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Old February 6, 2012, 04:30 AM   #1
gyvel
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Rheinmetall .32 auto

Anyone here got an exploded diagram of a Rheinmetall .32 auto? Or, failing that, a photograph of the cocked indicator pin?
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Old February 6, 2012, 03:29 PM   #2
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Are you talking about the gun usually called the Rheinmetall pistol or the gun most folks call the Dreyse? The former is a copy of the Browning 1910 and doesn't have a cocking indicator, but there is a lot of confusion in those guns.

Jim
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Old February 7, 2012, 03:55 AM   #3
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Jim, it's a Rheinmetall .32 made sometime in the mid 20s to 30s. I acquired one and the cocking indicator pin is missing. I'd like to see one so I can copy it. Basically, it is a simple lathe turning.

The Rheinmetall is a very interesting pistol. The whole back end of the slide screws off to separate from the front. Once the two halves of the slide are separated, the breechface unscrews for access to the firing pin. Typical German over-engineering. LOL!

In principal it vaguely resembles the 1910 Browning, but actually looks more like an Ortgies.

Last edited by gyvel; February 7, 2012 at 05:03 AM.
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Old February 7, 2012, 03:37 PM   #4
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What, no pictures?

<sound of toe tapping>
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Old February 7, 2012, 08:34 PM   #5
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OK, I was thinking of the M1907 Dreyse, but now I am at least on the right track. But the problem is that I don't have one of those, and can't locate a diagram. I will suggest a couple of possibilities. One is that the indicator pin may be made as part of the firing pin or as a permanent assembly with the firing pin. With guns like that, the best way of making a pin is to simply turn one with two diameters, like a nail*. The larger end will be of a size to fit into the firing pin and be held in by the FP spring. The main shaft is of a size to fit the inside of the FP spring and the hole in the rear of the slide.

*In fact, a nail is a good place to start. Strength is not a factor and a nail can be chucked in a drill press and the mods done with a file. The length can be adjusted as necessary after the rest is OK.

Hope this helps.

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Old February 7, 2012, 10:50 PM   #6
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Jim, that's kinda what I figured. I believe that the original was something like that, as a small wafer of steel fell out of the striker that appears to be the base of a broken indicator. The problem is that I believe the indicator pin is stepped as it passes through a hollow tube that is behind the striker. Like I said, German over engineering. LOL!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Rheinmetall 1.jpg (239.2 KB, 62 views)
File Type: jpg Rheinmetall 2.jpg (246.9 KB, 49 views)

Last edited by gyvel; February 8, 2012 at 08:47 AM.
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Old February 9, 2012, 05:48 PM   #7
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That sounds very much like the setup on the 1907 Dreyse. The indicator has a head on it but is the same thickness all the way as it also fits into a sleeve that fits into the screw on the back of the bolt (yes, that screw that everyone ruins trying to turn it!).

Check this diagram to see if Part # 5 looks familiar. I won't say it is the same, but the idea might be.

http://www.marstar.ca/images/Dreyse1907P2.gif

Jim
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Old February 9, 2012, 07:07 PM   #8
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Biingo! I see where they got the idea. I wonder if either of Schmeisser's two sons had anything to do with the Rheinmetall?

I went out and took one of my Dreyses apart and, lo!, there it was. The Dreyse is slightly larger diameter than the Rheinmetall, but I get the idea now.
Thanks for that tip, Jim.

I've included a couple shots to show the Rheinmetall setup vs. the Dreyse.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Rh. and Dreyse 001.jpg (246.0 KB, 46 views)
File Type: jpg Rh. and Dreyse 004.jpg (228.6 KB, 44 views)

Last edited by gyvel; February 9, 2012 at 07:13 PM.
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Old February 10, 2012, 12:56 PM   #9
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Good show! I passed on erroneous info on the Rheinmetall pistol; it is clearly not just a copy of the Browning as three books said. I guess they are so uncommon that the "experts" had never seen one and just made some assumptions based on pictures. (I hate that; it a writer doesn't know what he is talking about, he should at least say so.)

Of course the Dreyse was made by Rheinmetall. Most are marked "Rheinische Metallwaren und Maschinenfabrik" which the company later shortened to "Rheinmetall" (good move!).

BTW, does that gun fire and eject? I think the firing pin originally had a long nose like the Dreyse so the firing pin would also act as the ejector, like the Browning.

Jim
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Old February 12, 2012, 07:46 PM   #10
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Jim, yes, it does fire and eject. It has a frame mounted ejector post that is a pretty simple affair.

I was looking at the internals again, and the only thing I can see that might have been infuenced by the 1910 design is the internal trigger bar which is similar to the Browning's.
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Old February 12, 2012, 11:35 PM   #11
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Just thought I would ask. The Brownings (and similar designs) will often fire OK with the tip broken off the firing pin, but it won't protrude enough for ejection.

Jim
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Old February 13, 2012, 05:47 AM   #12
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It definitely is an interesting piece, especially with the two piece slide.

At least now I have a pretty good idea what the cocking indicator should look like, so all I have to do now is get the ambition and crank up the old lathe.
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Old February 13, 2012, 05:21 PM   #13
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Quote:
It definitely is an interesting piece, especially with the two piece slide.
+1. It's fascinating how closely the designers imitated the Browning's styling- an understandable goal given how many of them FN had sold- but they didn't copy its internal design other than a few minor details. Thanks for the pictures.
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Old February 13, 2012, 07:05 PM   #14
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FWIW, another suggestion: Forget turning that part as it is not easy to turn something so thin. I would just make the "button" part using a piece of drill rod. Drill out the center on the lathe, then cut to the right length. Then insert a piece of small rod (drill rod or Brownells spring wire stock) of the right diameter into the button and silver solder it in place. That way you can easily make one with as much length as you need, then cut to the correct length.

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Old February 13, 2012, 10:21 PM   #15
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You may be on to something there, Jim. I looked at the pins from the Dreyses and they are two piece affairs, i.e. a disc with a hole drilled and a thin piece of rod shoved into it. And here I thought the Germans would turn them out of one piece of rod.
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Old February 14, 2012, 02:04 PM   #16
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No matter how they did it, you can do it the easiest way. You could even thread the head and the rod and screw the pieces together, but that seems like overkill to me.

Jim
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