Well CRA, I figure I can inject my photos wherever they are appropriate to the subject since I shelled out tens of thousands to buy the thing, and what good would it be if it just sat in the safe and not serve to help anyone besides the shooters?
The German lafette manuals do not cover disassembly, only use in the field and operation. It was a strict order that only Waffenmeisters do serious in depth maintenance and disassembly. We are pretty much on our own figuring out how to take apart, clean, maintenize and reassemble a lafette. There are no sources out there that I know of, but maybe John can weigh in since he has more documents than we do regarding this matter. Folke Myrvang WILL NOT help with info because he wants to avoid a rash of mechanically inane idiots complaining to him after they bugger up their lafettes. Makes sense, but I managed to rebuild the serach fire unit without any prior knowledge in my garage, so I know that if you are darn careful and methodically watch what you do as you disassemble it, it CAN be done.
I'd be glad to assist anyone trying to return a lafette to service. To be the best help, I would probably have to take my own lafette apart, which is a real pain, and take pictures, or talk you through it over the phone. I'll probably scratch up the paint in the attempt. Many of the bolts are held in place with sheetmetal washers that lock the facet of the bolt by having edges bent upward to prevent rotation from vibrations. The search fire unit will probably betray me by throwing one of those three springs that make the friction rollers engage across the garage or out into the yard, next time I take it apart. Take it apart in a place where you can track flying parts. During assembly, the unit almost needs three hands to hold the three internal springs and friction locking rollers while you slip the outer cylindrical housing using your fourth hand over them and the compressed rollers to trap them in the correct positions. It will help you in assembly for me to explain the functions of all the internal parts after you rip it apart. Germans LOVE to make lots of parts in an arrangement that requires three hands. That goes for just about enything worthwhile that they make. I think they like mechanic's puzzles.
The cradle has to be disassembled in a specific manner and sequence to get it all apart. Any other order, and you are stopped by parts that interfere with one another. Ithink this was an insidious plot by the designer to dissuade tinkerers, by getting them killed after ruining their machinegun mounts, or at least courtmarshalled, which in Nazi Germany means serious punishment. No mercy for the stupid.
Having sold my MG-3 tripod, I can not offer assistance involving photos, which are sort of necessary to guiding someone through the disassembly prior to refinishing. The MG-3 lafette by H&K has no search fire unit, and apart from learning how to use the sight, which is also simpler, there is not much in common with the WWII lafette. The MG-3 tripod is a little more rugged as far as taking dents and abuse to the legs and joints, and its recoil spring loaded shock assembly is smoother and softens recoil better.
The advantage of the old lafette is it makes a better investment, has many more features like search fire and long range indirect fire using the vernier adjustments of the optics, although this was seldom used since the opportunity did not usually present itself.
I think the MG3/MG42 HK tripod I got off GB last week for $375 is looking better and better all the time! Of course, I'm not a reenactor, so the purist issue isn't quite the overwhelming priority like it is for others. But $1450 is a sizable chunk of change for something that 90% of the viewing public is going to see as just holding up the weapon that they are looking at, IMHO. But hey, it's your money, not mine.
(Yeah, still kicking that idea around... )
And as far as modifying the MG-3 tripod goes, what I hope to be able to do once I have it home and the weapon completed to go on it, is to come up with something that would be either a bolt-on (and by that logic, also a bolt-OFF device) that would not require any irreversable mods done to either the tripod or the weapon. I'll be able to work it out better once I have it in front of me and can measure, etc. Basically something to extend the trigger to the rear that would allow it to be remotely manually bump-fired, still keeping only one shot per pull of the trigger to keep legal. Having followed along the AW-SIM vs. Akins thread from before both here and on 1919A4.com, I'd like to combine what has been said by both its supporters and its critics to find some sort of a workable middle ground that would pass a submission to the tech branch as well. I don't know if it would be something commercially viable or just something for my own personal amusement at the range to see the look on the faces of the Elmer Fudds, but as long as it has a letter from Mr. Nixon's folks confirming that it is legal, it would certainly be worth a try. I know there's a company in Cleveland, TN that makes adaptors to run a 1919A4 on one of these tripods as well as the MG-42SA; maybe I could figure out something that would work with the two weapons?
