Removing the butt from the lower reciever.

[elvis3006]

Oh what about the Mk1 barrel flash eliminator sleeve, can it be removed easily ?

[tankhunter]

Oh what about the Mk1 barrel flash eliminator sleeve, can it be removed easily ?

Only if the barrel is removed. It's got to have the TAPERED crosspin driven out first. (A Hydraulic press would be ideal for this) & the driven off the barrel with either a Hard Rubber mallet. Or the issue Armourers Mallets' Rawhide!

[elvis3006]

Only if the barrel is removed. It's got to have the TAPERED crosspin driven out first. (A Hydraulic press would be ideal for this) & the driven off the barrel with either a Hard Rubber mallet. Or the issue Armourers Mallets' Rawhide!

So much for that, the barrel is welded on lol. Thank you

[Brit plumber]

Ive done 2 on the gun, I used a home made clamp like a G clamp and pushed the pin out ( Peter has an article on the forum about removing it).

[tankhunter]

Ive done 2 on the gun, I used a home made clamp like a G clamp and pushed the pin out ( Peter has an article on the forum about removing it).

You were VERY lucky BP! Most of these that I have done, have been VERY firmly stuck fast to the barrel itself!...

[Peter Laidler]

I took a Mk1 barrel to the machine shop to press the taper pin out using a short dumpy tool. Just the smallest tweak and the pin almosr fell out. Such that I'm sure a hammer would have doe the same. The sleeve shouldn't be a press fit onto the barrel, it was a ground, tight but running fit and they knock off quite easily. After all, they were originally made to be able to be screwed on and off for a few threads and locked in place by the........... anyway.....

Incidentally Elvis, the reason why the sleeve was a 'stainless' material was that it could be removed, to put a blank firing sleeve in place for training etc etc. In short, support the larger diameter pin side of the barrel and hit the taper pin xxxxxxg hard with a xxxxxxg heavy hammer using a larger diameter punch, slightly recessed so that it won't slip off the pin. The pins are a normal eaasily obtainable general engineering taper pin.

PS I've got some of your records!

[Brit plumber]

I heated the sleeve until there was oil spitting out and it only worked when I used a piece of drill rod as the end piece. I was telling Kev G about one of these recently, it was a Mk2 barrel that had an early Mk1 sleeve. I'd heard that these were trial barrels but after removing the sleeve I can confirm it as bollocks. All the Mk2 machining was present, all be it modified for the Mk1 sleeve.

[elvis3006]

I took a Mk1 barrel to the machine shop to press the taper pin out using a short dumpy tool. Just the smallest tweak and the pin almosr fell out. Such that I'm sure a hammer would have doe the same. The sleeve shouldn't be a press fit onto the barrel, it was a ground, tight but running fit and they knock off quite easily. After all, they were originally made to be able to be screwed on and off for a few threads and locked in place by the........... anyway.....

Incidentally Elvis, the reason why the sleeve was a 'stainless' material was that it could be removed, to put a blank firing sleeve in place for training etc etc. In short, support the larger diameter pin side of the barrel and hit the taper pin xxxxxxg hard with a xxxxxxg heavy hammer using a larger diameter punch, slightly recessed so that it won't slip off the pin. The pins are a normal eaasily obtainable general engineering taper pin.

PS I've got some of your records!

Thank you Peter, I will try as you instructed. I wish to remove the sleeve so I can clean around the gas system as thoroughly as I can even though the barrel is welded in place. Happy to hear you are a fan of the King o rock n roll lol !

[tankhunter]

Most of the barrels I had to do. Had rust between the sleeve/ flash hider. & the barrel itself.
Add the that the build up of crud & carbon round the muzzle. And if you are as unlucky as I was. You too, will have the 'joy' of a 'Difficult' removal!.....

Pete, what does that B/Fire sleeve look like Mate? I have only ever seen the bulleted blank 'Shredder' type. They have a thread CUT ON THE END OF THE BARREL. And you have to drive the pin out & unscrew them to replace. Once a thread has been cut, they remained ON THE BARREL. And were a DEDICATED Blank firing barrel. Usually selected for the job, because the rifling was worn beyond limits for a normal service usage.

[Peter Laidler]

I have never seen one of the Mk1 barrel BFA's because we didn't take up the expensive contractural agreement option of having them. So while we might have had a couple for the trials Brno guns, we didn't (?) make any for the Mk1's. We used single shot crimp blank and gas rattles to simulate Bren gun fire!

I don't know when the buklletted blank stuff came out either!

The first bulletted blank Bren barrels were the Mk2's and much later, Mk3's, had the masher end welded into the flash eliminator but they were no end of trouble and the gunners didn't know when the masher part had been shot out of the flash eliminator by the tremendous continues force of the wood bullets continually pounding away on it. Others simply sheared the tapered flash eliminator retaining pin away and shot off the flash eliminator and sights. The flying 'bullets' were causing injuries. That's why the later types were made to be screwed on and a later version you mention didn't have a pin (?) but screwed on AND secured with a bolt.......... The whole front end of the barrel was painted BFA yellow (also known as Bicycles For Armourers yellow!). I seem to recall that you weren't meant to put a foresight on the BFA barrels so that in the event of a mishap, you weren't actuslly aiming at anyone in particular! Maybe that's a load of old bollo...., er...., rubbish passed down since time immemorial among the few!

Bulletted blank barrels were a real pain as the crunchies weren't permitted to strp them to clean out the shi........, er......... carbon and other crap. So they went back into the QM's or Armoury caked in crap. We used to keep them in the Armourers shop, stripped down with the parts in a plastic tub of OX24 oil and the barrel muzzles nose down in the tub too.n We also used to leave the Browning tank MG BFA's in an oil bath too. The tankies used to leave them covered in oil for the firing so when they took their photos through the turret ports, the brownings would be steaming oily smoke! Happy days............