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Thread: Springfield Receiver

  1. #1
    Frenchie of the South SkyKid's Avatar
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    Default Springfield Receiver

    I got a receiver and a barrel
    I just need some info to decide if I'm going to install it myself or have a gunsmith do it
    Do I need to put anything on the threads like antiseize or just make sure they are clean
    Next the witness marks
    When I screw the barrel on it stops about a 1/2 inch away
    Is that too far? Should I be able to get it closer before using an action wrench?
    I'll try to post some pics tomorrow
    Next question
    If the distance is too much should I use some lapping compound on the receiver face and barrel shoulder to remove some metal and if yes how close should I be able to get the witness marks by hand
    Should I lap the lugs?
    Thanks for any and all help
    SkyKid
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  2. #2
    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    Post pics first please. Threads inside and out should be as clean as you can get them before torqueing them with the action wrench. That's the only thing I can answer without a lot more information, eh?

    Tell me about this barrel. Is it chambered, short chambered, unchambered, new, used, surplus, custom, got sights on it, and do you have a headspace gage and a set of feeler gages?

    To remove metal accurately from barrel or action one must do it on a lathe. That's all I will say until I see the pics and I'm sure I understand what you are asking.

    Never hurts to lap the lugs before fitting the barrel if they are uneven.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

  3. #3
    Frenchie of the South SkyKid's Avatar
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    Barrel is a brand new used manufactured in 42 or 43 stamped USMC with an S in a circle
    The barrel looks like it never had a round thru it
    Sights are on it
    Bolt is not original to the receiver
    Pic of the receiver and barrel
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  4. #4
    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    It's like pullin teeth gettin information out of you tonight.

    How complete is the barrel? Does it have a rear sight assembly and/or a front sight to be properly aligned? Earlier ones had rear ladder sights like Mausers, later production 03A3's had peep sights on the rear receiver ring. I'm thinking since it's a WWII wartime production barrel it's probably an 03A3 and doesn't have the rear sight? Is that alignment what the witness mark you mentioned is for and is that it on the receiver's left side?

    More pics please. Different angles, separate pieces.

    Is the barrel already chambered? Doesn't really matter that #'s on bolt and receiver don't match since you are fitting a new barrel to it. Then there is the chamber/headspacing issue which depends on what was or wasn't done to the chamber. Best is if it is short chambered awaiting a finish reamer and headspace gages.

    I suspect you may need a lathe for this, but I've only seen 4" of the rifle/barrel junction and we'll have to torture you for details.

    Waiting patiently.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

  5. #5
    Frenchie of the South SkyKid's Avatar
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    Vers
    Barrel is complete with rear sight base on
    It's a 1903 barrel not an a3
    It's a complete barrel already chambered
    I don't know if the replacement military barrels are short chambered
    Seemed like an 06 case went in all the way
    I'll get more pics for you after the Misses gets up
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    Bah Humbug! Hellrazor's Avatar
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    Vers, He is a southerner now... speak slowly
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    NRA Endowment Life Member

  7. #7
    Frenchie of the South SkyKid's Avatar
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    Ya
    Yall
    got
    to
    talk
    slower
    Vers
    I highlighted the witness marks on the receiver and sightbase
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  8. #8
    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    OK, now I am seeing the issue here.

    Yes I think you need a gunsmith with a lathe.

    But first it is time to do a shitload of research on the production history before we attack it with serious tools.

    Someone had to train the workers that made these rifles and those training materials, hopefully including videos(films) but maybe just manuals with detailed drawings and/or photos are likely archived somewhere and someone out there will know how to find them. Fitting of barrel to action using those witness marks is one of the production steps used in the Springfield factory and had to have been described in detail along with tooling, tolerances, and technique in a manual somewhere.

    There is not a whole lot of difference rebarreling a Mauser or a Springfield with a new custom tube aside from the shape of the threads, but there are differences in the way they were assembled in the factory versus the much simpler task of putting a custom barrel on the action, and so there are smiths with much specific Springfield experience who know their ins and outs better than a Mauser man like me. That seems like a huge distance to try to torque a barrel, but there is likely something obvious that I do not know, a simple jig or fitting technique that the factory armorers used in assembling and headspacing prefinished barrels into new actions that someone who works on them or especially someone who restores them would know. Something about it may have been published. There are probably forums devoted to them too. The whole subject of military weapon production may even have been classified and illegal to talk about a century ago, but there has to have been training films for wartime assembly line workers still archived somewhere that detail it. I know there were for the Garands anyway because I have seen several of them, long since declassified. There may be some of them or something else on utube that will help too. I will ask my daughter to search when she gets home.

    Without being a Springfield man (my experience with them involves shooting them only), from the photos, in my opinion I can't see any way an action wrench is going to get those marks to line up without some metal being removed somewhere. I'm thinking something probably ought to come off of the barrel shoulder rather than the receiver's face (usually better to work the barrel unless the face isn't square, then both need work). With Mauser 98 actions it is common to have to reface the receiver after removing the original military barrel, some of them, especially those made later in WWII are quite rough. I have read that the Springfields were all very well made and seldom require it, but that action has been kicking around unbarreled and may have been dropped or dinged. It certainly needs careful inspection to evaluate for any potential issues. Then if you must remove metal, it depends on how much. Setting back the barrel shoulder and facing the receiver will each allow the now slightly longer shank of the barrel to screw correspondingly farther into the action to get the sights all lined up correctly. There may or may not be enough clearance to do this without the bolt binding up and not able to go fully into battery. In a worst case the coned breech of the barrel may need adjustment for bolt head clearance, the extractor cut may need to be deepened a hair, and then the chamber may need a minor tweak for correct headspace (or if you're lucky there may be enough in the manufacturing tolerances of the specific parts involved that the bolthead will not bind on the barrel's breech). As to tweaking the chamber, consideration has to be given to the relative sizes of the original reamer used and the one you will use to recut it. Hopefully the original reamer had been resharpened a few times and the one you will need to use newer and at the larger diameter of the tolerance range. You may have to buy a brand new one if after talking with the guys at 4G they can't rent you one large enough. Hatcher's Notebook is notably silent on production methods at Springfield except for metallurgy, and that's the only source of info I have seen about it.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

  9. #9
    Frenchie of the South SkyKid's Avatar
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    Vers
    Thanks for your input
    I will try to find a gs here in the meantime that knows what he is doing
    I'll look around the web to see if I can find more info about mounting the barrel
    Camper at RLB Fest 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010 and 2012
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  10. #10
    Frenchie of the South SkyKid's Avatar
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    Vers
    I haven't found a gs here yet
    Working too much
    I found a forum call Military surplus collectors forums
    I post the picture there and was told tighten it up and go
    The poster who told me that is named ChuckinDenver and does a lot of restorations
    I'll still try to find a gs here first just to get a second opinion
    Camper at RLB Fest 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010 and 2012
    Hosted 2011 in New Hampsha ya I did
    Proud owner of a 264RLB #4

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