Joseph Scott

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Tom, my shorter springs have 11 turns vs 13 for the longer. I found a LMG hammer link in my future project stuff and the short spring will slide nicely on it. I also noted that Gun Parts has a different number for the LMG spring. Their numbers are same except for the suffix "a" or "b". We may have mixed up springs from long ago. Maybe we can find a drawing or specification for the springs. Springs are usually specified by ID or OD, wire diameter and free length. Maybe Jim can find out if there was a design change during production. Also think we should check the hammer link shaft for smoothness (no wear or burrs).

I received one of the trigger groups which had double fired. Noted top of hammer worn more than normal and hammer tension was harder than normal. Someone installed a 1/4" longer spring for more tension. When I pulled out spare springs marked with correct number, they are shorter and heavier wire so that they don't want to slide on hammer strut. Several used springs measure 1-7/8" x .050" wire and spring moves freely on strut. New(?) spares are 1-5/8" x .060" wire. The (new) spares came from Numrich many years ago. Does anyone know if the LMG had a different hammer spring? If so, I suspect that they might have been mixed up as they look similar. If you have a spare hammer spring, please measure them and let me know. I am wondering if the excess hammer tension may have effected sear engagement or the hammer face wear may have prevented bolt from pushing hammer down enough to catch both sears. I hope these technical discussions don't bore everyone and are helpful.

Another possibility occurred to me. I wondered if the sear bar was not catching the hammer and it rode the bolt home causing ignition. I don't normally disassemble trigger groups if they seem OK. I stripped one which I considered normal and found crud under the bar, in the trigger return spring, hammer spring and the various pivot pins. After complete cleaning and oiling, it was obviously faster acting, harder hitting hammer action and smoother than another "normal" one. I now consider this a possible cause and suggest disassembly/cleaning the trigger group. Be careful of a small plunger piece in the trigger return spring, I lost mine and took 45 minutes to find it. It is in the end of spring against the trigger to take wear. I believe this faster return of the sear bar will insure catching the hammer hooks. Be sure to restake the pins. Not sure if this is a cause of doubling but it changed my mind about disassembly and cleaning trigger groups.

Sticking brass usually indicates the chamber needs cleaning or has minute pitting which is hard to see. Clean chamber with a shotgun brush and inspect carefully. If cases still stick, try polishing unfired rounds with Scotchbrite while holding bullet in variable speed drill. Polish brass smooth so that any imperfection in chamber will show when fired. If chamber is pitted, it can be polished with small ball hones. A 12mm size, medium coarseness with water or honing oil can do wonders. If pit is very deep, barrel needs to be set back and chamber re-reamed. Also set back center collar to maintain correct barrel position.

Alasdair, certainly an influence that I never thought of. I have to think about how a slower recoil would be effected by lighter bullets when the gun is designed for M2 ammo. Also have to think about what happens if barrel has not returned to forward position in time and is pushed forward by bolt. A rare event that is hard to solve.

Lobo, I have had some e-mail problems due to someone sending me a huge picture which clogged my dial-up email. At this time, I am not doing any restorations. Installing a CNC mill and rearranging shop plus have a large backlog of small parts to make. Perhaps in 3-4 months.

I had two inquiries about double firing recently. Thought I would pass on my suggestions and solicit input from others.

First check that the little clip on the firing pin is in the locator groove. It should not move up/down the length. FP return spring should have one end hooked under the clip. If the clip moves position, lightly peen the sides right over each wing of fp to force metal into slot. Do not use grease on firing pin, only oil.

Second check the trigger group and look at the small cross pins right over the trigger. They should be equal on both sides and staked to prevent movement. I found one which had slipped sideways and dropped one end inside housing. This allowed sears to improperly disengage. These small pins are extremely important to be staked on each side.

Third, be sure firing pin stop is in the bolt. Some are not retained and easy to drop out when assembling bolt. Please share any experience you may have.

