New guy showing off my 1943 NPM

[hoveyh]

Hello forum ..... I recently picked up a real nice NPM at a fair price and thought I would introduce myself and share this beauty with the forum ..... My M1 comes from the middle serial # batch and has a 9-43 Underwood barrel that seems correct. I believe it was re-furbed by Underwood as there is a .U. in the left side of the handgrip, S-HB stock, PI rear site, N marked front site. I also icked up two NPM mags still in the red wax paper. My only downer is the color of the trigger group which in plum colored and does Not marxh the barrel.

HH

Here are a few picks:

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.

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

hoveyh,

Welcome to the forum. Nice looking carbine. And this is the right place to come if you have a carbine. Many old time as well as newer collectors are members.

Browse through the search feature. Many topics with lots of good information. As you say, your carbine appears to have been through a rebuild at some point. Have you taken it down and checked markings on the internal parts? If you have some questions hopefully they can get answerd. Oh, by the way, we like pictures.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim

[sakorick]

Hello HH and welcome. Underwood didn't overhaul your carbine....if you go to this link you can learn the overhaul process. Regards, Rick.
The U.S. Caliber .30 Carbines - Post WWII

I take that back. Underwood did overhaul carbines between the end of WWII and the Korean War. lbelflowers got me straight and it's mentioned in the link.

[hoveyh]

Thank you for the warm welcome. I have not broken the rifle down to check the other parts ID. Not sure I am going to as I am planning on enjoying this rifle regardless of her internals..

Any thoughts as to why the trigger housing did not take the rebluing??

This forum site looks amazing. It is going to be a pleasure sifting through all this info... Thank You all big time.

HH

[browningautorifle]

Any thoughts as to why the trigger housing did not take the rebluing??

When you commercially reblue a part that was parkerized, you have to do a good job of beadblasting first. If not, you get spotted finish. If you don't have strong enough salt solution in the bluing tank it may come out purple like that. The exception is a part with high nickel content. Like Winchester rifle barrels when they went to "Nickel steel". Blueing salts are boiled at a high temperature. They are a manufactured rust that goes into the pores of the metal. In this case too hot will rust and too cold won't do anything. Parkerizing is a crystalline structure that forms on the surface of the metal. Your trigger housing should have been parkerized not blued in the first place, so you may just as well re-do it. That sort of finish never came from an arsenal.

[us019255]

Your trigger housing should have been parkerized not blued in the first place, so you may just as well re-do it. That sort of finish never came from an arsenal.

Didn't a bunch of the Carbines that just came back from Europe (Austria??) and sold by the DCM show up with plum colored trigger groups, from rebuild by European arsenals??

I may have a bad memory so don't jump on me if I am wrong.

No matter what color the trigger group, it is a nice carbine.

[browningautorifle]

rebuild by European arsenals

You may be right there. The point is this isn't a US arsenal rebuild...I don't really count the things done by those other people. It would have to closely examined, but I'm pretty sure you won't see parkerizing come out purple. I've seen lots...it can be almost white(grey) to black but not shiney purple...

[lbelflowers]

.U. on the left wrist of the stock meant it went through an Underwood rebuild between WW2 and the Korean War. Standard Products also had a contract to rebuild carbines after the war. Most likely when the MWO`s were applied(rear sight,bayo lug and flip safety), the plum color trigger housing is probably from Austria(they were loaned to the Germans and Austrians). Go to Jim Mocks website to learn more on these.

Austria's Story

[painter777]

Older reply from Jim Mock,

The plum colored trigger housing were not specific to the Bavarians, there are
plenty of others out there. What causes the plum color is the nickel content of
the trigger housing. When metals were getting hard to come by Ordnance
authorized a change in the alloys that made up the metal of the trigger housing,
including a use of a higher amount of nickel. The nickel alloy required the
temperature of the bluing salts to be elevated to get the desired bluing effect.
Many people were unaware of this and when they blued the trigger housing at the
normal bluing temperatures, it turned copper colored or purple.

Commercial manufacturers using GI trigger housings had this happen (Erma's in
MO, National Ordnance), as well as foreign countries and private U.S. owners.
Still happens today if the person doing the work is unfamiliar with the specs
for bluing a GI trigger housing.

hoveyh........ Central Lower MI ?
I'm Central Mid, MI

Welcome,

Charlie-Painter777

P.S. Any Import Markings?

[browningautorifle]

The plum colored trigger housing were not specific to the Bavarians, there are
plenty of others out there. What causes the plum color is the nickel content of
the trigger housing. When metals were getting hard to come by Ordnance
authorized a change in the alloys that made up the metal of the trigger housing,
including a use of a higher amount of nickel. The nickel alloy required the
temperature of the bluing salts to be elevated to get the desired bluing effect.
Many people were unaware of this and when they blued the trigger housing at the
normal bluing temperatures, it turned copper colored or purple.

Commercial manufacturers using GI trigger housings had this happen (Erma's in
MO, National Ordnance), as well as foreign countries and private U.S. owners.
Still happens today if the person doing the work is unfamiliar with the specs
for bluing a GI trigger housing.

Gee Charlie...did you even read my post?