Re-Barreling an M1896 Mauser

[Olle]

Impressive, as usual!

You think it would it be safe to do a conversion 9mm? I have a sad looking Bolo that's begging for a project, so a new 9mm barrel might be the way to go. I have been eyeballing the chamber area, but there seems to be very little meat for drilling, threading and all that. I was planning to cut it further back, just in front of the chamber, and maybe sweat and pin it to leave as much steel as possible intact.

Another idea I have been tinkering with is to convert it to .22 Mag. I think it could make a fun and accurate plinker, but it may be a bit sacrilegious.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by berkmberk1

All totaled, how much time is invested from start to finish?

I really don't add up the time. If I did, and charged by the hour, it would be prohibitive. I spend a lot of time measuring, jotting down notes, setting up jigs/fixtures/vise, cleaning those items, cutting blanks to approx length, looking up tooling in catalogs, ordering tooling, other boring stuff. At some jobs I've worked, we charged ALL our time to the customer. I don't do that. I also have lower standards now than when I was younger. Back then, if I wasn't happy with how something came out, I'd start over. Now, if it's 'good enough', then it ships.

Originally Posted by Olle

You think it would it be safe to do a conversion 9mm?

I cut my threads [M&F] as close to 100% thread depth as possible, rather than 75%. I also make my fits 'snug', so that it's not possible for me to comfortably thread it on by hand. I have to use a special spanner or even the barrel vise. Because of that I feel that for all practical purposes I have not removed any metal that has not been replaced. I don't plan on doing any 9mm C96/M30 barrel conversions; I'm not interested in 9mm for this handgun. I'm a snob.

I've done a couple 256 barrel conversions (256 WinMag bullet on a wildcat 30 Mauser case) and liked it.

If you do a 9mm C96 and just bore & silver solder, I would think it would hold. I've never tried it. Still not displacing any metal that you're not replacing.

[TennBill2]

Hello Olle! Here's a pic of my 'basket case'. I haven't gotten around to measuring the threads, but you may see there's not much beef left! That's a 9mm cartridge stuck in there. I, too, think silver solder/braze would work.

[Olle]

Originally Posted by TennBill2

Hello Olle! Here's a pic of my 'basket case'. I haven't gotten around to measuring the threads, but you may see there's not much beef left! That's a 9mm cartridge stuck in there. I, too, think silver solder/braze would work.

Hey Bill!

That looks scary thin, I might have to give up on the 9mm idea. BTW, I sent you an e-mail a while back, think it's about time to get together and talk projects? I have been swamped with boring customer jobs, so there hasn't been much time to work on my own guns. It's about time to do something fun and creative.

[Olle]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

If you do a 9mm C96 and just bore & silver solder, I would think it would hold. I've never tried it. Still not displacing any metal that you're not replacing.

This kind of joint could actually be stronger, as there's no torque induced "pre-stress" in the steel. I was thinking that a slip fit and solder would work, and a pin should help as well. The AK-47 barrels are pressed and pinned, and a silver solder joint should be just as strong (probably stronger) than a press fit. It would also make it easy to index the barrel, and if you don't get it right you can just reheat and adjust.