We have not found the records for the lettered series rifles, only for the first-no letter- series. The original production log exists for that series and assembly numbers, date and buyer can usually be provided. Sorry, however, tell us about your gun. Military, sporter, shoots, known source, etc?

The amount of ammonia present determines the color. Some of the cleaning solutions have all sorts of chemicals in them.

The greenish color occurs when the copper residue has been exposed to an ammonia based cleaner which did not remove the gilding metal left in the bore, just changes its color. Hoppe's products are excellent and based on many years of know-how.

JD, we don't have information on the rifles which have a letter in front of the numbers. The production logs for these series have not been found. On your rear sight, is the threaded peep only in the piece which moves for windage or has a separate peep sight replaced the standard leaf and ramp? If just the windage is tapped, I can repair it for you, also have new rear sights complete.

I have received two barrel rear locking collars to assemble for a customer. Both are used, from a major parts dealer. One has been shortened by .070" on the shoulder face. This is not useable due to insufficient room for the bolt head to rotate and lock. It looks OK but has been machined by someone trying to correct headspace. The available parts now remaining are the culls and new purchases by dealers. They don't know or care about dimensions. Save your receipts to try returning such items. I have been seeing more and more junk parts in the last two years, also guns that will not function due to old, bad gunsmithing..

To correct headspace, you must machine the barrel shoulder/threads back one exact turn, face off end, cut bevel, cut entrance radius, machine extractor cut and then install a .062" spacer behind the center collar to put barrel back in correct operating position, finally ream chamber for headspace. If you do not install the spacer, the rear collar will be sitting too far forward for correct lockup. Miss the cut-back by a few thousands and the front sight will not be upright.

Does the catch work when you pull back the bolt? Based on my examination of many catches which I recently acquired, they seem to be fitted to a specific gun as the small finger varies in length (shorter than drawing dimension). Check that the long portion is straight and not curved downward. Try bending it up a little. The magazine internal pusher can be bent a little to make contact but are easy to break. Incorrectly installed recoil tubes are common in the sporter stocks. When correct, installing the buffer will tighten the tube backwards against the small key. I have new recoil tubes if you need one. If you are buying a used one, inspect inside for wear using a bore light. A wear ring just inside the forward end is found sometimes, this can slow recoil motion.

I was sent an old non-original barrel to shorten and install lug, sight. It has an irregular, bright polished ring around the chamber about 1/2 way of cartridge. Finally it dawned on me, this is a weld. A Johnson barrel had been cut off to save the threaded portion, drilled out and another barrel turned to fit hole and pressed in. It was visible at the rear where you could see the different diameters. A seal weld had been run around outside to hide the joint and then ground smooth. This is an dangerous old redo which was fairly common in the 1950's. They are known to fail and blow apart. I have seen several reports on the internet about this type failure. Micro-cracks develope and grow over time until barrel blows. On this barrel, I milled it so as to see the joint and found voids at the juncture of the press fit. Also the weld was very hard and was only on the outside. This left a built-in crack at the faces of the joint in the highest pressure area. Any time you see any signs of welding or a joint in a barrel, scrap the barrel. Even if an owner says he has shot it many times, it is a hazard and may injure or kill someone.

It is hard to give a value with minimum description. "Blued" and "real show piece" makes me think of a sporterized rifle. Look at the main website for more information on originals. If it has been buffed and blued or stock changed, etc, $4000 is good price for you. If still military style, price can vary depending on details. Have you shot it lately and does it function properly? Give detailed description or post pictures somewheres for better estimate.

Based on information given, $3800 is a very fair price especially if it has an original barrel with useable bore. Barrel should have J. A.; .30-06; and a Johnson proof mark over chamber area. Proof looks like sword or candle in small circle with letter on each side of sword. Cracked stocks can be repaired with super glue(penetrates to botom of cracks) or several other means. Look at the main website for more information. Be sure seller has shot the rifle lately or lets you shoot it to check functioning. Lots of guns coming out of closets and some don't function properly.

