Receiver Opinions Please

Messed with the Dumoulin a bit tonight, while taking a break from the 444 stock (getting really tired of that iron-hard wood - trying not to let it make me rush and impact quality).

So, I discovered that sear reset is all over the place with this trigger. There's almost 1/8" difference between the rear-most and forward-most positions in which the striker gets stopped.
I messed with it enough to decide that it's not the safety or striker, but something in the trigger group.

I don't trust the trigger group, and think it's pretty cheap and cheesy, anyway. Add the fact that it's all riveted together, and the problems others have had, and I just don't want to screw with it.
So, a replacement is in order.
It may be an aftermarket adjustable trigger.
Or, I may see if I still have a Yugo 24/47 trigger lying around. If the geometry works, I can stone that one to break pretty nicely. I will need to come up with a spring, though. I used that trigger spring for an auto-ejection plunger in a home-brew plug cutter (for .44 cal shot cards).
If needed, I know that I do still have the 24/47's sear, as well.
 
They may be made in China, but they are still one of the best deals out there in a Mauser 98 action. The 3-position safety alone is worth $150, and the drop floorplate magazine is worth $100, so you have a very reasonably priced M98 that comes with the bells and whistles. I trued mine using the PTG jigs, and it got polished and blued when I was done building the rifle, so the issues with quality of the finish were moot points.
 
I'm not concerned about a receiver made in China. The Chinese M1A receivers are considered quite good (although the bolts have a reputation for being soft), as are the Norinco made 1911s known for excellent adherence to JMBs design.

That might be a bit hypocritical of me considering I just chose not to buy a Buck Selkirk knife because it is made in China. But I guess all the Mauser's I've ever purchased have all been imports from somewhere else, and I'm just not ready to buy a Buck knife not made in America just yet.

But when you can buy over 3 to 5 of these actions for the same cost as a comparable American made action it's hard to drop the money on a Mausingfield or Montana 99.

Jimro
 
I meant to reply after seeing Clark's post last night, be somehow got distracted.

I do believe they could easily be Chinese made.

My thoughts:
It seems solid.
The people that have worked with them find them to be of decent or great quality.
Most of the people that have gotten "bad" examples are still happy with the purchase.
It's still a virgin Mauser action.


I'm just going to pretend there's no Chinese connection (none has really been proven, anyway), and keep doing what I'm doing.
 
This will probably seem pretty ironic, after my previous post, but here it is nonetheless...


I discovered this quite some time ago, but kept forgetting to get a picture to see what you fellows might suggest.

My receiver screw holes were tapped crooked.
The tang screw hole is skewed to the right of the receiver.
The front screw hole is skewed to the left of the receiver.


I considered the possibility that these might be 60-degree pattern screws that were getting bound up and cockeyed in the Whitworth threads, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
I've tried the Brownell's inletting screws, the factory screws, and some other miscellaneous Mauser screws that I have around. All have end up the same. I couldn't find any solid rod of appropriate size to see what angle is on the minor diameter of the threads (to see if the hole was drilled wrong, or if it was just tapped wrong).

Here's a blown up portion of a photo from a distance, to try to get everything in focus; followed by a close-up.
(Small square used as a point of reference. The level was mostly for setup and checking some other flats.)

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Thoughts?
Suggestions?
Advice?

I could live with the tang screw's deviation (it's minor), as long as the front screw matched (more significant). But, right now, they're pointing opposite directions and I need to get this action inletted into a pretty rough blank.
 

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Get a tap, set it up in a mill and chase the threads. They will likely never be truly straight, but you can get closer than you are.
 
The 1/4-28 die from Brownells is adjustable.
If the rear screw is cut down a little, it can go in straighter. *
The rear pillar for me would be a 3/8" O.D. tube 0.304" I.D., cut to 1.258"
The male screw / female threads need to be worked until the tube clamps square on the screw head and the receiver. The rear screw relationship with the front screw does not matter. What the rear screw clamps [that tube] parallel relationship to the plane that the front screw clamps [for me that is the bottom of the recoil lug, but for everyone else it will be the flat bottom of the receiver behind the recoil lug] to is what matters.

*yes, attack the cheap part first, but if you have to, put valve grind compound on the threads and work the screw until the screw head and the other end of the tube sit square.


Whoops, 1/4-22
 

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More than 4 years later, I still haven't finished this project.

It is, however, now on the work bench, as something to work on while I pass the wait times for another 'full-custom' project (bedding curing, finish curing, trying to work my way out of another 'one-off' part corner, etc.).

The Dumoulin project has changed a bit in the last 4 years, though.
Now: .35 Whelen (GM barrel, IIRC), scoped rather than express sights (appropriately finished Leupold Vari-X II recently acquired), and the "Maple" stock turned out to be Walnut. How I missed that, I'm not sure. But the now-bankrupt seller took me - or was an absolute idiot - and I didn't even notice until now. (As mentioned in a recent thread.)

The stock is just half a step above garbage, as far as rough inletting, but I'm trying to salvage it. Gaps. Tear-out. Chipping. Crooked everything. The outside shape is too narrow for the Dumoulin receiver ring. And more.
I know I should give up and order another. But I want to see if I can make it work, and I need the practice. (With only two 'quick-and-dirty' exceptions, I've only done basic repairs and bedding, and lever gun stock inletting, over the last 10 years. I do need the practice.)
Trial by fire seems to teach me more than the easy jobs, anyway.

And I did ship the receiver off (4 years ago?) to have the screw threads cut square.

The only thing still missing from making it a complete parts set, is a butt/recoil pad. I should probably order another trigger, though. I still have the crappy Sarco unit.

I'm well over 35 hours into inletting. I hope to be done by the end of next week. A professional would certainly be done inletting by now, but I am not a professional. And, as mentioned, I really need some practice and this stock has some issues that I have to approach slowly and methodically.

After that, it's inletting Dakota sling swivels, grip cap and tip cap installation, stock shaping, clean-up on the receiver, fitting and tuning, bedding, and, finally, stock finishing. (Metal finishing will happen later.)

I'd like to have the stock checkered and metal engraved, but that probably won't ever happen.

I can't believe I've had this thing for 5 years.
When I kicked off this project, two of my kids hadn't been born yet... :rolleyes:
 
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