Old time MG42 kits buyers/collectors take our knowledge of parts, kit conditions and the broad spectrum of options that were once available to us when buying kits for granted. So, I am posting a few pictures of various kits as a FYI for the "less seasoned" collectors. Feel free to add more advice to the thread. If you have photos to fill in any voids (especially SAW CUT kits), please do so.
There are multiple ways in which MG42 kits are "Demilled"
Some are destroyed, crushed, smelted for scrap steel, welded up in worthless chunks... Can't be used for building.
Some are cut into pieces using a welders TORCH. They can be cut in 2, 3 or 4 sections. The torch melts or burns gaps in the sections. Depending on the skill of the torch operator, you can have razor sharp cuts that displace 1/4" or less of material. Sharp clean cut kits with minimal torch displacement usually demand a premium price over wide 3/4"-2" torch cuts...One other factor is if the front bearing is torched/cut or not. A kit with the front booster bearing cut requires a whole new front to be added (thus costing you more $$) , where as a kit with cuts behind the booster bearing surface require no additional parts/labor. There is nothing wrong with a properly torch cut kit, some folks shy away from torch cuts, but properly done, they can be as clean as a saw and actually avoid desireable areas better than a saw cut.
OR as is the case with the current batch of Yugo kits, the torch can melt away INCHES of receiver....Most (if not all) Yugo kits were Torch cut 4 times and the front and rear sections discarded. Sloppy cuts are harder to repair, but can be fixed most of the time. Yugo kits, even complete ones (if there is such a thing!) sell for 1/2 to 2/3 less than other kits because of the extremely poor demill job and missing parts.
Of the Torch cut kits, the 3 cut kits are the most desireable for builders (regardless of how clean the cuts are). see below two top receivers are 3 cut, the others are 4 cut.
The clean, thin cuts of a skilled torch operator are the next most desireable, followed buy the sloppy cuts of a "Monkey in training" (see example below) which one would YOU want????
Some receivers are saw cut with a Chop SAW. Older kits were cut twice or three times. These are extremely hard to find kits and command a premium. The cuts are small and displace only the material removed by the saw. These are one of the easiest type kits to deal with. You WILL pay top dollar for saw cut kits IF you can find one.
Hope this helps some new guys...feel free to chime in a add helpful advice/pictures.
