Wood base magazines
 

Hey guys. Still kinda new and just dabbling so far, but I was wondering if someone can tell me if there is a particular reason why some old Luger magazines have wood bases. Just something I've wondered. Thanks!

Back when these magazines were made, what else were you to use? I don't know when Bakelite or aluminum were available, but it surely was not available in sufficient quantities, if at all. Steel would be too heavy and more difficult to work and I'm sure that weight was a consideration. Later on, then Bakelite and aluminum were used, due in part to wood scarcity.

Now, I've already told you more than I know.

Here is my 2 cents
I can say that most bases were wood at the beginning for most pistols.

But in the mid 1920's aluminum was told to be used (Simson used them from 1925 on, except for a few hundred that were wood bases) while the military stated that as wood was used up, aluminum would be used (1926 on).

Then in the early 40's bakelite started to be used for bases, cost and materials I am sure.

Makes sense. I just can't imagine wood ever being so scarce that a piece of less than a single cubic inch would be prohibitively expensive, but maybe that's because I live in Maine! With their rather complex shape, I figured the cast aluminum would be far easier to mass produce, but I wasn't aware of when aluminum became available in commercially viable quantity. Thanks, I was just curious.

Think of the drain of Walnut in that area due to fabrication of millions of rifle stocks over the years of WWI and WWII.

If I'm not wrong aluminum bases started in 1925, and in 1940 they started to produce plastic ones.

Sergio