Removing dent in L-E No4 magazine ?

[André]

One of my magazines in working ok with 5 rounds but when loaded with 10, the follower sticks inside at the height of a small dent in the magazine side. No doubt this subject already came up in the past and I wonder if somebody could direct me to the repair solution ? Thanks in advance.

Information

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[Patrick Chadwick]

Well, a couple of photos would have helped, as the feasibility of the following solution depends on exactly where the dent is, but here goes...

Unless you have a very strong trained mouse with a small sledgehammer to get inside the case and hammer the dent OUT from INSIDE, the basic method is to hammer the surroundings DOWN from the OUTSIDE. I appreciate that this may not appear to be what one might call intuitive, but it usually works.

You need a piece of rectangular bar material that can be forced into the dented case, so that the affected face is bulged outwards. You then need an adequate brass or bronze hammer (such as those made for use in situations with an explosion hazard) to hammer the surroundings of the dent flat. This reduces the depth of the dent. if the dent is a deep one, you will not remove it in one session, but may have to pack up the flat bar again so that the side is bulged out again, but with a now somewhat reduced dent. Hammer the surroundings flat again and repeat if necessary until the dent is removed or at least so reduced that the case is usable. I am lucky enough to have a pair of bronze wedges to adjust the thickness of the bar assembly.

I have used a similar method on round items, such as a French horn, the barrel tube on a German Gew. 88 and the magazine tube of a Winchester LAR. In the particular case of an Enfield magazine you will need to adjust the internal flat bar assembly and the external support on which you lay the magazine to be hammered so that the pressed ribs on the sides are not flattened!

Takes time, but it works!

[Roger Payne]

Now I know what to do with my dented L42 mag!

[Peter Laidler]

Patrick has said exactly how we used to do them - and others - at the sharp end. We weren't too fussy about the outward appearance afterwards but would try to get it as good as possible. So long as it functioned flawlessly and looked reasonable after the beadblast and paint treatment, that was all that mattered to us

[Charlie]

here's one way to do it if you are not worried about cosmetics and function is your goal. On the other side of the mag. drill a 1/4" hole directly opposite of the dent.
Lay the Mag. dent side down on a piece of flat steel then go thru the 1/4" hole with a suitable punch and flatten out the dent. Won't be pretty but will give you a usable Mag.

[André]

Thanks, I used to repair my dented Colt Govt. magazines via the "opposite" hole technique but then, the magazine remained hidden in the pistol grip. Here, the subject remains in plain view, so I'd prefer to resort to less apparent scars. Here's a pic of the victim, small dent but in an annoying place...

[Peter Laidler]

That would take me about 30 seconds to put right...........

[Surpmil]

Take your pick:



You no doubt have some very skilled metal smiths in Belgium for whom this would be child's play.

[browningautorifle]

That would take me about 30 seconds to put right

Agreed, nothing to that one.

[Flying10uk]

the basic method is to hammer the surroundings DOWN from the OUTSIDE. I appreciate that this may not appear to be what one might call intuitive, but it usually works.

It's exactly the same method used to "panel beat" a dent out on car bodywork. In effect, you start off by making the dent larger but at the same time making the edges of the dent less pronounced. If you do it right the dent should (hopefully) "pop out".

I did use a similar method recently to what Patrick describes in post 2 to salvage a K98 bayonet scabbard which looked like it had been run over by a steam roller. I managed to recover it and to get it back to it's original shape, although not perfect, I'm pleased with the result.