Restoration starts with an examination of the receiver, not only for serviceability and safety, but for its markings. It was the practice of the U.S. Army's Ordnance Corps to mark a drawing number, which also served as a part number, on most major parts of battle rifles until the end of the Korean War.
The drawing number was preceded by a letter, A, B, C or D which related to the size of the part's engineering drawing.
For instance, the drawing number for the original M1 Receiver was D28921. The "D" indicated that the engineering drawing was done on a 22 by 34 sheet of paper and the number was a sequential value assigned to the part; the Alphanumeric designation served to identify both the part and its drawing in case a problem arose in manufacture or use and the part needed to be redesigned or in any other way altered.
In succeeding years, as engineering and manufacturing changes were made to any part, the drawing number was modified by a sequential suffix, i.e., -1, -2 etc. The M1 receiver was altered 43 times during its period of manufacture.
Sub-contractors building the M1 were also required to follow this same practice. Those receivers manufactured by Winchester were marked either with the suffix "-2" or "WIN-13." Post-World War II Garands manufactured by outside contractors International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson used the part number "D652891-42" through "-N" and "652891" through "D-652891-E."
For the collector, these numbers and their suffixes make it possible to determine the receiver's period of manufacture. For instance, a receiver with the serial number 1,823,965 and a drawing number D28291-29 would have been manufactured at the Springfield National Armory between July and August 1944, in the serial range 1,765,200 to 1,900,000.
Of course, it is possible to check the serial number stamped on the back of the receiver to determine the period of manufacture. But in the 1950s and 1960s when M1 Garands were very scarce collector's items, receivers that had been demilitarized -- cut or torched in half -- and sold for scrap metal, were rewelded by enterprising gunsmiths and reassembled as original rifles. By comparing the drawing number and the serial number, you can go a very long way quickly toward eliminating the possibility that a particular rifle is one of the "dreaded" (to a collector) rewelds.
Barrels
The drawing number in combination with the serial number also makes it possible to validate other parts as original or replacement. For instance, the vast majority of M1 Garand barrels were also marked with part numbers and dated. A barrel dated "8-44" on our s/n #1,823,965 receiver would be correct but not if its drawing numbers was D35448W.R.A. The drawing number indicates that the barrel was made by Winchester. And since Winchester did not date their World War II barrels, someone has obviously added the date in an effort to mislead.
The problem of matching correct barrels and receivers becomes trickier after late 1944. As a stockpile of barrels was slowly built up, we find that barrel dates can lag at least three months behind. A Springfield M1 Garand receiver manufactured and serial numbered in January 1945 could have had an original barrel installed that was manufactured as early as October, 1944.
Serial numbers and "drawing" number validation can be applied to other parts of the rifle such as the trigger housing. There are fifteen variations of the trigger housing manufactured by Springfield, five manufactured by Winchester during World War II, two by International Harvester and only one by Harrington & Richardson after World War II. Differences are fairly minor but of great importance when restoring an M1 Garand.
The trigger housing, like most other parts in the M1 Garand has a drawing number but not a serial number. The correct trigger housing for our hypothetical M1 Garand, serial # 1,823,965 would show drawing number D28290-12-SA indicating that it was the twelfth change made to the trigger housing and was manufactured at the Springfield National Armory. Trigger housings with this drawing number were installed on all M1 Garands manufactured at Springfield between circa serial numbers 1,010,000 to 3,300,00. Its distinguishing characteristics are a cloverleaf-shaped hole in the upper left side and a raised area of metal called a "pad" near the top left edge and directly under the top arm of the safety.
One other consideration in selecting a proper barrel concerns shooting. If you plan to shoot your M1 Garand and want an accurate barrel, you need to select one that hasn't been "shot out." You can perform a quick check without expensive gages using a .30-06 cartridge. Insert the bullet into the muzzle. The rifling should grip the bullet tightly while leaving a 1/16 inch gap between the rifling and the neck of the brass cartridge case. If the case touches the end of the muzzle, then the bore is gone, and with it, accuracy.
Rear Sights
What about the rear sights. Collectors are always fussing about the rear sights on the M1 Garand. The rear sight assembly has five parts you need to worry about 1) aperture, 2) base, 3) cover, 4) windage knob and 5) elevation knob and pinion. For both the windage (A) and elevation knobs (B) which are the most important elements.
How do you know your rifle has the correct rear sight particularly when you realize that neither drawing number nor the serial number was marked on the individual parts. Basically, there are four combinations of these parts to make the rear sight and they are distinguished primarily, but not completely, by the way the windage knob was manufactured and secured. In the early rear sight, the windage knob could be removed by screwing out the windage knob flush nut. Soldiers complained that the knob often came loose and allowed changes in windage, or else fell off altogether and it or its spring or lost.
