You might get some of the stock dings out with an iron. I use a clothes steamer on my surplus stocks and metal to loosen up the cosmoline. Check out the CMP forums and search for stock restoration, lots of good info there. Some even put their stocks in the dish washer to pull the cosmo. out and raise the wood.
M1 Carbine quandry...
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Dan Crocker
Member
+1 on taking it apart and putting it in the dishwasher. It's great for getting the grease off! Then you can sand the stock and refinish it, oil the metal parts and put it back together. Viola!
ArfinGreebly
Moderator Emeritus
Under $600?
Getting an actual GI M1 Carbine for under $600 -- even if it needs a little work -- is a good deal.
I paid $600 for mine (Rockola) three years or so ago, and I got lucky. Had no idea how to shop for them, no idea what was good, what was bad.
I lucked into a "bright bore" rifle that had evidently only been shot by a little old lady at church socials on Sundays.
Three years ago, $600 was a "fair price" for a Carbine in good shape. Today, that same Carbine is at least $800. Or $1,000 if you buy it retail at Big-5 (west of the Mississippi, I believe).
You done good.
Getting an actual GI M1 Carbine for under $600 -- even if it needs a little work -- is a good deal.
I paid $600 for mine (Rockola) three years or so ago, and I got lucky. Had no idea how to shop for them, no idea what was good, what was bad.
I lucked into a "bright bore" rifle that had evidently only been shot by a little old lady at church socials on Sundays.
Three years ago, $600 was a "fair price" for a Carbine in good shape. Today, that same Carbine is at least $800. Or $1,000 if you buy it retail at Big-5 (west of the Mississippi, I believe).
You done good.
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jcwit
member
Take it to the local $1.50 diy car wash. The soap and hot water will cut the grease, it'll also help to take the dings out of the stock. If the stock is real oilly spray it with Easy-Off oven cleaner first.
The above will also keep the wife much happier than using the dish washer.
The above will also keep the wife much happier than using the dish washer.
Dan Crocker
Member
It's never left residue when I've done it. And if you wait til she goes shoe shopping, you've got allllll day.
bubba15301
Member
they were imported in the early 90's bought 1 for $200.00 inland mfg. friend bought a winchester mfg . m1 carbine same price.
amd6547
Member
There are better ways to reat a grease soaked stock with dings.
Sanding may remove stamps and markings that reveal the history of the stock. If you must make your carbine look "pretty", there are plenty of other options, like just getting a like new GI stock.
My own CMP carbine came with an M1 RockOla stock that was fairly dry, and had a few dings. I look at the dings and try to picture how they happened...A GI taking cover on rocky ground, the scrapes on the bottom of the forend, maybe by resting it on a rock or blown out window...
I love to see the ordnance stamp on the buttstock, and the rebuild stamp on the side...so much history in a piece of wood...All I did was clean it with furniture cleaner, rub it down with BLO, and put some wax on it...Now it looks great.
My service grade Inland also had just about 100% GI green park on the metal, and the stock has the early I-cut oiler slot, which is what led me to look it over more closely when I picked it out at North Store.
It shoots so well, and is so handy, that right after my first range trip, it became my HD long arm.
Sanding may remove stamps and markings that reveal the history of the stock. If you must make your carbine look "pretty", there are plenty of other options, like just getting a like new GI stock.
My own CMP carbine came with an M1 RockOla stock that was fairly dry, and had a few dings. I look at the dings and try to picture how they happened...A GI taking cover on rocky ground, the scrapes on the bottom of the forend, maybe by resting it on a rock or blown out window...
I love to see the ordnance stamp on the buttstock, and the rebuild stamp on the side...so much history in a piece of wood...All I did was clean it with furniture cleaner, rub it down with BLO, and put some wax on it...Now it looks great.
My service grade Inland also had just about 100% GI green park on the metal, and the stock has the early I-cut oiler slot, which is what led me to look it over more closely when I picked it out at North Store.
It shoots so well, and is so handy, that right after my first range trip, it became my HD long arm.
longdayjake
Member
I would be very proud of that gun. Mine looked almost that bad when I first got it. Im sure you remember my thread where I refinished mine. Its really not that hard, but it does take some time.
Lone_Gunman
Member
If it is stamped CAI then what you have is a Century Import. These were guns that were sold off to foreign countries, and then repurchased by importers, stamped with their markings, and sold in the US. You have to be careful of these carbines, because they have typically not been taken care of, have not been inspected like CMP guns, and some have had damage done to them when the import marks were stamped on them. If the import mark is on the barrel, you need to make sure they didnt bend the barrel with the stamping. That is a common problem.
