Help, what have I messed up on my Mauser barrel ?

Daren Thompson · February 10, 2002, 08:20 PM

I am trying to rebarrel a 1938 Turkish Mauser as an experiment . I have never rebarreld a rifle and thought I would try this. The barrel is an 8mm replacement like the original. I bought the book by Jerry Kuhnhausen and have given this a try. One thing about the book is that it makes reference to needing a lot of special tools. I am using two pipe wrenches and a vise. Before ypu cringe keep in mind this is just a cheap rifle and I am doing it for kicks (but I do want to shoot it) I have used a dial caliper to measure and compare the distances between the two torque shoulders, in other words from the end of the barrel to the raised part past the threads. The threads on the barrel and in the reciever look good. The toque shoulder in the reciever looks real good. Here is my problem , the barrel screws in by hand about half way and the starts to get tight. With the wrenches I can screw the barrel in the rest of the way (tight), but when the barrel bottoms in the reciever it is indexed wrong. A lot wrong about 90 degrees off. I know the I can not get this thing turned in the reciever until it indexes right, and this would go way past how much torque the book says to apply.
Any ideas?

Thanks
Daren

George Stringer · February 11, 2002, 08:03 AM

Daren, you haven't messed up anything. Rarely does a barrel with sights index the same from one action to the next. In 27 years I might have seen it happen twice. There are 2 ways to index the sights properly. One is to put it in a lathe and set the shouder back and reduce the shank length the same amount until the sights index. The other is to simply remove the sights and reinstall them. Be sure you check your headspace. That's another little item that will rarely be the same when installing a takeoff bbl from one rifle to the next. George

Daren Thompson · February 11, 2002, 07:30 PM

Ok, the book mentioned the lathe cutting, but I really did not think every time the Turkish military wanted to change barrels they cut them in a lathe. Now if you do not care, how do you move the sights? Are the just a press fit over that barrel. Do you heat them or just tapp on them?

Thanks
Daren

C.R.Sam · February 11, 2002, 10:17 PM

Extractor grove alignment.......?
Headspace.......?
Just moving the sight won't get you out of trouble.
Pipe wrench will crush the bore.

Barrel changes in rifles were done at facilities that were equipped for the task. Barrel change is not a field or armory job.....unless the armory is also a refurb facility.

Re read the book and don't skip anything.

Sam

George Stringer · February 13, 2002, 07:15 AM

Daren there isn't an extractor cut to worry about. I'm don't think a pipe wrench will crush the bore but it will certainly mar, scratch and generally eat up anything you turn with it. But again do check your headspace before fooling with the sights. You may need to set the barrel shoulder back a little in the lathe to get the headspace adjusted correctly. Once the barrel is installed remove the front sight blade. Underneath it is a set screw. Take it out, heat the sight and tap off. Same with the rear. The big head screw in the front of the sight acts as a set screw. And yes even the Turks had to make sure their headspace was within reason. George

Daren Thompson · February 13, 2002, 06:40 PM

Thanks I have already ordered the go- no go gauges to check headspace. I also understand turning down the barrel or chamber reaming if the headspace is incorrect. I just thought the as long as the new and the old barrel torque shoulders were the same then the sights should index the same. I planned on checking headspace with gauges really once the barrel was installed. If the headspace was off, then go frome there. I removed my sights today and found that they require heat, the sights were soldered on. Is this normal? I plan no more than I will shoot this gun to just heat the sights in an oven, then place them on the barrel. Will this work? The places that I grabed the reciever and the barrel with the pipe wrenches are all below the stock line. Once installed you can't tell that I did it that way. I relize this is just a shade tree way and would never do one for anyone else like that, but in order to make this project economically worth while I have to improvise , adapt , and overcome. It still would probably would have been cheaper to take to a gunsmith.

