Anyone Build a Sten?

[weasel_master]

Has anyone here ever built a reliable sten? I've been thinking of one for a while but I know the old style semi version had trouble with reliability. For those that have built them, how tough is it?

[turbothis]

omg! computer ate my write up. piece of shit!


short story= mine needs work.................

[Shovelheadfxwg]

If you have a milling machine and blue prints you can make one very reliable. If you buy a tube with a inkjet template glued to it, and try to use a die grinder or dremel tool to cut it out, probably not. I tried the injet template route first, with no sucess, I couldn't get the tolerances close enough. The second one I did I had some blueprints for a reduced diameter bolt and receiver, Cut the tubing with the milling machine, turned the bolt down with the lathe, also had to do some milling of the bolt. Welded the Auto/Semi selector in the Semi position. put the sear in a slot in the tube, and also welded two little strips of key stock to the sides of the trigger housing so there was no possibilty of full auto fire. I have since demilled the Sten again, kept the original parts that I modified, and destroyed the receiver tube. I would really recommend you to stay away from the Sten kit, due to compliance issues.(Although mine performed flawlessly) Some things to consider are that there are no U.S. made compliance parts, that I'm aware of. Which unless you make almost everything yourself, you wont be in compliance with 922r. I assume the Sten falls under the unimportable weapon rule, or the receiver probably wouldn't have been destroyed. I thought, that I had thought of everything to cover myself, and may have been in compliance, but never felt really comfy about it. I always had a little doubt in the back of my mind, and I certainly didn't want to do prison time over a kit gun. What made me cut it up, after trying to convince my brother that I was in compliance, was that he pointed out that the number of compliant parts was questionable, and that I may have had a short barreled rifle in my possession.(Depends on what the ATF rules) I replaced the T-stock with a factory Sten pistol grip (which I paid way more for it, than it was really worth), so that it was technically a pistol then. But again, never felt comfortable enough to take it out to the range in front of people. I figured if my brother questioned the legalities of it, and he's on my side, how might the ATF question it. I didn't want to find out, because if they ruled it illegal it might be too late for me.
I'm not saying it can't be built legally. But if you decide that you want to go through with it, do your homework and make sure that you are legal. I can tell you that building it, getting it working, doing the finish on it, and shooting it never felt quite as good as the day I cut it up, and knew that I wasn't in possession of an illegal weapon. For me I just didn't like the not knowing, and I sleep alot better now that it is gone.
I'm sure some of the other builders on this forum may know what it would take to make it legal.
Anyone?

[Shovelheadfxwg]

In short, alot of time, money and effort, that I could have spent on an AK, HK, AR, FAL or Cetme and been alot happier.

[M1Marksman]

I picked up a Sten kit a couple years ago with the intention of making a semi-auto out of it. After looking at the possibilities; a $270 conversion kit that may or may not work & not having the time or money anyway, it's still sitting in the safe. Also, the barrel length needs to be 16" to be legal. Just doesn't look right. Semiautosten.com was out of stock last time I checked.

When something reliable shows up, I'll consider it.

[Big Steve]

M1 Tanker built one! He may have Pic's
Steve

[M1 Tanker]

I wouldn't waste your time.

[turbothis]

i thought it would be pretty neat to have one but the barrel extension kills it bad. i think i might chop it up and make a pistol build out of it.

[cruffler78]

I built one but reliable is not a word I would use to describe it.
I bought a kit kit that was supposed to be from semiautosten.com but I am not impressed with the firing mechanism at all the new bolt was well made but all in all it wasnt worth my time.

[weasel_master]

I'll toss that idea out.

[IMBLITZVT]

What a bunch of glowing reviews...

[tanstaafl4y]

I handled one at work 18 months (or so) ago that was build from a 80% reciever and parts kit (iirc, I saw the casefile but don't remember the specifics). The person than converted it to full auto (which is how it ended up in my place of work).

Hollow points would not feed, FMJ ran through it like a champ. It looked like the guy knew what he was doing as far as the welding went.

There are web forums that go into depth about how to legally and properly build a Sten. It didn't look too terribly difficult,,, if you are a skilled welder.

