On my M1 the gas cylinder seems to be a little loose.. its not very loose but a little, and I can tell it will get more loose from firing it. I've read countless forums and topics explaining what to do..but Iam completely lost. Iam new to the M1 Garand rifle, i know how to field strip it but when it comes to tightening the cylinder iam lost.. could anyone explain it easier or with pictures? I have yet to see any pics on what to do.
-thanks for any responses.
Don't recall where I got the pictures, so I can't give credit where it's due. See below. Jerry Kuhnhausen recommends using a 1/8" flat-faced punch & an 8 oz hammer, overlapping the strikes. Be sure & place the barrel on a piece of soft wood while peening. The key is to peen GENTLY. You should have to look carefully to see the marks. It's better to do it 2 or 3 times to get the result you want than to over-stress the metal. Some may recommend the quick fix of laying a 1/4" socket over the grooves and smacking it with a hammer. I guess that works, but why peen the entire length of the groove when it isn't necessary? When you gently drive the gas cylinder back on with a wood block (On the bayonet lug), make sure you center the gas port in the cylinder window. The gas cylinder lock should make final contact with the face of the cylinder when it's in the 6 0'clock position. I usually get to about 5:30 or closer and do the final tightening using a gas cylinder lock wrench. If you don't have one of those, a padded crescent wrench will do.
HTH
Dave
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Ive peened mine too. I use two ball peen hammers.
Lay your barrel flat and well supported.
Hold on ball end of peen on grove. Gently tap hammer head to hammer head. Single blow. Check your work.
You don't need much force to expand that metal.
Taking the gas cylinder off next time. You may have to use a non-marring material like brass to hold against the sight base to knock it off. Again single blows to take it off.
A tight gas cylinder will keep front sights from shifting between shots. Next is make sure your rear sight is tight. If not purchase a new sight clip.
Thank you for all of the info and responses, but I didnt even peen or touch anything, when i field stripped it i noticed the front screw under the barrely (where the bayonet goes into) was loose, i tightened it and nothing was loose anymore... i guess it was just a loose screw.
Question: Is there any concern about the clearance of barrel diameter and the inside diameter of the gas block? Does gas leak around barrel, in that area, and should that area be cleaned more often? Thanks,
If you mean cleaning around the gas port, some carbon will get between the cylinder and the barrel, but if you're not shooting huge amounts of ammo, or shooting corrosive ammo, an annual detail strip and cleaning should be sufficient. Frequent removal & re-installing the gas cylinder wiil result in a loose-fitting cylinder, which will widen the shot groups and require peening the barrel grooves to tighten both.
HTH
Dave
__________________
Show me where Josef Stalin is buried & I'll show you a communist plot.
Thank you for all of the info and responses, but I didnt even peen or touch anything, when i field stripped it i noticed the front screw under the barrely (where the bayonet goes into) was loose, i tightened it and nothing was loose anymore... i guess it was just a loose screw.
Ah yes, the stacking swivel.
Now you know, if you need to make the gas cylinder tight.
I'm getting more and more interested in this peening procedure, I think my M1 could really benefit from it if I do it right as there is quite a bit of play up front there.
Do you guys know of any site that gives a good, detailed description of the whole process? I found gunnerdave's pics and explanation very helpful, I'm just the type to measure twice and cut once. I want to do as much studying as I can before I actually give it a shot.
I also found a lot of good info on the CMP forums regarding peening the splines. I think I'll pick up a couple of good Garand books before I start doing any work on it, but it would be nice to tighten that front sight up.
Peening splines is pretty simple. It makes it easier if someone holds the rifle while you peen them Place the barrel on a soft piece of wood when doing this.I prefer using a socket as this peens tightens up the whole spline the way it was originally instead of just using a punch and tightening up a few areas. I lay the socket approx 1/8 inch from the front that way if splines are peened tight it makes it easier to get the gas cylinder started. Either method will work, just which ever way you prefer. I think my way has less room for error. I use a socket for all the splines. The picture shoes it differently but I just posted it so you would get a idea what we are talking about
I peened all three splines on my Garand. I used a 1/4 inch socket and peened the rear 1/3 of each spline. with the socket on its side, I used a ball peen to tap each spline ever so slightly, fitting the gas cylinder each time until I was happy with the results.
I was very skeptical about doing the job, but Orlando walked me through it. Just make sure you peen the rear 1/3 of the splines. You want the cylinder to slide on the first 2/3 then have to tap the cylinder on the last 1/3. Oh yea, make sure the gas hole on the barrel is lined up with the gas port in the cylinder. Piece of cake!
I just did my SG HRA according to Orlando's method with the socket. Everything seems good with it, all of the play in the gas cylinder/front sight is gone. I can't wait to shoot her now and see if I can tell any difference. I also pulled the stacking swivel off for now, but if I shoot any JCG matches I guess I'll have to put that back on.
Don't recall where I got the pictures, so I can't give credit where it's due. See below. Jerry Kuhnhausen recommends using a 1/8" flat-faced punch & an 8 oz hammer, overlapping the strikes. Be sure & place the barrel on a piece of soft wood while peening. The key is to peen GENTLY. You should have to look carefully to see the marks. It's better to do it 2 or 3 times to get the result you want than to over-stress the metal. Some may recommend the quick fix of laying a 1/4" socket over the grooves and smacking it with a hammer. I guess that works, but why peen the entire length of the groove when it isn't necessary? When you gently drive the gas cylinder back on with a wood block (On the bayonet lug), make sure you center the gas port in the cylinder window. The gas cylinder lock should make final contact with the face of the cylinder when it's in the 6 0'clock position. I usually get to about 5:30 or closer and do the final tightening using a gas cylinder lock wrench. If you don't have one of those, a padded crescent wrench will do.
HTH
Dave
Very good job with your photo's sir. I like this method because I can use less force. The method Orlando shows is probably the more commonly used. Great job both of you with the illustrations.
