Going to field strip my M1 Garand for the first time. Advice? Tips? Supplies?

[RCS]

my favorite trick when I was an armorer, was to bet someone that I could remove the firing from the rifle
with taking it apart - and put it back in too.

just use that M10 tool and shake it out, takes longer to shake it back in but it will go

[Brian Dick]

Bruce Dow turned me on to Permatex Super Lube grease. It sticks better than anything I've ever used and is the absolute best for the M1 and M14 rifles. A tub of it will last a lifetime as a little bit goes a very long way.

[Bob Seijas]

One of the Sergeants in Basic Training could unlatch your op rod from the bolt with a quick flick... you had to disassemble the rifle to get it back on

[AaronGee]

Just an update: Did my cleaning/op rod replacement Friday (04/13). Tearing it down was quite easy, I had a little trouble figuring out how to separate the follower rod from the spring but it was just pulling it apart. You seem to be right about the operating rod, it was slightly less than 19" and the coils were quite compressed towards the follower rod. I'll attach some photo's of the cleaning, you can see the difference between the old/new.

Also there is a photo of a 'FULTON ARMORY - ARMORY M1 GARAND GAS CYLINDER WRENCH' (blue thing). I though that was for unscrewing the gas port screw at the end when I purchased it. When it arrived it was quite large and I realized it fits around the end of the gun. I don't really know what it is for, do you? I used a regular Flathead to screw/unscrew the gas cylinder lock screw. I'll probably end up stripping it if I keep doing that, so I'll look for the proper tool at a gun show or purchase one online before my text tear down.

Assembly went fairly easy. Getting the op rod spring in and reattached was a but difficult but I did it. Hopefully I used enough lubricant.

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[AaronGee]

As for the final result:

Seems to have worked, but I'll have to take it to the range to be sure. I have a full clip of snap caps for testing. The first clip was a little difficult to get in. I got it in and cycled the action until the clip ejected. I did this three times and only had the problem of it not closing all the way once. Next week (likely Tuesday) is range day so I'll have to see how it works with live rounds.

I attached more photo's. On one of them I guess I did not get the clip down far enough, it would not close.

Attachment 92604Attachment 92605Attachment 92606Attachment 92607Attachment 92608

[no4mk1t]

Just an update: Did my cleaning/op rod replacement Friday (04/13). Tearing it down was quite easy, I had a little trouble figuring out how to separate the follower rod from the spring but it was just pulling it apart. You seem to be right about the operating rod, it was slightly less than 19" and the coils were quite compressed towards the follower rod. I'll attach some photo's of the cleaning, you can see the difference between the old/new.

Also there is a photo of a 'FULTON ARMORY - ARMORY M1 GARAND GAS CYLINDER WRENCH' (blue thing). I though that was for unscrewing the gas port screw at the end when I purchased it. When it arrived it was quite large and I realized it fits around the end of the gun. I don't really know what it is for, do you? I used a regular Flathead to screw/unscrew the gas cylinder lock screw. I'll probably end up stripping it if I keep doing that, so I'll look for the proper tool at a gun show or purchase one online before my text tear down.

Assembly went fairly easy. Getting the op rod spring in and reattached was a but difficult but I did it. Hopefully I used enough lubricant.

There was no pic of you installing the spring. Did you grease the spring when you installed it? If not, take it out and use a small brush to apply grease as you feed it into the op rod. The proper amount is enough to coat the coils without bridging the coils.

The gas cylinder wrench is to properly hold and support the gas cylinder when removing or tightening the gas cylinder plug. It prevents you from putting excessive torsional stress on the rifle if you try to hold it by other means.
At your next gun show, buy a USGI M10 combo tool. In addition to properly fitting the gas plug, it also allows you to disassemble the bolt easily whether it is installed in the rifle or not.

[Bob Womack]

Also, the Garand is "handed." The rounds must be stacked properly, starting with the left-hand shell first so that the last, highest shell is on the right hand side.

Bob

[no4mk1t]

As for the final result:

Seems to have worked, but I'll have to take it to the range to be sure. I have a full clip of snap caps for testing. The first clip was a little difficult to get in. I got it in and cycled the action until the clip ejected. I did this three times and only had the problem of it not closing all the way once. Next week (likely Tuesday) is range day so I'll have to see how it works with live rounds.

I attached more photo's. On one of them I guess I did not get the clip down far enough, it would not close.

Make sure all the cartridges are fully seated in the clip. Do this by loading 7 rounds, and checking to ensure all are fully seated before inserting #8. A round that is not fully seated will catch on the receiver and prevent insertion of the clip.
Top round should be on the right. All arsenal ammo is loaded that way. Lefties will load top round on the left to make pressing the clip in easier left handed.

The M1 is designed to allow a full clip to be inserted and latch in place without the op rod closing on your thumb. A slight bump on the op rod handle will close the bolt. Watch some old USGI training vids on youtube to see what I mean.

[AaronGee]

Question: "closing all the way". Do you mean not stripping the first round out of the clip (pic 4) or the bolt not rotating into battery??? Pic 5 shows bolt in battery.

It is very common for M-1s not to strip the first round out of the clip while loading. The image in your pic 4th from the left shows this common loading situation. It is not a fault of the rifle. Some clips are tighter than others or have a rougher finish which causes more resistance in stripping the first round out of the clip. Most M1 shooters automatically bump the op rod forward after clip loading to help the first round strip out of the clip. The technique is shown in training films and war movies.

Yes, it was not stripping the first round. It was after a while. In pic 5 it is closed. One time it did not close. My problem before was that it would not close, that's why I changed the op rod spring.

---------- Post added at 02:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:27 PM ----------

There was no pic of you installing the spring. Did you grease the spring when you installed it? If not, take it out and use a small brush to apply grease as you feed it into the op rod. The proper amount is enough to coat the coils without bridging the coils.

The gas cylinder wrench is to properly hold and support the gas cylinder when removing or tightening the gas cylinder plug. It prevents you from putting excessive torsional stress on the rifle if you try to hold it by other means.
At your next gun show, buy a USGI M10 combo tool. In addition to properly fitting the gas plug, it also allows you to disassemble the bolt easily whether it is installed in the rifle or not.

I did lube the spring as per the instructional video I referenced. Thanks, I will get that tool at the next show I go to.

[AaronGee]

So I went to the range today.

The original problem is fixed. But there is a new one now.

For the first three clips it went fine for the most part, with minor issues. The first clip did not eject, one round did not feed properly and another did not eject properly. From my understanding these are common occurrences and I don't have to worry.

During the 4th clip however.... the clip started to eject after four rounds (getting stuck when the bolt would close on it). I topped it up and put it back in. However, it would keep ejecting after two and sometimes four rounds.