[Perro]

i have an SAS3. it fires ok, but needs work - supposedly they have the semi sten ironed out with the change of a few springs. i never shoot this gun, so if you want to attempt it, pm me, ill tear mine apart and part the important parts out for you - the only things i wont be able to give you are the tube (cause i made it a firearm - available at prexis), and the barrel trunnions which are welded to the tube (available at sas3 website cheap) i have everything else and will give you a good deal on it if you want it. i also have several sten parts kits - everything you need except a tube, and the trunnions. mine also uses a cut down 16 inch mini/micro uzi barrel so no dealing with welding on a pipe for a barrel extension - i have a brand new mini/micro uzi barrel in 19" that could be included with it if you didnt want to mess with welding a barrel extension.

you will need to speak with the guy who worked the bugs out of this thing. he had a sten yahoo group at one time, and i think he is now on weaponeer.net
part of me wants to say he goes by the moniker musibike, but i cant remember for sure. he says a few new springs are all thats needed.

PM me if you are even remotely interested


Mike

[Shovelheadfxwg]

you will need to speak with the guy who worked the bugs out of this thing. he had a sten yahoo group at one time, and i think he is now on weaponeer.net
part of me wants to say he goes by the moniker musibike, but i cant remember for sure. he says a few new springs are all thats needed.


I had to experiment with different spring rates to get mine to function properly. I assume this had to do with the loss of mass, due to the reduced diameter bolt. Finding the correct, or at least close to correct length spring, with the correct diameter, in varying spring rates was the biggest challenge to getting it to function properly. Fortunately there is a company near where I work that had the springs I needed in stock and they are gun enthusiast and were willing to help me, and let me try different springs. They are a textile mill supply company and according to them, the springs fit some type of weaving or looming machine.

[Shovelheadfxwg]

May she rest in peace! Or should I say "pieces"?
Too bad I had to chop it up.

[turbothis]

why did it get the axe?

[weasel_master]

Did you get a tax stamp or was it an illegal SBR?

[Perro]

my sten kit is sold to weasel master
for all those who PMd me reguarding it, thank you for your interest, but it has been sold to weasel master

thanks

Mike

[okie shooter]

Its kinda of hard to want to put work into a gun that was designed to be made with limited machine tools, most of the parts can be made in a home shop, but the orginal design was so simple, no hammer just a open bolt gun that picked up the round and fired upon closeing the bolt. You are asking alot to do a conversion that I imagine the orginal gun cost the British services a couple of pounds stirling to make.

[tanstaafl4y]

I imagine the orginal gun cost the British services a couple of pounds stirling to make.


From the department of made up statistics: the Sten cost the equivilent of $5 (1940's) US Dollars to make

[okie shooter]

So even less than the american sten, the m-3 grease gun. They are so cheap to make the british would drop the machined parts to the partisans and they would complete them in places like bycycle shops and the such underground. But heck my M-1 carbine was made by a juke box maker too. :)

[weasel_master]

Now I just got to figure out where I'm going to hide the kit from the girlfriend.

[okie shooter]

Now I just got to figure out where I'm going to hide the kit from the girlfriend.

As I recall a sten kit aint much bigger than a boot box, get a old boot box and put the parts in that, then on the shelf maybe. A big high top boot box though. My girlfriend finally found two ak kits, a bunch of g-3 stocks and parts and one saiga rifle in the living room in the corrner, when she decided to clean it up again last weekend. I am amazed what you can hide in plain sight.

[turbothis]

haha, my wife will ask so fequently if "that" is a new gun that she runs over rifles i have had since the beginning. she is very suspicious of any rifle i hold for more than a minute it must be a new one. god i love her.lol

[Shovelheadfxwg]

Did you get a tax stamp or was it an illegal SBR?

No, I didn't have a tax stamp.
I replaced the T-stock with a pistol grip.
Pistols don't have the same guidelines to follow as rifles.
It still got chopped, because everyone I asked had a different opinion of whether it was legal, or not.

[weasel_master]

I finally figured out how to hide stuff. I just pile it against the wall in my room behind the beltfeds and she doesn't notice the stuff in the clutter.

