wood tip blanks

[ActionYobbo]

so I want to fire my bren with blanks. I have located a yellow barrel thats used for wood tip blanks. now getting those blanks seems to be very hard so I think I will be reloading for this.
I have found the weight of the wood but cant find out the load. I am going to be busy chopping up dowel rod. ha ha
would it work if I pulled the bullet out of RG42 ammo and stuck the wood in its place. I have a stack of the cordite ammo and it will save me from trying to find the brass after the fun.
thanks

also are these the same blanks for a vickers

Information

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[Woodsy]

Wood bullet blanks are fairly difficult to make. First, you need a lathe to make the wooden, hollow-base bullet. A capstan set-up would be needed to turn them out in quantity and consistency. A very positive crimp is needed to hold the projectile firmly. Finally, the powder would be a light load of fast-burning powder. The original blanks used Ballistite which was very fast burning and produced a good volume of gas. Most shotgun powders would do the job with some experimentation. The standard rifle charge of Cordite is NOT to be used! The Kynoch factory loaded different charges for the Bren and the Vickers. The expense and difficulty of manufacture saw an early end to these blanks. The best set-up is to use special full-length cases which are then taper star crimped to simulate a projectile for reliable feeding. These cases have been made in the recent past by the Privi Partisan factory for use as movie blanks, but the brass is probably made to a large order only and would be expensive. The powder charges would be similar to the wooden bullet blanks, and would have to be fired in a barrel with a permanent restrictor.

[Peter Laidler]

I know you didn't actually ask what I am about to answer and this rankles some who want us to stick to the subject matter but based on my limited experience with firing blanks and maintaining LMG's..................

Where there's a will, there's usually a simple way. And there is! Forget all about wood bulletted blanks and just get a couple of easily and readily available Bren magazines adapted to take and reliably (?) feed the standard rifle (and Vickers incidentally.....) short nose blanks. Then instead of knocking seven bells out of the bulletted blank 'masher' barrel, just get a shot-out standard barrel and modify it as per the simple 7.62mm blank way, the way we used to modify ours - and away you go. Reliably blaze away all day

On the other hand if you get some long nose blanks, you 'll pay through the nose for them but save the cost of the £25 or so 'shortie-blank' magazine.

Just my 2c's worth for what it's worth - or not!

[tombear]

Somewhere there's drawings for the .303 short blank magazines, and barrel. Kevin, didn't we scan them in way back when from the old Pattern Room Library?

Sorry, my memory is just shot these days.

ATB
Tom

[Peter Laidler]

The magazine and barrel drawings are available in the Dugelby Bren book. The magazine inserts to accommodate the short blanks are readily available.

[ActionYobbo]

for those of us not from the old dart whats one of these things that go in the mag look like.
Thanks

I would also like to add a special thanks to that font of knowldge Peter for all the geat help that you have given me. Always solid, reliable and entertaining

[Peter Laidler]

Thanks for those lind words Mr E. Nice to know that I get it right part of the time! The mag insert looks like a banana shaped thinggy that........... I'll take a photo of the one I have and ask someone who's good with computers, like Doug, to insert the pic in this thread. But better still, I'll just send you one. I don't know the cost but they ain't expensive. The bloke who has a bucket load is abroad at the moment so wait until he gets back

[ActionYobbo]

Thanks for the offer Peter. I got it figured out. made a curved piece of aluminum to do the job

[Peter Laidler]

There wikll be feed problems FROM the mag into the gun body unless eack track in, across the mag insert had a small channel recessed in so as to sort of 'direct' the snub nose of the blank. This channel also stops the rims hanging up on the insert too.

[Peter Laidler]

The photos amply illustrate the long curved Canadian insert that allows standard short crimped blanks to be fed and fired from a standard Bren gun instead of the UK type wood tipped blanks and associated 'masher' barrel. The insert is retained in place by the magazine base plate and the curved corrugated strengthening/positioning ribs.

Note also the shortened magazine platform to suit, the yellow band that is associated with blank firing equipment and the two curved recesses in the bottom face of the insert. These are important as they direct the nose of the stubby blank down and prevent any possible hang-up by the .303" rim.

These inserts are readily available and a far easier/more manageable proposition than those wood tipped 'blanks'

Incidentally, maybe the UK forumers could ansewer the obvious but never asked question '....... while crimp neck blanks are simply blanks by definition and in law, are the wood tipped 'blanks' or 'ammunition' as defined in UK law?