster in good shape for $ 500. I haven't bought a gun in three years , but I had no Underwoods , and a mixmaster would replace my Plainsfield as a knock-about , and I could then turn the Plainsfield into a SBR in a folding stock .
Well , after several days of study , it is a mixmaster....kinda sorta. These are confusing , to say the least. The seller bought it in the '70s or 80s from a highpower shooter who bought it in the '50s or early '60 through DCM. It had a type 1 / type A var2 bbl band missing the screw and swivel. He replaced it with a type 2 / type B IP in a pennet when he couldn't find them on the loose. Because he liked 30rd mags , he replaced the mag catch with one with the extra tab. It came with an extra Inland slide which I threw into my spare slide box.

Ok , on to the info and my questions:
Reciever...... Underwood # 2358935....Intertype sub contract marked T in a circle .
Barrel........... Underwood ....8-43....flaming bomb....P two inches below.

Question...build date? I found another ( 2358xxx) on this site that had a 10-49 bbl ( 10-43)that was thought to be orig. Anyway to know for sure , or just a guess at between 8-43 and early 44 ?

Rear sight.... Type F ...stamped adj...marked I.R.CO....replacement...centerpunch stakes still bright
Front Band...Type B....PI in pennent...replaced by seller
Gas piston....unmarked
Front sight...Type A .. milled... marked " .U." on front...was removed and replaced by seller
Handguard...Type A ...unmarked...can't find any
Stock............Either a oval highwood cut down or a low wood. Not sure. No right side marks.
.....................M-U in sling well ...."P" on front of grip....doesn't appear sanded.
Buttplate.......Underwood diagional checkering.
Recoil Plate....Type B with ".U. " on left side of tang.
Bolt...............Blued flat marked N and 11. No idea about this.
Extractor......Type B....marked ".U. " inside
Firing pin.......Type A....marked ".U. " on left of head
Trigger housing..Type A var3...fabricated...marked BE-B....transfered 12,000 from IBM in 10-43
...........................ish time period.....2358XXX had one too.
Retaining pin...Type B...blued
Mag catch......Type D ... see above
Hammer.......type B ...white finish....".U. " marked
Hammer pin...blued
Hammer plunger...Blued
Hammer spring.....26-1/2 coil...brite
Safety...........Type A var3.....unmarked
Sear..............Type A ...no hole....marked ".U."
Sear pin.........Blued
Sear spring....belive straight
Trigger..........Type B.....trident logo and ".U. " on right of arm
Slide..............Type A var 4......".U." in a circle in the bottom...not listed in Ruth's

Question...the slide appears to be a little late. Inland transfered 20,000 slides to Underwood in this time period....do you know what type those were ? It may match the one that came with the gun as a spare.

Photos , yeh , I know. I'll get them up soon. I normally don't change stuff on the guns I buy , but seeing as the band and catch was "baba'd " a bit , those and maybe the bolt body , handguard , and perhaps the slide ( if it's "for sure" wrong ) , I may do it to restore this one. Opinions? Anyone with the needed parts for sale or trade? Also , lacking the CC and UHF/GHD and no trace of the cut , is there a way to tell if it's a correct cutdown highwood or an incorrect low wood ? Or could a low wood be correct ?

TIA for any and all help
Chris

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.

[G26ster]

Bolt - N with a # is National Postal Meter Type II flat bolt. (Riesch, pg 33)

[emmagee1917]

Yes , thank you . I knew that . What I poorly said was that I had no referance to NPM transfering any bolts to Underwood in the 10-43 to 1-44 time period and was wondering if anything had surfaced after War Baby was out. I have no idea how that bolt got in there with Underwood parts. The seller said he doesn't remember replacing it. The orig buyer from DCM might have had a brakage or a headspace problem or it could have been switched in service. I don't want to switch it if it's correct.
Ditto on the slide. Seller doesn't recall where it came from...might have come with the gun. In that case , if the Underwood was wrong and the Inland was right , I'd use the Inland.
Chris

[emmagee1917]

...I've decided to replace the "baba'd " and incorect parts. I could use some opinions here , guys. I am guessing this was assembled in the first half or so of Oct.'43. Soooo...

Bbl band...this is both easy and hard. Everyone agrees with a type 1A , unmarked. Easy , now the hard part. Anyone have a nice origional one they want to part with ?

Mag catch. Ruth says a long smooth face marked ".U." on the front thru all of '43. Riesch says short smooth face marked ".U." on front from mid '43. Who's right?

Slide. Ruth says crescent cut type 2 , Riesch says type 3 flat cut. Who's right , and are any marks " more correct" ?

Bolt. Everyone agrees it's a type two flat. Ruth says ".U." is too early . Riech doesn't say. What say ye? " WU" , "SU" , "CU" only ?

Thanks everyone. Chris

PS. Painter 777 , do you have an assortment of mid-brown handguards marked P-U or M-U you could flat rate box me. I could then pick a match and return the rest with payment.

[BrianQ]

You need an unmarked type 1B barrel band, a short plain face magazine catch (AU or .U.), a E169 or E279 slide (.U. or circled .U.), and a blued .U. marked flat bolt.

[emmagee1917]

I was hoping you'd wade in. Chris

[emmagee1917]

Seller found the front barrel band , just brought it in. Now I just need the screw and swivel.
Those are common , right ?
I'm looking at a trade for the parts I'm missing , he's checking to see what he's got.
The saga continues....
Chris