mg34 problems

[simon_belfast]

Hi all

I have developed a problem with my deactivated mg34(It is a british deact, new spec, blocked barrel welded in place and wont split however working parts fully moveable and strippable). After a display i discover the bolt was jammed and i have managed to pull on the cocking handle too hard so it now travels freely on its slide and won't re-engage with the bolt. the problem is the bolt is still jammed (i think the sears are about 50% engaged in the breech). has anyone come across this prblem before or have any ideas how to remove it.


regards


simon

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Simon, welcome to the forum.

You need to strip the gun down. Here is how:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_QzsJ1EjTs

But I realise you may have a big problem if this is a new spec gun, as many have the butt tack welded in place.

Cheers, Ade.

[ChrisCook]

mg34

Two ideas, if you can disassemble it do it.....take everything apart. Open up the top cover, get a block of wood and set it against that little notch on the back of the bolt, give it a good whack with a hammer (the block of wood), hopefully that will disengage it. A little WD40 will help as well to loosen things... Chris....

[Tim G]

Re 34

Two man job this, remove the top cover as stated above so that you can access the little notches on the top of the bolt.

Lie the gun on its L/H side with the muzzle to the right.

Look underneath the breech area and you will see a long lever munted flush to the base ( it has a triangular shaped lug towards the triger gaurd)

Press hard on the opposite end to the triangular lug and the lug end will lift, in this position tell your mate to tap the bolt to the rear using a brass drift,
( never use steel on steel ) The bolt should now unlock.

This is best done with the return spring removed, this is also why the stripping drill always states that the cocking handle must be fitted prior to the bolt.

In reality when the bolt locks and the round is fired the shape and angle of the threads to the bolt head are such that the bolt will unlock too soon, the lever
with the lug is thier so that the roller engages with it and the lug provides the critical delay that allows the bolt to remain locked while the round travels the length of the barrel. When the gases reach the recoil booster they expand in the chamber and act on the muzzle forcing the barrel into recoil, this then unlocks this lug allowing the bolt to unlock which it wants to do anyway due to the shape etc. The force of this recoil is enough to extract the empty case and throw the bolt to the rear. The barrel is now free to return forward, this is done by the barrel return spring and plunger. This can be seen when you open the gun and rotate the rear end over to the right ( its about 5-6 mil diameter on the underside of the breech )

The reason this happens is because the barrels are being welded SOLIDLY,
the barrells sould be secured by a welded pin with the pin running in a slot to allow about 3/4 inch travel. This would solve the problem immediately and make no difference to the deactivation. You also find some bloody sloppy deacting with weld splatterd every where , these were precision instruments that required cleaning every day in the field never mind having to cope with welded blobs every where.

Hope this helps , remember patience wins the day ! Be gentle with her .
Regards
Tim
PS I have never seen or heard of a 34 having its butt welded on, if they are appearing out thier do not buy them as someone is adding things to the spec for what reason i dont know. I for one will not touch one as it is not required.

Have fun guys

[simon_belfast]

Thanks

Guys, thanks very much for your helpful advice, i will be attempting to fix her this weekend and will let you know how things go. Once again many thanks for taking the time and effort to help out


Regards


Simon

[bil]

Slightly off-topic-it is interesting to see how the British de-mils are done as opposed to American,and the diferent ways of fixing problems.This is an excellant site to learn something new.Let us know how things work out. ---bil

[Tim G]

Slightly off-topic-it is interesting to see how the British de-mils are done as opposed to American,and the diferent ways of fixing problems.This is an excellant site to learn something new.Let us know how things work out. ---bil

Hi Bil,

The deacts or demil's round about 1988 were actually completely stripable,
barrels were still slotted etc but very nicely done, very few of these were actually released like this and an interim deact came out wherby the difference was that the barrel was slotted and pinned in place . The pin however allowed the barrel to have a small amount of recoil which actually prevented the situation that simon has. The last type is where the barrel is actually fixed in place. If it is done clean you can actually unlock the bolt over the stud mentioned in my earlier post, if thier is a lot of splatter or muck in thier its a different story. Even without the splatter it can still be a hell of a heave to unlock the bolt. I am not convinced that it does the small stud on the cocking lever much good in the long run as the size of it is very small anyway and not much actually engages with the bolt .
I had exactley the same happen to me at a militaria fair and the description i gave is how i baled myself out with a dealer who was a little irate at haveing a 34 jammed and on display.
Always fun working out how they work Just hope Simon manages to sort it .

Regards
Tim

[bil]

Thanks for the de-mill info-the guns look better with your type of de-mill,but ours can be re-built into semi-auto with much work.Not sure which I prefer,perhaps one of each!! ---bil