M1 Carbine

[0849]

I have been thinking about dusting off my Standard Products M1 Carbine and bringing it to the range sometime soon and so I took it apart for a thorough cleaning. I was reviewing a couple of books I bought many years back, "the M1 Carbine Owners Guide" by Larry Ruth and Scott Duff, and "U.S. M1 Carbines Wartime Production" by Craig Reisch, to refresh my memory on the Carbine, its manual of arms and how it functions. In the past, I have never disassembled the little gas piston and was wondering if it was worth while getting the special tools needed for that area to inspect and clean in there.

I was also looking for a good forum and came across uscarbinecal30.com and I was curious if there were any other M1 Carbine enthusiasts on the S&W Forum and what on-line resources they may have found helpful.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Were I in your position I would not bother unless it becomes troublesome. Of course some people just like owning the tools, just in case. That is not necessarily a bad idea.

 

[KEN L]

Unless you are extremely proficient in completely stripping the carbine, I would recommend you not remove the gas piston & nut. Though easily done with the proper tool, EXTREME care must be taken when re-installing the nut. The threads are very fine and easily cross threaded. If the piston is free moving and not binding, I would leave it alone. If it is binding or sluggish, PB Blaster or WD40 should free it up. Be sure to remove any lubricant from the piston. The best way is to dry it with an air hose or compressed air. If you hold the barrel, muzzle up, and tap the piston in should move up & down freely. It's usually not a problem and the only time I ever encountered a sluggish piston was on a carbine that was heavily coated with cosmoline for a long time. If you must remove the piston, I'd have a competent gunsmith handle the job.
Try Milsurps.com, they have an M1 Carbine section there.

 

[DWalt]

I have been thinking about dusting off my Standard Products M1 Carbine and bringing it to the range sometime soon and so I took it apart for a thorough cleaning. I was reviewing a couple of books I bought many years back, "the M1 Carbine Owners Guide" by Larry Ruth and Scott Duff, and "U.S. M1 Carbines Wartime Production" by Craig Reisch, to refresh my memory on the Carbine, its manual of arms and how it functions. In the past, I have never disassembled the little gas piston and was wondering if it was worth while getting the special tools needed for that area to inspect and clean in there.

I was also looking for a good forum and came across uscarbinecal30.com and I was curious if there were any other M1 Carbine enthusiasts on the S&W Forum and what on-line resources they may have found helpful.

Most will tell you that removing the gas tappet is not advisable except unless absolutely essential. In fact it is not necessary for cleaning. What I have done is plug one end of the barrel and fill it full of solvent. That could be bore cleaner or something like mineral spirits. Get a small but powerful magnet and use it to vigorously pump the tappet back and forth with the barrel held vertically. That will flush out and clean the tappet chamber. Probably the best thing to do is get a complete new spring replacement set containing EVERY spring, and also get a new bolt extractor claw. It is a lot easier to get a bolt disassembly tool to use on the bolt so you can replace the extractor claw, extractor spring, ejector, and ejector spring. But it can be done without the tool with some difficulty. I bought a tool off eBay, used it to rebuild four bolts, then re-sold it on eBay, as I figured I would never again need the tool.

You should get a copy of military technical manual TM9-1276, Cal. .30 Carbines M1, M1A1, M2, and M3. Again, try eBay. Everything you will ever need to know about Carbine maintenance will be found in that manual.

 

[0849]

Most will tell you that removing the gas tappet is not advisable except unless absolutely essential. In fact it is not necessary for cleaning. What I have done is plug one end of the barrel and fill it full of solvent. That could be bore cleaner or something like mineral spirits. Get a small but powerful magnet and use it to vigorously pump the tappet back and forth with the barrel held vertically. That will flush out and clean the tappet chamber. Probably the best thing to do is get a complete new spring replacement set containing EVERY spring, and also get a new bolt extractor claw. It is a lot easier to get a bolt disassembly tool to use on the bolt so you can replace the extractor claw, extractor spring, ejector, and ejector spring. But it can be done without the tool with some difficulty. I bought a tool off eBay, used it to rebuild four bolts, then re-sold it on eBay, as I figured I would never again need the tool.

You should get a copy of military technical manual TM9-1276, Cal. .30 Carbines M1, M1A1, M2, and M3. Again, try eBay. Everything you will ever need to know about Carbine maintenance will be found in that manual.

Great, Thank You DWalt for all the good helpful info. I had been a department factory trained pistol armorer and firearms instructor for years so I feel pretty comfortable doing my own maintenance on the Carbine after educating myself with all available info. Looks like you have pointed me itowards some very good reference sources. Your suggestion about filling the bore with solvent and using a magnet to operate the tappet sounds like a good procedure. Relatively short barrel on the Carbine so probably will not take muck solvent, I just stopped off at Cabellas and bought a couple extra bottles of Hoppes and M-Pro7 Bore Cleaner and have some Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber so I should be all set there.. Thank you Much Sir.

Regards,
0849

 

[Grayfox]

The piston nut is staked in place. Do not remove it unless absolutely necessary. You risk damaging the threads.

 

[0849]

The piston nut is staked in place. Do not remove it unless absolutely necessary. You risk damaging the threads.

Yes, thanks, I have read about the procedure with appropriate special tools for removing if necessary, and re-staking it after re-installation. Probably will not mess with it after following DWalt's procedure for cleaning out that area. If ends up being necessary, looks like Fulton Armory and other sources exist for the specialized tool for piston removing as well as bolt disassembly. I do not think mine will need it, just planning ahead for all contingencies.

 

[chief38]

M1 Carbines have proven to be quite reliable without removing the piston nut. Being that they were staked in (early to mid production) I guess they were not meant to come out for routine maintenance.