Per the drawing for the forging: "Material- S.A.E. 3140 Steel (Forging),

McQuiad EHN 6-8 Fine Grain, Forge- Trim- Normalize- Coin, and Full Anneal."

"Lead Proof To Be Submitted & Approved Before Proceeding With Production."

Per 1950 edition of engineering handbook, SAE 3140 steel contains .38-.43 carbon, .70-.90 Mn, .040 Phosphous max, .040 sulphur max, .20-.35 silicon, 1.10 nickel, .55-.75 chrome, and no moly. This is high quality material, produced and fabricated with best techniques.

If you are planning on any weld repairs, consult a qualified metallurgist for best technique and heat treatment. I have seen several warped receiver by poor welding methods.

His name does not ring a bell as one of my customers. If you are judging by no "cheeks" on stock, that is not a good way. There were originals made w/o "cheeks". Inquire of him about stock. I stamp "JS" inside mine.

Mike, there is supposed to be a spring on all the firing pins. There should be a small clip fastened into a groove around the fp. One end of the spring has a tail which hooks up under the clip. If the spring is missing or the clip has moved, you could have a slam-fire situation. To my knowledge, all firing pins are the same. I have parts, e-mail me.

The little clip ring is pretty ingenious in design. It was made with three little external nubs which allowed the ring to slip onto the fp. When the external nubs were pressed or hammered in flush to outside, they deformed into the groove around the pin and located it in desired location.

Someone bought it for $2126.

I talked with owner and suggested that missing sight dovetail could be fixed by making a two piece dovetail and attaching pieces with screws (and solder) into receiver. Screws would not show under a sight leaf. Mill off the welded parts. Could not give an estimate so he decided to sell and find a nicer one. It could be fixed.

There was an old published magazine article about when Castro was a rebel titled "Where Does Castro Get His Guns?". It shows the rebels holding up a sporter Johnson with a telescope. Likely a Winfield version. It stated that it was accurate and used the same .30-06 that the government troops used, so it was easy to steal ammo. Not sure how it would compare with a good M-14(not a worn one). I believe this is one of the best gun sites on the web. Glad it is back in service.

Sam, to check the recoil tube location, look at my posting on May 17th about recoil tube location. Quick check is front of tube should be 2-1/8" from back of receiver.

Try cleaning the chamber with a bronze wire brush and inspect it carefully with bore-light. Next place to check is the mainspring, clean, lubricate, and check for length, should be 12" long. Clean and check buffer assembly. Inspect inside of main spring tube for corrosion or pitting. Also sporters are well known as not having the recoil tube key in the correct position. The small key 1/2 way down stock should be 8" from key over trigger. Many times they are not in right position and if too far forward, will restrict bolt travel. Lube the barrel latch spring as it effects the barrel motion. If you can, try another barrel, bolt or back-end section. Has the gun functioned properly in the past? I have a 1hr-36m video on stripping, inspecting, lubing and reassembly of the rifles. Also reprint manuals. Your comment about resembling a M-16 is correct as the m16 bolt is descended from the 1941 Johnson through the AR-10 bolt which Mr. Johnson helped design.

According to the report, Co "C" was the third wave landing on Gavutu and was subject to rifle and machine gun fire in their boats. Hill 148 was finally taken about 1600 with many of the casualities then. "A systematic destruction of the enemy then took place on Gavutu. In the meantime, Companies "A" and "C" cleared the lower portions of the island and kept the enemy down on Tanambogo." Ken Haney sells copies for about $8-10 on Ebay, uses name Leatherneck175. He knows a great deal about the Paramarines. Contact him, he may know something on your uncle. Ken also has published a book "Hold The Line", The 1st Marine Parachute Battalion's raid on Koiari, Bouganville, November, 43. Good guy to deal with.