To remedy this, the Ordnance Department replaced the flush nut with a lock bar that could be tightened down and held in position by a spring. The problem with this arrangement was that if a soldier had to make a windage adjustment quickly, he often could not do without a tool to loosen the lock bar.
To solve this problem, the Ordnance Department ordered the locking bar to be replaced with the original flush nut but one that was held captive on the windage knob shaft so that it could not fall off. This solved the problem but this fix was not applied until World War II had ended.
The fourth type of rear sight, by the way, was that developed for the National Match M1 Garands. It has the captive flush nut but windage adjustments are made in increments of 1/2 minute of angle. To accomplish this, the thread on the shaft is double that on the normal M1 windage knob shaft.
M1 Garand Stocks
Perhaps the most commonly confused phase of restoring an M1 Garand has to do with the stock. There are fourteen variations of the M1 Garand stock that have to do with the style and length of the barrel channel, the shape of the pistol grip and the routing for the trigger guard assembly. And then there are the different stock markings which involve inspector's acceptance marks and proof marks. Until about September 1953, Ordnance Department inspectors stamped the left side of M1 Garand stocks with a cartouche that included their initials and the initials of the Springfield National Armory or the manufacturing company, if a contract item.
There were five Springfield inspectors and three Winchester inspectors during World War II (one Winchester inspector appears in two forms). After September 1953, a cartouche of the National Defense Eagle was substituted and so appears on all International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson M1 Garand stocks.
But complicating matters no end, refurbished rifles during and after World War II also had a cartouche applied to their stocks -- mostly refinished or newly manufactured -- that consisted of the inspector's initials and the initials of the facility in which the refurbishment was done. In most cases, they are very similar to those applied to original rifles.
The following table should help to end some of the confusion surrounding the stocks and illustrate how serial numbers and markings can work hand-in-hand to identify a particular rifle for restoration.
M1 Garand Books
 |
Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse List Price: Sale Price: $9.25 You save: $5.70 (38%)  |
DescriptionAmerica faces a full-scale socioeconomic collapse—the stock market plummets, hyperinflation cripples commerce and the mounting crisis passes the tipping point. Practically overnight, the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure fall, and wholesale rioting and looting grip every major city... |
 |
The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual for Military and Police Snipers List Price: Sale Price: $37.75 You save: $22.25 (37%) |
DescriptionFind out why professional snipers, sharpshooters and long range riflemen consider The Ultimate Sniper to be the bible of their craft When John Plaster's The Ultimate Sniper was released in 1993, it was hailed as an instant classic in the sniping community, influencing an entire generation of military and police marksmen around the world... |
 |
1911 The First 100 Years List Price: Sale Price: $14.99 You save: $15.00 (50%) |
DescriptionIn 1911, the history of firearms changed forever with the adoption of the greatest pistol ever designed, the Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 - known today simply as the 1911. Now, in one fascinating, illustrated volume, authority Patrick Sweeney celebrates the 100th anniversary of the greatest fighting handgun ever designed, John M... |
 |
The Mosin-Nagant Rifle, 5th Edition (For collectors only) List Price: Sale Price: $15.40 You save: $7.55 (33%) |
DescriptionAlthough the Mosin-Nagant rifle was in use for more than sixty years by half the world's military forces, no book in the English language has ever traced its development and identified all its models and variations as manufactured around the world, including in the United States... |
 |
Standard Catalog of Military Firearms: The Collector's Price and Reference Guide List Price: Sale Price: $16.49 You save: $16.50 (50%) |
DescriptionYour One-Volume Guide to Collectible Military Firearms! It's Standard Catalog of Military Firearms, 6th Edition! If you collect military firearms, your best insurance policy is to know what you're collecting and how much it's worth... |
 |
The Art Of The Rifle List Price: Sale Price: $12.38 You save: $9.62 (44%) |
Description"Riflecraft has been completely ignored since World War II", said Jeff Cooper, America's foremost rifle instructor. To remedy this situation, he took it upon himself to set down the fine art of the rifle before it was lost forever... |
 |
The Lieutenants: Brotherhood of War List Price: Sale Price: $0.01 You save: $7.98 (100%) |
DescriptionThey were the young ones, the bright ones, the ones with the dreams. From the Nazi-prowled wastes of North Africa to the bloody corridors of Europe, they answered the call gladly. It was their duty, their job, their life... |
 |
The Model 1911 and Model 1911A1 Military and Commercial Pistols List Price: Sale Price: $24.44 You save: $11.51 (32%) |
DescriptionThe Model 1911 and Model 1911A1 Military and Commercial Pistols, 2nd Edition, totals 560 pages. It includes 84 tables detailing parts and markings and 678 photos and drawings. Parts are described in chapters organized by subassembly receiver, slide and magazine... |
.
. Incoming Search:
Related posts: