Starting a STEN Mk V SBR in the US

[gsimmons]

It's a great book isn't it!

[17thairborne]

Agreed, sounds like you have one too!

[gsimmons]

Yes I do

[Peter Laidler]

I would follow the exact dimensions of your original tube regarding the ejection opening port. If you are referring to welding instead of rivetting the barrel bearing bush, then I agree with you. Originally it was sweated in place and then rivetted but they were (if I remember correctly....) rivets in name only because they were not flattened/peened on the inside. A bit like drive rivets on the Mk3 guns.

Loose barrel seating were a real pain with old Stens and I think that the repair method is detailed in the book. I say forget the soft solder, just countersink and tig weld the thing in place through the casing. Fixed for good.

Glad you enjoyed the book. I have to say that one of the best bits was talking to the people who made them, like the ex apprentice who was later called up and fought in Comet tanks all the way to Germany. Still in touch with him!

[bigduke6]

17th,

Although yours is a Mk V, there is another Sten build in the stickies (Mk11) on this forum ( in case you didn't see it link below) just thought it may be good for a reference and may give you a few pointers etc.

Building the Canadian Semi-Auto STEN

[17thairborne]

17th,

Although yours is a Mk V, there is another Sten build in the stickies (Mk11) on this forum ( in case you didn't see it link below) just thought it may be good for a reference and may give you a few pointers etc.

Building the Canadian Semi-Auto STEN

Bigduke6,

Yes, I have been following this thread with great interest and learning a lot from it. I am amazed at how much info there is on STEN rebuilds. Relatively little on the Mk V, but as you say the similarity with the Mk II makes the cross over simple. Two things stand out in that post and others as well: The simplicity and success of the build can be significantly impacted by the type of tools/machines one has available fro the rebuild (Although it still can be done with simple hand tools, welding excepted) Secondly, it appears that an simply equipped work shop could become a manufacturing point for a STEN.

[17thairborne]

I would follow the exact dimensions of your original tube regarding the ejection opening port. If you are referring to welding instead of rivetting the barrel bearing bush, then I agree with you. Originally it was sweated in place and then rivetted but they were (if I remember correctly....) rivets in name only because they were not flattened/peened on the inside. A bit like drive rivets on the Mk3 guns.

Loose barrel seating were a real pain with old Stens and I think that the repair method is detailed in the book. I say forget the soft solder, just countersink and tig weld the thing in place through the casing. Fixed for good.

Glad you enjoyed the book. I have to say that one of the best bits was talking to the people who made them, like the ex apprentice who was later called up and fought in Comet tanks all the way to Germany. Still in touch with him!

Peter,

On the book, simply fantastic. I have been reading it nearly non-stop from the time I received it. Each time I find different parts of the book that help. I too like the stories of those who worked in the factories. I like the story about the extra end caps being use all over the factory for years, and the supplemental use of the scrap stampings on lorries. I am tempted to buy a few more STEN kits and put them away for later. I think a MK II would be fun to make, as well as a MK VI (with papers of course). I think the well of STEN kits in the US will eventually dry up just like it did with the Thompson. A decade ago they were plentiful at $125 and now one has to look hard to find one and the prices of the kits approach or exceed $1,000.

Regarding the spent case opening, I see in every photo of the MK V and II in your book that the discharge opening on the tube is shorter than on the Magazine housing; the opening on the Housing to the front overlaps the receiver tube at the front by quite a bit. i will mill my tube opening to match the profile and length of the original tube. I will also take your recommendation and drill 3 3/16" holed through the front end of the tube so that I can weld the tube to the nut and then simply file the excess weld to match the contour of the tube. That should provide a secure seating for the nut.

[Brit plumber]

With all these kits in the States why has no one ever made a Mk1? 95% of the parts are there with the Mk2 and 3, all that is needed is a front cap, a rear barrel bearing and a front bearing machined up on a lathe. Oh, and a front sight.

[Peter Laidler]

I saw the tatty (but still very probably working) remains of a Mk1/1 Sten in Bosnia with some fairly tatty but sort-of presentable Thompson guns and a few other odds and sods that we brought back. One of the US Intelligence blokes said that the hidden cache was a wartime SOE shipment and had been stored reasonably (?) well. Quite what a Sten gun was doing there, shipped THAT late in the war when there were plenty of Mk2's and 3's is a bit of a mystery (that I sort-of don't subscribe to but there you go) but he said it was because they had plenty of 9mm ammo.

I had it brought back together with a few new PKM's but just kept the Mk1/1 specific stuff. If I knew you then, you could have had it BP...., do dewat of course.

[17thairborne]

With all these kits in the States why has no one ever made a Mk1? 95% of the parts are there with the Mk2 and 3, all that is needed is a front cap, a rear barrel bearing and a front bearing machined up on a lathe. Oh, and a front sight.

I think that would be a great idea. How about one of every type? I looked at Peter's book again and thought doing a T40 first prototype with flash suppressor would look great.

---------- Post added at 09:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 AM ----------

I saw the tatty (but still very probably working) remains of a Mk1/1 Sten in Bosnia.

I had it brought back together with a few new PKM's but just kept the Mk1/1 specific stuff. If I knew you then, you could have had it BP...., do dewat of course.

What a an addition to a collection that would have made!