P.38 slide detail strip (1944 Spreewerk)

Chris_B · May 10, 2009, 06:16 AM

I have several failure to feed issues with my Spreewerk produced P.38 pistol

To preface, all numbers matching. Russian capture, apparently they took care of this at least a little. Finish on the blue-dip is actually pretty good. barrel is frosty but the pistol is accurate.

I have failure to feed issues often. drawing back the slide about a half inch and releasing always clears it and loads the round. After examining the the issue I have determined that it is at least partly due to the signal pin- the tail of the round is hanging up under the front of the pin, angling the round, which will then not chamber. The feed ramp is not rough. I feel that there's some old dried up grease or gooey oil that simply makes the signal pin move much less freely than it should

I understand the principle behind removing the slide cover. Dissasembly is not what I'm concerned about. I have three manuals on the P.38 and while they are all good (I like the one by MAJ Nonte the best) all the reassembly photos are copies of copies of copies- black blobs.

Does anyone have any electronic copies of these photos that are clear and legible?

Tom2 · May 10, 2009, 07:43 AM

All I have are exploded views, not a manual on explicit reassembly like, put this plunger here, etc. But the exploded views are quite clear. If you have a digital camera, perhaps you should take pictures of the gun during disassembly steps so you have a reference to put it back together that way. BTW there are variations of parts between wartime and postwar guns so do not expect parts to necessarily interchange. Like, my P1 came with an extra indicator pin assembly and springs for some reason from German storage, but looking at the details it might not be interchangeable with the wartime example. I can see differences in the small parts and the cover itself.

BigKahunaFSU · January 20, 2010, 09:06 AM

Chris B,
Did you ever find a good manual with good pics? I have to disassemble my p38, the slide broke. I bought another slide to put all the small peices in. It's a shame, because it was all matching numbers.

Thanks!

Timcat · January 25, 2010, 05:20 PM

These are from P38forum.com - hope they help

James K · January 27, 2010, 12:12 AM

Before you take anything apart, push up on the front of the cartridge indicator pin to see if it moves up and back freely and comes down and forward under spring tension when you let go. If it does that, it should not interfere with feeding. If it does not, then the spring is probably in wrong or backward.

That diagram is a bit confusing. Spring B looks like it goes on the cartridge indicator but it goes on the front of the firing pin. The indicator goes under the loop on the top and that is what pulls the indicator down unless a round is in the chamber. Spring I is the indicator spring and goes at the rear to push the indicator forward, also until a round is in the chamber. The indicator pin is not pushed back by the round itself. The round pushes it up so when the chamber is loaded it is pushed back by the end of the barrel above the chamber.

Jim

May 10, 2009, 06:16 AM	#1
Chris_B Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2007 Posts: 3,101	P.38 slide detail strip (1944 Spreewerk) I have several failure to feed issues with my Spreewerk produced P.38 pistol To preface, all numbers matching. Russian capture, apparently they took care of this at least a little. Finish on the blue-dip is actually pretty good. barrel is frosty but the pistol is accurate. I have failure to feed issues often. drawing back the slide about a half inch and releasing always clears it and loads the round. After examining the the issue I have determined that it is at least partly due to the signal pin- the tail of the round is hanging up under the front of the pin, angling the round, which will then not chamber. The feed ramp is not rough. I feel that there's some old dried up grease or gooey oil that simply makes the signal pin move much less freely than it should I understand the principle behind removing the slide cover. Dissasembly is not what I'm concerned about. I have three manuals on the P.38 and while they are all good (I like the one by MAJ Nonte the best) all the reassembly photos are copies of copies of copies- black blobs. Does anyone have any electronic copies of these photos that are clear and legible?

May 10, 2009, 07:43 AM	#2
Tom2 Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 5,676	All I have are exploded views, not a manual on explicit reassembly like, put this plunger here, etc. But the exploded views are quite clear. If you have a digital camera, perhaps you should take pictures of the gun during disassembly steps so you have a reference to put it back together that way. BTW there are variations of parts between wartime and postwar guns so do not expect parts to necessarily interchange. Like, my P1 came with an extra indicator pin assembly and springs for some reason from German storage, but looking at the details it might not be interchangeable with the wartime example. I can see differences in the small parts and the cover itself. __________________ Your gun is like your nose, it is just wrong for someone else to pick it for you!

January 20, 2010, 09:06 AM	#3
BigKahunaFSU Junior Member Join Date: January 20, 2010 Posts: 1	Chris B, Did you ever find a good manual with good pics? I have to disassemble my p38, the slide broke. I bought another slide to put all the small peices in. It's a shame, because it was all matching numbers. Thanks!

January 27, 2010, 12:12 AM	#5
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Before you take anything apart, push up on the front of the cartridge indicator pin to see if it moves up and back freely and comes down and forward under spring tension when you let go. If it does that, it should not interfere with feeding. If it does not, then the spring is probably in wrong or backward. That diagram is a bit confusing. Spring B looks like it goes on the cartridge indicator but it goes on the front of the firing pin. The indicator goes under the loop on the top and that is what pulls the indicator down unless a round is in the chamber. Spring I is the indicator spring and goes at the rear to push the indicator forward, also until a round is in the chamber. The indicator pin is not pushed back by the round itself. The round pushes it up so when the chamber is loaded it is pushed back by the end of the barrel above the chamber. Jim