Eddystone M1917 restoration

[viking73]

Hi Guys,

This is my first post on this forum. I've been a milsurp collector for a number of years.

Here is my latest project, fresh of the pawn shop. I just couldn't pass her up no matter how hard I tried After some horse trading, I ended up taking her home. I only have $100 in the rifle (so far!).

Here are some pictures:











Budda did cut down the stock and remove the front ears but those can all be replaced of course. The barrel and rear sight wings are all intact which is the best news!









And just a few other shots showing the flaming bomb marks on the bolt handle and left side of the receiver:








Just this week, I got the itch to tear my new M1917 down and check things out and clean her up some.

The first thing I did was drift out the pin to remove that butchered front sight. Thanks to a friend on another forum, I already have the correct front sight with ears, yeah! The only small problem may be the blade height. The one on the gun was stamped .060 but the new one is marked .090...







Then the crap, hacked-up stock had to go, I first removed the butt plate and screws since it is marked with the Eddystone "E" (I need to remember to get the screw bushings out of the stock before I forget them!).

Then I decided to take a good, close look at what else I had. Not surprisingly, this gun is a total mix-master.

The bolt looks to be all Winchester:






The trigger guard plate and magazine box are both Remington "R" stamped:







The trigger doesn't appear to be marked, but the sear and safety lock holder are both Remington (you can barely make out the "R" on the sear in this photo):




At least the magazine floor plate is Eddystone marked:




The bolt stop and ejector is Winchester as is the safety catch. Although I couldn't get a good picture of it, the safety lock holder is stamped "R" for Remington!







So I guess at this point I could could just find any old stock and then put her back together and hit the range. I know that finding the correct stock is going to be by far the toughest and most expensive part of this restoration.

But thinking it over, I am leaning towards replacing all the incorrect parts with "E" stamped Eddystone parts. Eddystone parts seem plentiful and not too tough to track down. I could then turn around and sell my extras when I purchase their "E" replacements to make my money back. The only potential problem I see would be with the bolt. If I replace it, I won't know if the headspace is correct or not (I don't have the gauges)...

More later as I track down the parts. I think it really all depends on that stock...

-Derek

Information

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[Chuckindenver]

i would check the head space, , barrel is a replacement for sure, as is the bolt, and other bits,
finding the E marked parts shouldnt be that tough...i may have most..though not cheap..
too bad, i just sold a nice Eddystone stock and handguards a couple weeks ago..

[Promo]

Might be worth a try, ask the seller (from Denmark) if he'd be willing to ship to the US: http://egun.de/market/item.php?id=4445936

This is a complete mint and unused M1917 stock, so perfect for a restoration.

[viking73]

i would check the head space, , barrel is a replacement for sure, as is the bolt, and other bits,
finding the E marked parts shouldnt be that tough...i may have most..though not cheap..
too bad, i just sold a nice Eddystone stock and handguards a couple weeks ago..

Thanks for the reply Chuck. I'm curious as to why you think that the barrel is a replacement? Does the s/n range on the receiver not jive with 9-18 barrel date? It seems pretty close in the books I have and what I've seen on-line?

Bummer about the stock you jus sold, always a day late and a dollar short...

-Derek

[Chuckindenver]

barrel should be June July of 1918.
by Sept Eddstone was parkerizing rifles.

[Detmer]

For parts you may need, try Numrich gun parts or Springfield Sporters. I have done business with both and their prices are fair.

[SPAD 124]

My son and I did the same thing two summers ago. We found an Eddystone from October 1918 with an Oct 1918 barrel that had been mounted in a Boyd's sporter stock. The bolt was also a Winchester. Because it headspaced and shot well we decided to keep the W bolt. It took a little searching to collect the correct "E" stock hardware, but that is farily easy between eBay, Numrich and Sarco. With my Sarco order I asked that they send "E" marked parts and they did. Sarco also has the front and rear handguards and barrel cut-offs with the front sight ears.

Finding a stock with the most difficult part. Two years ago I couldn't find a stock at gun shows or online anywhere and the nice M1917 stocks on eBay were actually selling for more than $300 (and getting 10-15 bids!). Now Sarco lists used M1917 stocks for sale for less. I'm not sure of the condition.

Because of the lack of stocks, when we restored our M1917 we bought a semi-inletted Boyd's military stock and worked that into a pretty fair restock. Luckily at the time the somewhat nearby Cabela's had 4 or so M1917s so I was able to go to the store, measure certain parts of the stocks or see how the particular piece of hardware was fitted and then go home and replicate the size or fitment on our stock. It took about 4 weeks of careful woodwork. Is our stock perfect? I'm sure is is not, but I think it is pretty close and I could afford the Boyds and my time compared to nice originals I could find.

Plus since everyone and their brother seems to be restocking Garands, M1 Carbines and 03A3s with new stocks from the CMP and other places without a thought, I figured a new stock on a M1917 wouldn't be too out of place.

Have fun with the project- from one who's been through it, it's worthwile to return that Eddystone to the way she was 95 years ago! And they make great shooters also!

Chuckindenver on this forum is very knowledgable about M1917s.

[gtodan]

You might try checking out the CMP forums. I swapped some HRA parts for SA Garand parts across the table. I think folks are lookin for Winchester parts in general.

[viking73]

Hi Guys,

Well in the almost 5 months I've had this rifle, I'm been using mostly eBay to find the correct Eddystone parts for her. Last week, I scored an Eddystone stock. She has lots of "character" marks but I really like it. No refurb stamps either. Here are some pics:










The stock was pretty grimy, so I wiped it down with BLO and it feels and looks a lot better. I've been tempted try the iron steam method to bring out some of the dents but I'm a bit chicken I must admit...


And then yesterday, I took my barreled action and slipped on the hand guard ring and both barrel bands. Then I took my new front sight (thanks once again Rick) and carefully reinstalled it. That was a good feeling:








I've almost got all the Eddystone parts I need. This week, I'm going to order the magazine box, trigger guard, and floor plate catch from Springfield Sporters. Once I have those three parts, I will be able to put her back together.

I do still need one or two minor items. The very last thing I have to consider is the bolt and the related head space issues if I choose to replace it with an Eddystone bolt. I think will eventually do that.

Thanks for all of your comments thus far. I enjoyed reading about your restoration Spad 124.

Just wanted to update this thread a bit. Thanks for looking,

-Derek

[WarPig1976]

Looking good, best of luck!!


"Nuts"