Unit 15: Tricks and Carbines
Lesson 52: Tricks of the Trade
This lesson covers:
- The money maker
- Common malfunctions
- Tricks of the Trade in quick inspections to pinpoint problems
- Quick corrections
- General service & testing techniques.
The tricks of the trade are going over some of the things that have been mentioned in earlier units a little more defined and in relative terms of how and when to use them and the dangers of using some such as hazardous fumes from paste wax and open flames. This is a fun read as it details deeper into some of the tricks gunsmiths have used for generations with the understanding it shouldn’t take you as long to figure out exactly how to perform them in a safe and productive manner.
The next part of this lesson is a Q & A taken from a gunsmithing magazine. I believe this part is really important enough to dive into as this resource does have many answers to questions some may have never heard before or a question you may have had yourself and are unsure of the answer you may have found. We all know no one has all the answers, but a resource like this is invaluable. I am sure I will be going back to this myself in times of uncertainty.
Lesson 53: Servicing and Building Muzzleloaders
Cleaning, Restoring, and Building, is for fun and profit. Muzzleloaders have always been an interest of mine, from the Kentucky long rifle to the Virginia and Pennsylvania long rifles. Not all muzzle loaders were “factory made” although later models were machined. These are timeless examples of craftsmanship and at one point some of the most sought-after long rifles. The ability to fire a weapon that by all rights is considered “primitive” compared to “modern” firearms takes a lot of skill and patience.
Learning there is an organization dedicated to muzzleloaders was pretty interesting as it shows the interest in these types of firearms is still going strong.
I did like the glossary accompanying the muzzleloader section and the knife sharpening was a nice change of pace to break up the lesson. Keeps your attention by shifting gears a bit.
Lesson 54: Accurizing the Colt.45 Automatic M1911A1
This lesson is completely about the Colt .45 M1911A1. They were the choice of the U.S. military for over 60 years. They are eligible but do have their issues. Diagnosing these issues can prove troublesome and should be handled by a more experienced gunsmith as most times this will be a lengthy job and should never be rushed. Another shorter lesson but the information and instructions contained in it is huge.
Lesson 55: U.S. M1 Carbines, Military and Commercial
This lesson covers:
- Trigger group disassembly and reassembly
- Malfunctions and Corrections
- Sporterizing and Accurizing
- Gas Piston Maintenance
The M1 Carbine is one of the most reliable firearms to this day. Basically, a military weapon, these were also produced for the public with very few differences. The U.S. .30 Carbine was the original design of the M1, later the M2 came along with the ability to switch to Full Automatic (submachine gun). That is the biggest difference between the military and public versions. The public version was and cannot be full auto. The other is the ammunition.
The history of this rifle is very impressive. Going from design and development stages to implementation, in a very short period of time. Along with the Ruger M-10/22 Carbine and the Winchester 100 automatic/Carbine, these are all well respected weapons over the years for their reliability, accuracy and performance.
Lesson 56: Noble Shotguns and Rifles
Although out of business since the late 60’s there were a lot of these firearms produced under many different brand names such as Montgomery Wards Western field and Sears and Roebucks J.C. Higgins. As there are more than likely a lot of these in existence yet, parts are not. Even with Smith and Wesson owning the rights now, they do not manufacture replacement parts for these. There are other ways to find usable parts by simple modifications from other manufacturers, but this can be very tasking. These may be a fix for the experience and fun of it or a cleanup and make it a wall hanger.
This unit is one of the bigger units and does contain so much more information than most others around the history and repair of these.
Written by J. Jacobs, The MGS Experience Student