That said, I have removed mine once after extensive shooting and while it was somewhat dirty, it was not filthy. I did clean it and had no trouble at all reinstalling. I did re-stake it afterwards. Oh - and BTW I did first manufacture my own tool to properly fit the special nut.

Any mechanically inclined person who routinely works with fine threads should not have any issues avoiding cross threading it. I do believe that the US Military did not want regular Troops messing with the small part in the field for fear of messing it up, getting more dirt in there than they were removing, loosing the nut which would make the Carbine useless, and although there is some small amount of carbon build up it is not worth the risks of removing.

I personally do not know of any friends of shooting buddy's who have had issues with malfunctions due to dirt or carbon build up and they do shoot their Carbines quite a bit. So that said, I can not recommend the average person removing the piston nut on any regular basis and if for some reason it must be done, a proper tool must either be purchased or manufactured to avoid damage.

The rest of the Carbine's disassembly is straight forward, easy and quick for routine maintenance to be performed. Keeping one in tip top condition and parts are available with no hassles. Copies of the GI manual or Duff's book are also available and worth getting imho.

 

[diyj98]

I've owned a small truckload of M1 carbines over the years and never found it necessary to remove the gas piston. I just never saw the reason to so.

 

[AJ]

Get "War Baby" and "War Baby II" by Larry Ruth. More information than you can absorb. Have had a few carbines in my time. Leave the gas piston and nut alone. Have never had a problem with one.

 

[PALADIN85020]

(click for larger view)

I also have a Standard Products M1 carbine, pictured here. Mine walked in the door at a gun show many years ago. It is complete with all Standard Products parts, including the magazine, and is just as it was used during WWII. It was produced in early 1944.

You may be interested to know that the factory in Port Clinton Ohio was staffed mostly with female workers; most of the men in that town had gone to war. Some of those men were in the Bataan death march.

As for the gas piston, I agree that there is no need to remove it except possibly for a clogged gas port from using handloaded cast lead bullets. All U.S. GI ammo from the start was loaded with non-corrosive primers. The proper tool is readily available; I have one in my GI tools kit.

You have a nice piece of history there! You can access more complete info in my book 101 Classic Firearms. I devoted a complete chapter to the M1 carbine there.

John

 

[DWalt]

(click for larger view)

I also have a Standard Products M1 carbine, pictured here. Mine walked in the door at a gun show many years ago. It is complete with all Standard Products parts, including the magazine, and is just as it was used during WWII. It was produced in early 1944.

You may be interested to know that the factory in Port Clinton Ohio was staffed mostly with female workers; most of the men in that town had gone to war. Some of those men were in the Bataan death march.

As for the gas piston, I agree that there is no need to remove it except possibly for a clogged gas port from using handloaded cast lead bullets. All GI ammo from the start was loaded with non-corrosive primers. The proper tool is readily available; I have one in my GI tools kit.

You have a nice piece of history there! You can access more complete info in my book 101 Classic Firearms. I devoted a complete chapter to the M1 carbine there.

John

Regarding non-corrosive GI .30 Carbine ammunition, you should add "U. S." Corrosive French, Chinese, and Dominican Republic Carbine ammunition is known to exist. I have examples of all those. And maybe some from other places. Details are murky, but some Chinese ammunition found its way here with Lake City (LC) headstamps, indistinguishable from the real thing. Except it has corrosive Berdan primers.

There was a story some years ago in the American Rifleman where it was related that Col Rene Studler made the decision singlehandedly and without higher approval to include use of non-corrosive primers in the cartridge specifications. Amazingly, none of the higher-ups in Army Ordnance caught it. So he avoided going through all of the typical Army red tape and testing to get a new type of primer approved for service use.

 

[Faulkner]

I've owned a small truckload of M1 carbines over the years and never found it necessary to remove the gas piston. I just never saw the reason to so.

^^^ I agree.

I've posted about this before, but our sheriff approved the purchase of several dozen surplus USGI M1 carbines in the late 1990's that were slated for law enforcement purchase only. These had been re-imported from Israel.

I was assigned the dubious task of preparing these carbines to be issued to our full time and reserve deputies. It turned out to be a labor of love and I spent a few hours a day for the next several months going through them. Some of them required new springs and various parts to restore to reliable operation, but I didn't have to remove a single gas piston.

 

[max]

I shot my Inland last time I went to the range. I always enjoy shooting it.

 

[0849]

All Done

Just gave it a thorough cleaning, mostly consisted of dusting off and lubing using M-Pro-7, all of the internal components including the bore, Winchester barrel, trigger assembly, look new, no noticeable wear, may have been put away right after a rebuild possibly at the Springfield Armory, cartouche on the stock.

 

[DWalt]

I don't know where all of the post-WWII rebuild Arsenals were, but for sure, a huge number of Carbines were updated and rebuilt here at the San Antonio Arsenal. The buildings still exist, now the HQ of the large H-E-B Supermarket chain. It is just south of downtown San Antonio.

 

[0849]

In case anyone is interested, Fulton Armory appears to have a full line of M1 Carbine parts and accessories, looks like they also repair and refurbish fulton-armory.com

 

[DWalt]

Sarco is (or at least used to be) a good source for all sorts of military gun parts. I haven't bought anything from them for three or four years. They had excellent service. I still get eMails from them for various special sales.

 

[jjrr]

Clean the barrel with the rifle upside down so cleaning solvent and crud from cleaning doesn't get down in the piston.

 

[AJ]

Spare parts?? Try Amhurst Depot U.S.CARBINE, CAL..30, M1 Parts Been dealing with them for close to 30 years.