Dad's old garand restoration and accurizing project

**Damian45acp** · 05-27-2012, 10:28 PM

Yea it does make the wood grain come to top and pop just right, ill 00000 steel wool it and give it some polish to take a little the shine off but not all i like a little gleam looks good at the range. should be a crowd drawerat the range i go to. lotta mil surp lovers there. They all know this rifle so im anxiuos to show up with it and see how it groups now that ive bedded barrel and action and changed a few parts. 70 plus yrs of grime in some parts of that rifle lotta rubbing lol. Couple more days of polishing and few more coats on wood ill have her done and pics up i been working on it 6 hours a day at least. thanx man good meeting ya.

**Damian45acp** · 05-28-2012, 11:16 AM

damn found the tiniest little bow to my op rod that cant be right? looks like the forearm will hold it in place but i dont like the tiny bow in middle anyone know if this is normal? im thinking that op rod needs to be perfectly straight to group like i want. never noticed it before , i think i can fix it or should i leave it alone or get a new one, hmmmmmmm , well anyone knows let me know lol. is it just from pressure from the new recoil spring or a bent rod. does the forearm hold it straight? Where is Orlando when i need him lol? help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May be thats why after first 3 cold bore shots groups spread out near 3 inches by round number 8, first three or four i can put damn near in same hole at the short range i have been using? 120 yards at fernwood forest public range. Got to get this right before i go to 500 meter range.

**Orlando** · 05-28-2012, 01:30 PM

Op Rod is supposed to be bent. Have you tried the tilt test? If it rubs hard it may be bent out of spec
Columbus Machine can put proper bends back and also rebuild tab and piston if needed
http://www.columbusmachine.com/oprod.htm

**Damian45acp** · 05-28-2012, 02:19 PM

Thanx man i think its good ill measure it but its always been like that so i think im good, just making sure , again my thanx. just never noticed it till i got this deep into it.

**Damian45acp** · 05-28-2012, 11:06 PM

almost there after adding new op rod spring and polishing, action is smooth as butter , gresed it like i saw on the other thread gave it the gun treant ment triple shot spray down inside . tommorow ill put last 3 coats on stock and polish all the small parts little touch up here and there should be done by end of week i hope to fire it again at fernwood next sat.002.jpg 003.jpg

**drine** · 05-29-2012, 09:08 AM

My op rod has a little bow in it also maybe 6 or 8 inches from the end. It has no wear marks and the gun runs slick. I've seldom had to pop the handle forward after loading the clip. According to the manual from CMP that came with it, the bend is supposed to be there. It doesn't look right to me either but I will leave it alone. I've been looking at mine all weekend and have come to the conclusion that M1 has to be my favorite milsurp. I like my FAL better for shooting and an FG42, etc.. would be nice but I'm talking realistically! The M1 is just pure class.

**97th Signalman** · 05-29-2012, 09:37 AM

I see that you have the Smith Enterpirse Muzzle brake. I put one of those in my Garand restoration. They really smooth out thealready comfortable recoil and they are easy to remove to return to "stock" for those moments when you want be a purist. That's a gun to be proud of as it relfects a rich historical heritage entiched by your skill and workmanship.

Here is mine:

**Damian45acp** · 05-29-2012, 12:20 PM

yes it works very well for speed shooting and a few twists you go back to factory gas nut lock. think for cmp matches you have to remove it. and on the op rod ive been shooting it that way for many yrs withouth out ever noticing it only when i tore rifle down to bare bones did i notice it so i did what i saw to test it seems fine to me im leaving it alone and it is a nm op rod., Ni ce rilfe im hopeing to get my wood similar to that color.and cold blue few of the receiver peices and action , i just do not like that flat black painted look on my rifles. we all have our thing i see too many done that way. im a i want something diff type of guy& not have the garand looks like everyone else's .But thats just the old school teachings of my dad. he would roll over in his grave to say kiss my azz son i put spray paint or blackening on his rifle lol come haunt me , does save a lot of rubbing i bet.i hope my wood looks that good. nice job. dude trust me i been rubbing and polishing over a week on this old rifle and it just gets to looking better and better but i took on a big project here this rifle had been unaltered except for the op rod and nat match aperture, boyds stock and comp for many mAny yrs. im rubbing off 70 + yrs of crap , just keeps getting prettier.

**Orlando** · 05-29-2012, 12:25 PM

If you decide you want to have it reparked to the correct finish I recommend Shuffs Parkerizing. I have had him do several for me and he does outstanding work. He will have the work completed and on its way back to you within 5 days of recieving your rifle
http://shuffsparkerizing.com/services/

**97th Signalman** · 05-29-2012, 12:44 PM

I agree that an old M1 should not be painted. I had mine parkerized by Jim Balogh of Blackriver Gunsmithing in Grafton, OH. He learned a new chemical process for blackening the stainless gas cyliner that closely matches the parkerizing on the rest of the gun. However, I do remember from my days in the Army when we trained with Garands, that the gas cylinders were always worn to a dusty silver patina regardless of how the rest of the rifle looked.

For a deep red stain use Chestnut Ridge Military Stock Stain. That's what I use. I can be purchased here:

http://www.chestnutridge.com/images/inv/MAWAL1.asp