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Thread: BREN 8MM ZB Magazines

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  1. #11
    Legacy Member djandj's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Laidlericon View Post
    It's simplicity itself to modify a Bren mag catch to retain the 7.92mm magazines. Forget all the epoxy stuff (the stuiff of nightmares in my opinion.....) and silver solder a piece of metal to thje front face. Then judiciously file it carefully until...... lo and behold....., you have a 7.62mm catch!

    As for the fit of the 7.92mm magazine. As told, they aren't LONGER but the extreme rear bottom edge differs. Look carefully and the Bren magazine follows a very subtle curved arc whereas the ZB doesn't. It is this curved arc that allows the Bren magazine to fit - or DOESN'T allow the ZB magazine to fit depending on your take on things. As this curvature allows you to insert the nose of the mag in place and roll the magazine rearwards (in an arc centred about the front protruding rib) to engage with the mag catch. To allow the ZB magazine to fit you must relieve the rear left and right corners of the Bren magazine well to cater for the straighter rear bottom edges of the ZB magazine.

    This was a condition of the pre-war experimental trials with a .303" gun that went back to ZB to investigate the possibility of Brens being made as 7.92mm guns in the future. Mags weren't to be interchangeable. Luckily all the drawings were in hand for 7.92mm magazines when a) a LARGE amount of 7.92mm ZB guns without magazines were captured by S/African forces during a raid into Germanicon West African territory during the war and later, when Canadaicon manufactured 7.92mm guns. All done using the Enfield pre-war design.

    Not a lot of people know that!
    Well, the epoxy worked fine, but I think the solder might be stronger. What type did you use? Are we talking about the stuff on a small roll you can use with a common electric soldering gun?

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  3. #12
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    Peter Laidler's Avatar
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    Silver soildering is what we call hard solder as opposed to lead on-the-roll solder which we call soft solder

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  5. #13
    Legacy Member djandj's Avatar
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    OK - but tell us more about how that was done. From what I've seen on YouTube - you need to heat the pieces with a propane torch or MAP gas until nearly glowing. Wouldn't that warp the thin mag skin?

    ---------- Post added at 09:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Joe H View Post
    Guys,

    I had the same problem. A piece of shim stock soft soldered in between the side folds just above the front catch works. I think I used about .080"

    Joe
    That seems less likely to damage the mag than hard soldering with a propane torch. Have you had it move on you or fall off?

  6. #14
    Legacy Member Joe H's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by djandj View Post
    That seems less likely to damage the mag than hard soldering with a propane torch. Have you had it move on you or fall off?
    djandj,

    You can see from the pic it's still on and hasn't moved.

    Soft silver soldering is done at about 400 deg F. The solder has a small amount of silver, better than lead solder. Hard silver soldering, as recommended by Peter, is a much stronger process. It requires about 1200 deg F. It will not hurt the mag if done properly. Either procedure can be done with a "propane" torch with MAPP gas.

    I just tried different thickness shims without soldering until I found the thickness that worked.

    Joe

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    Just a minute....................... I was talking about hard soldering a piece to the face of the magazine catch and NOT the magazine! Sorry for any confusion! Surely better to modify ONE magazine catch than TWELVE magazines.

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    Legacy Member Brit plumber's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Laidlericon View Post
    Just a minute....................... I was talking about hard soldering a piece to the face of the magazine catch and NOT the magazine! Sorry for any confusion! Surely better to modify ONE magazine catch than TWELVE magazines.
    That was my thought train to Peter, and if you have another unmodified mag catch, you can replace it in seconds.

  9. #17
    Legacy Member djandj's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe H View Post
    djandj,

    You can see from the pic it's still on and hasn't moved.

    Soft silver soldering is done at about 400 deg F. The solder has a small amount of silver, better than lead solder. Hard silver soldering, as recommended by Peter, is a much stronger process. It requires about 1200 deg F. It will not hurt the mag if done properly. Either procedure can be done with a "propane" torch with MAPP gas.

    I just tried different thickness shims without soldering until I found the thickness that worked.

    Joe
    Ok Joe - but you are still talking about hitting the mag with a propane or MAPP gas torch. Does that cause problems with the bluing or mag warping? I know it's only 400 degrees, but....

  10. #18
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    That heat WILL distort the magazine, believe me..........

  11. #19
    Legacy Member djandj's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Laidlericon View Post
    That heat WILL distort the magazine, believe me..........
    Yeah, that was my thought as well. Not to mention what it will do to the bluing on the mag. On the other hand, modifying the mag latch as you propose seems more complicated than gluing a piece of flat steel to a mag body. The latch is "v" shaped, and moves towards the mag for the release, which means the angles and tolerances have to be much more precise do they not? Perhaps a pic of one so modified might illustrate better.

  12. #20
    Legacy Member Joe H's Avatar
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    djandj,

    I've done at least 6ea. ZB39 mags. soft soldering the shim in place. Never had a problem. Emery then area under the shim before soldering. Touch up with cold blue when you are done.

    Whether you modify the mag or catch is your choice. IMO, as Peter noted, you will have to hard silver solder anything you put on the catch. I have one Bren semi receiver I use for different calibers. The mags. I use all fit the Bren receiver, no parts change-out required.

    Joe

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