Thanks a lot

Daren

George Stringer · February 14, 2002, 06:53 AM

Daren, I'm not sure an oven will work. Never tried it. I always add some new solder to the sights and I think it would be much easier to get them aligned properly before they were hot enough to get solder to flow than after. Ouch! Ooh! Ah! Ah! :-) A little propane torch will provide plenty of heat of the job. George

February 10, 2002, 08:20 PM	#1
Daren Thompson Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1998 Location: Elizabethtown,KY,USA Posts: 459	Help, what have I messed up on my Mauser barrel ? I am trying to rebarrel a 1938 Turkish Mauser as an experiment . I have never rebarreld a rifle and thought I would try this. The barrel is an 8mm replacement like the original. I bought the book by Jerry Kuhnhausen and have given this a try. One thing about the book is that it makes reference to needing a lot of special tools. I am using two pipe wrenches and a vise. Before ypu cringe keep in mind this is just a cheap rifle and I am doing it for kicks (but I do want to shoot it) I have used a dial caliper to measure and compare the distances between the two torque shoulders, in other words from the end of the barrel to the raised part past the threads. The threads on the barrel and in the reciever look good. The toque shoulder in the reciever looks real good. Here is my problem , the barrel screws in by hand about half way and the starts to get tight. With the wrenches I can screw the barrel in the rest of the way (tight), but when the barrel bottoms in the reciever it is indexed wrong. A lot wrong about 90 degrees off. I know the I can not get this thing turned in the reciever until it indexes right, and this would go way past how much torque the book says to apply. Any ideas? Thanks Daren

February 11, 2002, 08:03 AM	#2
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Daren, you haven't messed up anything. Rarely does a barrel with sights index the same from one action to the next. In 27 years I might have seen it happen twice. There are 2 ways to index the sights properly. One is to put it in a lathe and set the shouder back and reduce the shank length the same amount until the sights index. The other is to simply remove the sights and reinstall them. Be sure you check your headspace. That's another little item that will rarely be the same when installing a takeoff bbl from one rifle to the next. George

February 11, 2002, 07:30 PM	#3
Daren Thompson Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1998 Location: Elizabethtown,KY,USA Posts: 459	Ok, the book mentioned the lathe cutting, but I really did not think every time the Turkish military wanted to change barrels they cut them in a lathe. Now if you do not care, how do you move the sights? Are the just a press fit over that barrel. Do you heat them or just tapp on them? Thanks Daren

February 11, 2002, 10:17 PM	#4
C.R.Sam Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 1999 Location: Dewey, AZ Posts: 12,858	Extractor grove alignment.......? Headspace.......? Just moving the sight won't get you out of trouble. Pipe wrench will crush the bore. Barrel changes in rifles were done at facilities that were equipped for the task. Barrel change is not a field or armory job.....unless the armory is also a refurb facility. Re read the book and don't skip anything. Sam

February 13, 2002, 07:15 AM	#5
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Daren there isn't an extractor cut to worry about. I'm don't think a pipe wrench will crush the bore but it will certainly mar, scratch and generally eat up anything you turn with it. But again do check your headspace before fooling with the sights. You may need to set the barrel shoulder back a little in the lathe to get the headspace adjusted correctly. Once the barrel is installed remove the front sight blade. Underneath it is a set screw. Take it out, heat the sight and tap off. Same with the rear. The big head screw in the front of the sight acts as a set screw. And yes even the Turks had to make sure their headspace was within reason. George

February 13, 2002, 06:40 PM	#6
Daren Thompson Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1998 Location: Elizabethtown,KY,USA Posts: 459	Thanks I have already ordered the go- no go gauges to check headspace. I also understand turning down the barrel or chamber reaming if the headspace is incorrect. I just thought the as long as the new and the old barrel torque shoulders were the same then the sights should index the same. I planned on checking headspace with gauges really once the barrel was installed. If the headspace was off, then go frome there. I removed my sights today and found that they require heat, the sights were soldered on. Is this normal? I plan no more than I will shoot this gun to just heat the sights in an oven, then place them on the barrel. Will this work? The places that I grabed the reciever and the barrel with the pipe wrenches are all below the stock line. Once installed you can't tell that I did it that way. I relize this is just a shade tree way and would never do one for anyone else like that, but in order to make this project economically worth while I have to improvise , adapt , and overcome. It still would probably would have been cheaper to take to a gunsmith. Thanks a lot Daren

February 14, 2002, 06:53 AM	#7
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Daren, I'm not sure an oven will work. Never tried it. I always add some new solder to the sights and I think it would be much easier to get them aligned properly before they were hot enough to get solder to flow than after. Ouch! Ooh! Ah! Ah! :-) A little propane torch will provide plenty of heat of the job. George