Many late production Inlands were manufactured with the bayonet lug and other features that we generally consider to be "post war" features.
So, don't assume it's a post war rebuild into you do some more reading. It might still be an original configuration rifle. If it was anything *except* an Inland, I'd be sure it was a rebuild, but with the Inland's it might be original.
So, don't assume it's a post war rebuild into you do some more reading. It might still be an original configuration rifle. If it was anything *except* an Inland, I'd be sure it was a rebuild, but with the Inland's it might be original.
Most likely, unless you have a wartime bringback, your gun will have undergone at least one refurb. That isn't unusual, it's the norm. $500 is a decent price for a carbine, and also an indicator that the gun is not in original configuration. If it were, you could expect to pay at least double that. The Century imports that I've seen do seem to have seen a lot of use. It's easy enough to take apart and identify the parts by manufacturer. It appears to be in a Type V potbelly stock, which I believe was standardized and produced after WWII, so again most likely it's seen at least one refurb.
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JR47
Member
ALL carbines in service at the end of WWII were Arsenal inspected, and updated to use the bayonet equipped front-band. Any that had worn parts were also updated with the latest parts available, and many were re-parkerized. The added parts were from whichever manufacturer they had on hand. The weapons were dis-assembled in batches, and the parts were checked, replaced, or refinished, and THEN the guns reassembled from bins of inspected parts. THAT'S where the "mix-master" (an old-time electric mixer brand) reference comes from. AFTER the initial re-work, carbines were placed in storage, re-issued, or sent out in Military Assistance packages. Germany, Korea, France, Holland, Japan, and Thailand all received them. As did the Vietnamese. Many of the late-80's early 90's carbines imported commercially were from Korea.
After Korea, this was done again, and some were even re-arsenal built after use in Vietnam.
After Korea, this was done again, and some were even re-arsenal built after use in Vietnam.
I don't doubt it was overhauled at the end of the war. From what I hear the stock is not original. Also, since it is import stamped it must have been sold or given to a foreign nation at some point.
But what I find interesting is that the stock has crude markings that seem likely done by whomever was issued this rifle, like the initials and the serial being carved into the wood. Would this not indicate usage after the rebuild? This to me sounds like an American thing and at the very least the markings are not any Asian language. Also, it was packed in grease for long term storage. I got the feeling when handling it that it had been in this condition for many years, maybe since it was imported and who knows how long in total.
So... I just don't know. Looks used beyond it's rebuild following WW II but where or by whom is a mystery. I suspect that the barrel and receiver are original together but I don't know for sure. Other parts are beyond me to identify, I simply don't know enough about these to recognize different manufacturer's parts.
I did shoot about 40 rounds through it and it seems to work fine. A couple failures to feed with the old magazine that came with it but the new one I bought seemed to work OK. The old mag's spring may be tired.
I bought this one while waiting for my Inland from CMP to arrive (some day... some day...) thinking to keep the better of the two and sell the other. But now I find myself becoming attached to this one.
I may wind up with two of them...
But what I find interesting is that the stock has crude markings that seem likely done by whomever was issued this rifle, like the initials and the serial being carved into the wood. Would this not indicate usage after the rebuild? This to me sounds like an American thing and at the very least the markings are not any Asian language. Also, it was packed in grease for long term storage. I got the feeling when handling it that it had been in this condition for many years, maybe since it was imported and who knows how long in total.
So... I just don't know. Looks used beyond it's rebuild following WW II but where or by whom is a mystery. I suspect that the barrel and receiver are original together but I don't know for sure. Other parts are beyond me to identify, I simply don't know enough about these to recognize different manufacturer's parts.
I did shoot about 40 rounds through it and it seems to work fine. A couple failures to feed with the old magazine that came with it but the new one I bought seemed to work OK. The old mag's spring may be tired.
I bought this one while waiting for my Inland from CMP to arrive (some day... some day...) thinking to keep the better of the two and sell the other. But now I find myself becoming attached to this one.
I may wind up with two of them...
JR47
Member
Many of the countries that were given M1 Carbines re-worked them as they saw fit. Those of the Bavarian Police were modified to use a Mauser style rear sight, as that was what the men were used to. The Thais also modified theirs in many ways. They were also repaired by the countries issued them.
The Carbine that you have has definitely seen hard use, though probably not in a declared war. Many of these Asian countries had serious smuggling and bandit issues, and the Carbines saw some extensive action with their Police forces, and military, in those capacities.
The Carbine that you have has definitely seen hard use, though probably not in a declared war. Many of these Asian countries had serious smuggling and bandit issues, and the Carbines saw some extensive action with their Police forces, and military, in those capacities.
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