Know what it is yet.................?

[Peter Laidler]

Anyone out there in Bren forumland recognise this special gauge as used in the Bren gun?

It's about 4.5" long and 1" or so wide

Shows it in the raw so to speak. Any ideas?

Attachment 27085Attachment 27086


Getting warm. The bit attached to it should look familiar to you Bren owners.

Attachment 27087



There yet......... That's it. It's the special GAUGE, alignment gas cylinder.

Attachment 27088Attachment 27089

The gauge was used to accurately align a new gas cylinder when fitted to a gun body. Afterwards the retaining pin hole would be taper reamered and a new pin locked into place.

That was the EASY part. The HARD bit was removing the old gas cylinders especially on old well used guns where the years of carbon had seeped into the threads, turned to glass and locked firmly into place. Initially you'd heat the body and gas cylinder up to a dull read heat and use a spanner made from an old bipod sleeve and attempt to unscrew the old gas cylinder. IT wouldn't work of course so you'd get the body and cylinder to red heat and use a stilson wrench. That MIGHT work but eventually you'd need to weld a large nut to the old gas cylinder and then get it to orange heat and only then would it unscrew. And woe betide you if you distorted the body as that meant that the gun was written off!

Most Base Workshops had a new gas cylinder machined/adapted then hardened to act as a thread cutter to clean out the carboned up threads in the body. Changing a gas cylinder was never a clean or fast job!

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[Kev G]

Thanks for the pictures Peter,an interesting piece of 'Brenobelia'

KG