Bakelite stock for Mg42.. Good / Bad ?

[Michael Downey]

3 Butt end plate.

[robinhood]

The extra pictures proveded.
Thanks for looking
As pictures show there is no serial number but also no ehe marks and no WaA ones.?

[robinhood]

1

[robinhood]

2

[sean weber]

Mg 42 butt

This Butt is of Wartime manufacture, the use of bakelite alone should confirm it as well as the obvious wartime features (other than the modern locking nut) the practice of using Bakelite was discontinued for both Mg34 and 42 due to proven unreliability (using a world war for trials) and hard wood used as an alternative , this is well documented in all the expert litrature. For the Bundeswehr or any post war army to use Bakelite when post war modern thermo plastics were in abundance is wrong , and stupid . Bakelites unsuitability was highlighted and its use was changed by written order. If this butt looked like plastic there may be a slight doubt but its a one looker for me and the Reichs standardisation mark for Erszats material clinches it.
The picture with the post war numbered metal work and similar butt look like a piece made up from wartime and post war parts , a pretty common thing if you've handled enough of this stuff.

Sean W

[Grossfuss]

Bakelite stock.

Hi,
Footnote for Fritz84 - the heelplate is 74 and if you zoom in on the interior of the stock that is 76 so Rob has both the makers you mention.
Regards,
Grossfuss

[robinhood]

This Butt is of Wartime manufacture, the use of bakelite alone should confirm it as well as the obvious wartime features (other than the modern locking nut) the practice of using Bakelite was discontinued for both Mg34 and 42 due to proven unreliability (using a world war for trials) and hard wood used as an alternative , this is well documented in all the expert litrature. For the Bundeswehr or any post war army to use Bakelite when post war modern thermo plastics were in abundance is wrong , and stupid . Bakelites unsuitability was highlighted and its use was changed by written order. If this butt looked like plastic there may be a slight doubt but its a one looker for me and the Reichs standardisation mark for Erszats material clinches it.
The picture with the post war numbered metal work and similar butt look like a piece made up from wartime and post war parts , a pretty common thing if you've handled enough of this stuff.

Sean W

Hello mate
Thanks for clearing this up . I have sent you emails in past but i never heard back. Glad you good mate
Regards Rob.

[fab]

post war buttstock....

1- is a WWII one
2- is a MG1 (post war one


Fab.

[Michael Downey]

This Butt is of Wartime manufacture, the use of bakelite alone should confirm it as well as the obvious wartime features (other than the modern locking nut) the practice of using Bakelite was discontinued for both Mg34 and 42 due to proven unreliability (using a world war for trials) and hard wood used as an alternative , this is well documented in all the expert litrature. For the Bundeswehr or any post war army to use Bakelite when post war modern thermo plastics were in abundance is wrong , and stupid . Bakelites unsuitability was highlighted and its use was changed by written order. If this butt looked like plastic there may be a slight doubt but its a one looker for me and the Reichs standardisation mark for Erszats material clinches it.
The picture with the post war numbered metal work and similar butt look like a piece made up from wartime and post war parts , a pretty common thing if you've handled enough of this stuff.

Sean W

My MG3 butt is seems to be made of bakelite and it appears to be reinforced with fabric fibres.

It is difficult to see how the butt could be manufactured partly with WWII parts and and partly with post-war parts. This is because the metal female interrupted thread which is marked with a NATO stock number was moulded together with the bakelite at the time of manufacture. In other words the post-war interrupted thread must have been manufactured before the butt was moulded with bakelite.

The only markings on the bakelite of my MG3 butt are: moulding stamp (similar but not the same as the only other stamp I have seen used on a MG42 bakelite butt) and the number 1958.

[luger 41]

Mg42 buttstock

I agree with Fab it is postwar, they continued to make Bakelite stocks well
into the 1960s this is one of these, original WW2 are scarce, if it was original
it would have a WaA.

[Michael Downey]

Close-up of markings on butt cap. As far as I can tell there were no markings on the bakelite of the butt itself.

The 1958 suggests a date rather than a serial number, but at present I have no way of knowing for sure.

[robinhood]

Looks like i will be searching for a nice wooden replacement..
Rob.

[fab]

some pics from good WWII butts



a "eqt" one:





a "ehe" one






both are WaA11 stamped

Rgds

Fab.

[Grossfuss]

Bakelite stock.

Thanks for some very valuable close-up photos fab.
You've obviously got far too many stocks than is healthy, you'd better start sharing some out!
Joking apart, you showed some pretty amazing wood butts the last time Rob raised this when he'd been sold an MG53 stock in error. I was jealous enough then!
Best regards,
Grossfuss

[robinhood]

some pics from good WWII butts



a "eqt" one:





a "ehe" one






both are WaA11 stamped

Rgds

Fab.

Hi Fab
Some beautys there, Can i have one.