Project completed: M1 carbine

[Faulkner]

Pictured below is the final outcome of a project that has been in the works for over ten years. This is a build of a M1 carbine that I assembled from scratch by handpicking every single part from new/unused old stock USGI parts, with the exception of the receiver (noted below). I assembled this M1 carbine to be configured as close as possible to be like one rolling off the assembly line just before the war ended in mid-1945

The receiver is a commercially manufactured one made by Springfield, Inc. Springfield, Inc., annouced in the late 1990's that they planned to make complete M1 carbine, I still have an copy of Shotgun News from around 1998 with a advertisement indicating as much. For some reason, complete M1 carbines from Springfield, Inc., never materialized but they did start selling carbine receivers. At the time these receivers were getting very favorable reviews so I bought one and was very impressed and I ended up ordering several more at around 80 bucks each. This carbine uses the last of the receivers I bought in 1999.

The barrel is a unissued late production Winchester barrel that I bought at a gunshow in 2001. Most of the rest of the parts were made either by Winchester or by a subcontractor for Winchester. The rear sight is late war milled adjustable type, it has a complete Winchester round bolt and slide. Over a period of several years I hand selected each individual part which makes up the trigger housing group. The only part of the project I did not do myself was to headspace the chamber, I had a local gunsmith do that for me.

The project has been laying dormant for a year or so for the want of a quality stock set. I recently purchased a high-wood black walnut reproduction stock from Dupage Trading Company. They are running a special on 'blemished' stocks so I ordered one of those and I was very impressed with the quality of the stock when it arrived. Honestly, the blemish took me about 5 minutes with some 000 steel wool to work out. I finished it with one application of Chestnut Ridge Military Stock Stain and then 3 or 4 hand rubbed coats of a mix of boiled lindseed oil & mineral spirits. I love the smell of BLO applied to black walnut!

By the end of World War II, the only two manufacturers still producing M1 carbines was Winchester and the Inland Division of General Motors. Based on a review of the final production specifications, I believe my carbine project is pretty close to a late war M1 carbine as it rolled off the assembly line in 1945. It's been a labor of love . . . now I need to find a new project

 

[gaucho1]

A fine beauty and very well done project.

Something very special about the carbines.

Seem to have gotten everything just right.

Just a bit more oomph from the cartridge and they wood be absolutely perfect. They work for me as is though.

Let us know how she shoots.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

Wow! You did a great job! The M-1 carbine is a favorite of mine, and I think it tends to be highly underrated. Yours is obviously a labor of love.

Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Dave

 

[JJ_BPK]

The M-1 carbine has been on my wish list for almost 60 years.. But I have been looking for a special one.

When I was a kid in the 50t's I went to NRA pistol matches with my dad. A lot of the matches were held were he worked..
At the IBM Country Club, in Poughkeepsie NY.

In between sessions I would follow he down to the targets and pick thru the slugs embedded in the back stop. I always found a lot of 30cal slugs but no one was shooting it?? They were .22, .38, or 45.

It was years later that I found out that IBM made several parts for the war effort. The barrel, frame, and some smaller parts. And they test fined the barrels at the same range use for the NRA matches in the 50t's.

I don't think there was an IBM made carbine. The parts were used by others to assemble.

I have looked for a long time for a carbine with at least the receiver & barrel..

May never find one...

I'm jealous of yours.. Great job..

 

[OFT II]

Nope. IBM made about 350,000 carbines during WWII.

 

[JJ_BPK]

Nope. IBM made about 350,000 carbines during WWII.

Are you saying they completed the build??

Then there is a chance.. I was told years ago they only made some parts..

Thanks..

 

[mjr]

The M-1 carbine is a favorite of mine, and I think it tends to be highly underrated.

Agreed. As a defensive arm for artillery crews, etc., it was superior to any submachine gun or pistol issued by any nation during World War II.

Beautiful job, Faulkner.

 

[Faulkner]

Are you saying they completed the build??

Then there is a chance.. I was told years ago they only made some parts..

Thanks..

Oh yes, IBM was one of the prime contractors for USGI M1 carbines during World War II. (The others being Winchester, Inland Division of General Motors, National Postal Meter, Quality Hardware & Machine Company, Rock-Ola, Saginaw Steering Gear, Standard Products Company, and Underwood-Elliott-Fisher). IBM also manufactured the M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and M7 rifle grenade launchers during the war, along with many other types of war material.