[Perro]

Ryan
package shipped

fedex tracking number sent to pm

feedback left

thank you for a great transaction, and thanks for giving me a week to demil my old semi auto into kit form for you.

hope you enjoy it, and as always, any questions, please just ask

one thing i forgot about before. I would probably get the sten tube from jestis = prexis.com/sten
he has tubes compatible with the uzi barrels. I included both the SAS3 instructions, and the instructions that prexis sent when i bought my tube off of him.
you will see a couple sets of rivet holes on the trunnions. I started out with the tube from SAS3 and cut too much off of an important part on accident, so i destroyed that tube, and ordered the prexis tube for use with the uzi barrel.

youll probably be able to use all my demilled parts from the kit, and youll have another sten parts kit on top of that. I hooked you up with a parts kit that has the more desireable milled sear (instead of the stamped). My demilled lower i used is also a milled sear

anyways, if you have any questions, please feel free to pm me, and thanks again


Mike

[weasel_master]

Thanks Mike for helping me out yet again. I look forward to working on this project.

[cwo4uscgret]

and because of the snow and cabin fever...

Weasel I just bought a Sten Mk III kit; now I need to think about the tube and other parts. Keep us all posted on how the build goes...

[weasel_master]

Will do. I messed my first tube up pretty good. It might be able to be salvaged but I'm just starting new.

[cwo4uscgret]

WeaselMaster - I received my Sten Mk III kit from E-Gunparts today. It was $149.95. I also ordered the semi-auto parts kit from Prexis. The darn thing looks like it is brand new; F21xxx serial number on the magazine housing.

http://iwantthatknife.com/Gallery/albums/EBR/Sten_Mk_III.jpg

[weasel_master]

Looks good. From the looks of it, the tabs are intact on your lower which makes things a lot simpler.

[StenMk3_4me]

cwo4uscgret the serial number reads only as F21xxx (meaning no other letter between the "F" and the "21xxx" ?

I have a friend in France who is very well documented on the fabrication dates from the serial numbers. So, I'd like to check if I can find a message on his forum that would give me an idea of when your particular Mk3 was built.

Mine came with the serial FQ and another that I already had has the serial H.


Fabrication ROF (6) FAZAKERLEY (Royal Ordnance Factory n°6) end of 1rst trimestre 1945 (March or April). This firearm was part of the lot containing serial numbers FQ10000 to FQ99999; in production it was the 1 750 000th (more or less) STEN MKII fabricated by this factory. Of course it dis not see D-Day, but it might have been used in Orient...



-My Sten has the number ma sten MK2 est marquée FK180**

- serie FK10000 to FK99000,
- assembled between April and May 1944,
- approximately the 1 172 000th STEN assembled at Fazakerley...

Nice piece, dropped in time for the liberation !



Mine is an MKII serial FH 42 6**

another one built at Fazakerley but in December 1943 (for X-mas). It is more or less the 942 550th STEN MKII made by this plant.

It is poart of the lot containing serial numbers FH10000 through FH99999.

The stock should be of the simplified model (like a rifle stock) front sight made by welding two steel parts together and the welds on the mag housing must not be "rough". Usually the ciocking knob is of the simplified model with 3 grooves.


...I saw another one ( 37 8**) but impossible to find the letters behind though the numbers are clearly punched ans the STEN MKII is a sheer beauty .

is it possible there were no letter

thanks again 0++ stanis




Aldo27 wrote:
All of the STEN MKII have a prefix letter indicating the manufacturer (or should I say the assembly plant).

So, F stands for Fazakerley (ROF 6), T for Theale (ROF 4), B for BSA and E for Enfield. Long Branch Arsenal (Canada) used a number with the letter L immediately behind it.

The first STENs are not always "legible", the markings not always being punched frappés but scripted with an electric pen. Such is often the case for the weapons assembled at Enfield which appear "virgin" of any serial number at first.

We're left to examine the rest of the parts (notably the fabrication of the tube) to try and find its origin...






My own STEN MKIII (part kit) H728xx :

STEN. M.C. MkIII with SA in a square with ronded corners, under it.

On the lower part is:

S.68

H728**


What does "M.C." mean before Mk III?

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc114/pervscan/Mk3PartskitMagazineWell001.jpg

fabrication Lines Brothers Ltd (like all the STENs MKIII) code S.68. Realised in August 1943 just before they stopped completely the fabrication of the STENs MKIII. It was the 850 300th STEN MKIII built.

The letters M.C. mean Machine Carbine and the letters SA in a square indicate that this firearm belonged to the Finnish Army (Suomi Army).



Just thought some other Sten owners might be interested by this.

[cwo4uscgret]

Sten:

I double checked; the S/N is F20184; mine is also coded S.68 and is marked as shown, SA in the box...

Thanks Canada...

[StenMk3_4me]

U're welcome my friend! :America:

:rockon: