[Jim Keenan]

At considerable risk of being flamed, let me try again. The man who did the work is correct in that the barrels were machined, including the front sight ramp, as barrels. The ramp was not machined after the barrel was installed on the receiver.

But I think he is wrong on a few points, and I ask only to think this out without endlessly quoting a misunderstood writing. This is, I grant, an idea or theory, but it is the way the job was done at Springfield Armory on 1903 rifle barrels, and at other factories as well, so at least consider the possibility that the Luger factory did the same.

1. The rough barrel (bar stock or forging) is set up in a machine and a reference point cut (probably the rear face of the barrel). The tang and shoulder are machined and the threads cut. The threads at this point don't line up with anything, they are just threads.

2. A gauge, like a nut, is screwed down over the threads and tightened on the shoulder. Attached to the front of the gauge is a rectangular slot into which a small chisel is inserted. The chisel is struck, making a mark on the barrel shoulder. This is called a draw line, and that term (unlike "witness mark") will be found in machinists' books.

3. The gauge is set up in such a way that the mark will be at the same location as the receiver draw line when the barrel is screwed in and tightened (or "drawn up"; that is where the term "draw line" comes from).

4. The barrel is then set up and finish machined. The round part is lathe turned, leaving a "ring" where the front sight base will be, and the barrel is drilled and rifled. Then the barrel is set up in a horizontal mill with the draw line set to a marking on the exact bottom of the machine(s). The front sight base is then milled by cutters on the top of the machine(s).

5. The rear of the barrel is then faced off to the specified distance from the shoulder, the barrel is chambered, and the extractor cut made, again using the draw line to index the barrel to the right position.

6. The barrel is then proofed in a test jig, even though it will again be proofed after installation if it is for new production. If the barrel passes proof and dimension checks, the inspection mark is applied. If the barrel is to be a spare, it will be blued, otherwise it is left in the white. It is not numbered.

7. In the meantime, in receiver production, the receiver is clamped in a jig and a fixture with a small chisel is used to make the receiver draw line. In the Luger, this is at the bottom of the receiver.

8. At preliminary assembly, the barrel, completely machine finished but not blued, is installed on the receiver and screwed in until the draw lines match. The alignment is checked by eye, and there very likely is a tolerance factor in the interest of production speed.

9. Since the two draw lines were made at different time, by different tools, we will almost always see some misalignment or a difference in depth, width, etc. between the two lines. The ones that appear identical and line up perfectly will probably be the exception rather than the rule.

10. Other parts were inspected, using test gauges, while in the white. If an inspection mark was required, it was applied when the part passed inspection. Parts destined for spares are blued. No parts are numbered.

11. Once the barrel and receiver are been assembled, they are numbered, and the assembler proceeds to test fit the other parts. Small adjustments may be made or some selective fitting may be done, but this will be minor. Parts that fit are numbered to the receiver by the assembler.

12. The pistol is then placed in a clamp in a closed box, proof fired, and the appropriate proof marks applied. Then it is fired, probably in a test jig, for sight adjustment. The sight blade already has an alignment mark and when it is lined up with the bullet hole(s), the sight base is marked in line with it. This will allow a pre-marked replacement blade to be set to the same position as the original.

13. The pistol is then given final inspection and marked, and the acceptance mark applied. The pistol acceptance stamp is applied beside the inspection stamp for the receiver and the inspection stamp for the pistol.

14. The pistol, still in the white, is then disassembled, but the barrel is not removed; the barrel and receiver are finished as a unit. The pistol and its parts receive a final polish, and then are blued. Parts are kept together by the numbers applied by the preliminary assembler.

15. Since batch processing is used, the last two digits are all that is required to ensure that all the fitted parts end up in the same pistol; there will not be two number "53" rear toggles in the same batch.

16. With the pistol blued, it is re-assembled, using the numbered parts to make sure the parts fitted to that pistol are put back for final assembly. Once in a while someone goofs, and toggle pin "53" is put in "55" pistol. Not common, but it did happen.

17. With assembly complete, the pistol is cleaned, oiled and ready for shipment.

OK, flame me, but at least read the above first, and see if it does not conform to what we see on the pistols themselves as well as to common sense.

Jim