All of the USGI M1 carbine prime contractors used sub contractors to some degree in the manufacture of their carbines. Some, like Winchester and Inland, made most of their parts in-house, but not all. In contrast, Qaulity Hardware only made one part in-house, the receiver, and used subcontractors for everything else.

IBM was somewhere in the middle. IBM made their own receivers but they also used receivers made by subcontractor Auto-Ordnance Corporation. IBM manufactured their own barrels and also supplied barrels to other prime contractors (it is not uncommon to see a Quality Hardware, Standard Products, Saginaw, or National Postal Meter carbine with a IBM marked barrel on it).

It is interesting to note that IBM developed a manufacturing improvement for the M1 carbine trigger housing. Instead of the milled trigger housing used by other manufacturers, IBM developed a stamped/brazed trigger housing that proved to be just as functional as the milled trigger housing yet was easier, faster, and cheaper to manufacture.

I find the history of the development of the M1 carbine to be fascinating.

Here is a picture of a early configured IBM M1 carbine from my collection;

 

[loknload]

Faulkner,,,,Absolutely beautiful! Outstanding!
I have an original Inland in my collection, all original but not that nice!

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Very well done, sir! I admire a guy who sticks to his guns, literally. One of my all time favorite carbine class rifles and the couple I own might be the last I'd ever give up. My congratulations on keeping your compass straight to the finish, well done, well done indeed.

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[Deacon KC]

All I can say is well done!

 

[charlie sherrill]

Bruce Canfield has a book on the M1 carbine and the M1 Garand. It's still in print and can be found where you usually order books. It has a lot of info about both guns including who made what for who. He also has books on the 1903 and military shotguns. All are interesting reading and will help keep you from getting burned when you are considering the purchase of a collectible. I own several carbines. They have been one of my favorites since I was very young. I killed several deer with one in my younger days and carried one for years as a patrol rifle. There are thousands of carbines and Garands in South Korea that some of our politicians won't allow to come back home. "They might fall into the wrong hands." was one of the comments I've heard. I've been a LEO for almost 43 years and have yet to see a crime committed with either gun. Turn them loose so more Americans can own a piece of their history.

 

[Faulkner]

Bruce Canfield has two books on the M1 rifle and M1 carbine and they are both very informative. I have a good number of books written on the topic of M1 carbines in my library including the voluminous "War Baby" by Larry Ruth. I find them very interesting.

I also carried one as a LE patrol carbine and never found it wanting for what I used it for.

 

[seabeesbob]

I own a USGI M1 carbine that I puchased about 10 years ago and agree, that they are under rated. It is a Winchester, nice to shoot, and accurate.

 

[ogilvyspecial]

Every time I see a M1 Carbine I think of a late, very close friend who
had spent multiple tours of duty in Vietnam as a member of the 5th Special Forces.

Here he is in VN with his all time favorite weapon, an M2 Carbine,
which to use his words, "Killed like a son of a gun."

Another favorite weapon he used in VN, which he referred to as, "his pet", was the M16A1E1S.

 

[BUFF]

Take an M-1 Carbine to the range and everybody wants to shoot up your ammo!

I wish someone had made and successfully marketed an M-1 Carbine in .357 Magnum. They could have sold a grundle of them.

 

[walnutred]

Ogy, one of the brothers-in-law was a RTO with the 23rd ID in SVN and according to him Laos and Cambodia ;D. He told me shortly after he came home that he carried a folding stock M2 carbine. I asked him if it seemed under powered and he replied: No, it was easy to carry and if they were close enough that I was shooting it worked very well.

 

[mjr]

There are thousands of carbines and Garands in South Korea that some of our politicians won't allow to come back home. "They might fall into the wrong hands." was one of the comments I've heard. I've been a LEO for almost 43 years and have yet to see a crime committed with either gun. Turn them loose so more Americans can own a piece of their history.

Well, I didn't see it, of course, but Bugsy Siegel was killed with an M1 carbine back in June of 1947. And some of the Black Panthers used them--or at least posed with them--back in the late 60s.

But I agree, bring those Korean M1s back home. Nearly all will fall into "the right hands."

 

[Onomea]

Well done, Faulkner. Beautiful!

 

[armenius]

According to "Bullet With No Name" the biography of Audie Murphy his favorite weapon was the carbine.His favorite which he carried most of the war had a broken stock which he had wired together.It is a great but moving read covering his life,including his "post traumatic stress disorder "which was not recognized at that time.I highly recommend it.