bolt bounce
bolt bounce
This may have addressed elsewhere,but everything I have read on the MG42 mentions a problem called bolt bounce.they even added a part called the "recuperating back-up piece",or bolt catch.My question--were all 42s retro-fitted with this part? Is this something to watch out for? And what about a S.A. gun?Has this been discussed elsewhere ,and I've missed it? Thank you,and Merry Christmas to you all!---bil
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DARIVS ARCHITECTVS
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The bolt catch does not really apply to the SA guns you guys are building. In a FA gun, the bolt catch adds its weight to the rear end of the wedge which forces the rollers into the barrel locking piece at the correct time such that the bolt will be guarateed to lock and stay locked into the barrel and not "bounce" back and unlock prior to the firing pin striking the primer. THe bolt catch is a piston like item that has a spring built onto it. So it acts like a miniature shock absorber and as it strikes the wedge, it compresses slightly, preventing it from bouncing off the camming wedge. That way, the force it applies by virtue of its mass is applied throughout that critical time where the bolt locks up.
In 1944, Mauser made the first bolt catch and they were issued to all MG-42's that could be reached in the field. Many bolts you buy today will not have it and most shooters use the postwar one made for the MG-3, which works just fine. They were issued not because the Germans suffered a huge rash of out of battery explosions, but because Mauser recognized that the current bolt design COULD suffer an infrequent OOB. With old and worn guns with mistmatched bolts and barrels that we shooters use today, the risks of not using a bolt catch are MUCH greater. Fielded German guns with matching parts did not have to worry about mixed parts being out of tolerance nearly as much as we do 65 years later. If you fire the gun, USE a bolt catch. It's safer.
In 1944, Mauser made the first bolt catch and they were issued to all MG-42's that could be reached in the field. Many bolts you buy today will not have it and most shooters use the postwar one made for the MG-3, which works just fine. They were issued not because the Germans suffered a huge rash of out of battery explosions, but because Mauser recognized that the current bolt design COULD suffer an infrequent OOB. With old and worn guns with mistmatched bolts and barrels that we shooters use today, the risks of not using a bolt catch are MUCH greater. Fielded German guns with matching parts did not have to worry about mixed parts being out of tolerance nearly as much as we do 65 years later. If you fire the gun, USE a bolt catch. It's safer.
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS
Knight's Armoury
Knight's Armoury
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Karbinator
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joshk98k
Josh:
#19 is on the chart...it's just hiding in the listing behind #18. It's the Barrel Guide Bushing. The one's I have will only go in one way, the slots in the shroud nose piece and the lugs on the Bushing are not cut at 90 degree intervals. In any event, the "open" side has to face the slot in the shroud to get the barrel in and out
MikeD
#19 is on the chart...it's just hiding in the listing behind #18. It's the Barrel Guide Bushing. The one's I have will only go in one way, the slots in the shroud nose piece and the lugs on the Bushing are not cut at 90 degree intervals. In any event, the "open" side has to face the slot in the shroud to get the barrel in and out
MikeD
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JBaum
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The Barrel Guide is not shown in the diagram, but it is the front receiver part that the (#19) Barrel Guide Bushing goes into. The Bushing only fits into the Guide in one direction (as stated above), unless the Guide is loose and has rotated inside the receiver nose. If that is the case, the Guide is re-aligned, then welded in place. In the armorer's manaul I'm working on, it discusses the Guide being twisted and of difficulty getting the Barrel out since the slot in the Bushing isn't in the right place. The Guide is to be rotated back in place, then after the Barrel and Bushing are removed, the Guide gets tack welded to the Receiver.
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joshk98k
