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Post by horsa (David Gordon) on Jan 16, 2009 22:38:55 GMT 1
Was recently sorting out some spare barrels for a friend and noticed a few details I'd never really thought much about. Figured I'd see if anyone knew any of the specifics on them. For Mark II type barrels, there are examples with and without the keyway between the gas block and the carrying handle. Thought the keyway was officially eliminated on the Mark II barrel. For Gas Regulators, the lug part with the retainer plunger has at least four variations. Some with tapered ends and others with a continuous curved surface. And then for each of those types, there are some with a pin in the top center of that part and others without one. Curious (bored) minds want to know...  |
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Post by tom on Jan 16, 2009 22:50:52 GMT 1
I've not loaded my files onto the snazzy new machine yet (in fact I may get a external drive so i can shift them from machine to machine and do mass data dumps when I visit folk) but by any chance are the Mk II barrels with the key way Australian? I vaguelly recollect the Mk II Upgraded barrels Lithgow did have the key way to fit onto the Mk I and Mk Im bodies they wre making/FTRing. Just guessing without my notes.
ATB
Tom
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Post by woodsy on Jan 17, 2009 0:33:19 GMT 1
So far as I know, only UK Mk II guns had the barrel locating slot removed. The John Inglis Mk II guns, and the Lithgow Mk I Upgraded both retained the locating slot. I do not know if later UK Mk II production re-introduced it but It was certainly back on the Mk 3 and later guns. The locating slot is a definite aid to fast barrel changes and would have been the reason it was re-introduced in later production.
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Post by horsa (David Gordon) on Jan 17, 2009 0:54:52 GMT 1
Just did some spot checking after wiping away gobs of grease from the normal marking locations and can report a trend in Canadian (JI) and Australian (MA) Mark II barrels all having the keyway on them. And as expected, none of the British Mark II barrels had the keyway on them.
Of the barrels I checked, five were '43 dated JI, one was '44 dated JI, one was '45 with the Canadian C/|\ markings but with no apparent maker marking and it was milled differently from the JI production examples here, and two were Dec '43 dated MA.
A quick glance at gas regulators shows them all being Mark III marked so far. Thought possibly some would be the Mark IV pattern but no luck so might end up being another thing that varied by country.
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Gripweed
New Member
VHK Erika Brno
Posts: 26
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Post by Gripweed on Jan 29, 2010 14:40:23 GMT 1
Hi, need special advice. Does any of you have experience with total stripping of Mk.2 barrel? On our blank firing Bren we have barrel welded to body, so I am unable to dismantle and clean gas regulator. Cutting of fixing "nose" on the body doesnt seem to be good idea :-) , so I am thinking of this: take off fixing pin pos.35 and push cca 1 inch forward whole stainless gas block pos.3 - then I can dismantle regulator easily. But have no idea how "tight" is gas block mounted on the barrel and how much force it needs to move with. Is this hot molded or is dismountable without extra force and heating? Bren is working fine so far, but I am affraid of carbon residue within the regulator, so want to be prepared in advance :-) Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!  |
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Post by britplumber on Jan 29, 2010 16:33:08 GMT 1
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Gripweed
New Member
VHK Erika Brno
Posts: 26
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Post by Gripweed on Jan 29, 2010 18:05:03 GMT 1
Thats a great link! Thank you very much!
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Post by peregrinvs on Jan 29, 2010 23:55:55 GMT 1
Interesting. Does this mean it is theoretically possible to remove / swap the bipod on a post-1988 spec UK deact Bren by moving the gas block forward on a MkII barrel - or have I missed something?
Mark
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Gripweed
New Member
VHK Erika Brno
Posts: 26
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Post by Gripweed on Jan 30, 2010 12:52:01 GMT 1
Yes, I think its possible. Will check it out...
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Post by britplumber on Jan 30, 2010 12:56:29 GMT 1
I would imagine so, never tried it so I don't know how difficult it would be.
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Post by richardw on Feb 15, 2010 19:09:30 GMT 1
Holiday today (President's Day), so I'm puttering around the house and decided to disassemble one of my scrap Mk 2 barrels. Came apart very easily. Set the barrel on a concrete floor for support and knocked the taper pin out with a 5/32 punch and a 1 lb. hammer. Took only a couple good whacks and it popped out (left to right). Knocked the gas block down with a block of wood and the hammer. It's not a press fit, just tight. Barely even left any scrapes on the barrel journal.  |
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Gripweed
New Member
VHK Erika Brno
Posts: 26
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Post by Gripweed on Feb 15, 2010 19:30:35 GMT 1
Excellent! I didnt have a time to try it yet  |
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Post by britplumber on Feb 15, 2010 23:45:13 GMT 1
Holiday today (President's Day), so I'm puttering around the house and decided to disassemble one of my scrap Mk 2 barrels. Came apart very easily. Set the barrel on a concrete floor for support and knocked the taper pin out with a 5/32 punch and a 1 lb. hammer. Took only a couple good whacks and it popped out (left to right). Knocked the gas block down with a block of wood and the hammer. It's not a press fit, just tight. Barely even left any scrapes on the barrel journal. That looks to me like a late Mk1* Barrel rather than a Mk2. |
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Post by richardw on Feb 16, 2010 0:57:20 GMT 1
It's a Mk 2 with the finish worn off.  |
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Post by britplumber on Feb 16, 2010 20:18:11 GMT 1
Oh Yes, I see it now, Thats a handy post!
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