M1 carbine upper hand guard

[bkjeffrey]

I have an old Iver Johnson M1 carbine. I hate the steel "cheese grater" upper hand guard. Does anyone know of a wood one that will fit an Iver Johnsoon? I bought an old wood handguard at a gun show, but it doesnt fit.

 

[Jim K]

The IJ was a pretty close copy of the GI M1 carbine and I thought the handguards would interchange. Is the handguard you bought from an M1 carbine and how/where does it not fit?

Jim

 

[bkjeffrey]

Well, the one I bought is the proper length and width. The problen is two things. One, the inner "barrel channel" of the replacement handguard is not wide enough to accomodate the upper half of the barrel. It needs to be opened up about 1/8 inch all the way around. Second, the cut-out on the passenger side that accomodates the slide, just forward of the chamber, is about an inch too short.

Both of these would be easy fixes with a bit of sand paper, Im just curious if theres anything that will fit w/o modification.

Also, my bolt is round and I prefer the flat bolt, will the flat USGI fit?

 

[Lee Roder]

This is not the "original" IJ company but they sell a wooden handguard which I would expect to fit for $12.50

http://www.iverjohnsonarms.com/3001/9501.html

They were/are the only place on the entire internet offering a "cheese-grater" in stainless steel which I had to have for a project. I ordered, a little slow on shipping (they seem a one person op), but I am satisfied with my purchase. So they are a legitimate business.

As to your bolt question, you might try contacting the owner of

http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbines.html

which is a great reference source on the commercial carbines.

Good luck.

 

[Jim K]

Swapping bolts on any rife can lead to trouble, even with guns of the same make and model. If you are lucky, a flat GI bolt bought at random might work, but you could end up playing an endless game buying and swapping bolts trying to get the right headspace. IMHO, if what you have works, I would leave it alone.

Jim

 

[bkjeffrey]

Yea I guess I'll leave the bolt alone. Didnt the M2 carbine come with a round bolt?

 

[dfariswheel]

The M2 round bolt was introduced for two reasons.
First was for the M2 Carbine because it was stronger and helped slow the cyclic rate.

Second, because it was faster and simpler to make.

The round bolt was declared standard, and when Carbines were rebuilt, the flat bolt was usually replaced with the preferred round model.

 

[bigfatdave]

By what I've read the round bolt is a stronger and easier to mill update, standardized in the M1 carbine and full-auto descendants.

So you have an over-engineered tough bolt that reduces the collector's value, but such a vastly large percentage of M1 Carbines are mix&match arsenal jobs that it hardly matters. And on a non-GI carbine, it is hardly relevant anyway.

Have you looked at Ultimak railed hand-guards? If I needed a new hand-guard, I'd be checking them out first.

 

[bkjeffrey]

I saw the ultimak hand guard. I'd like to keep the rifle as close to period correct as possible. Thats why I wanted to replace the steel handguard with a wood one.

 

[bigfatdave]

Fulton Armory, then?
They would be able to tell you what their stuff fits, if your gun is non-GI ... worth a call.

 

[bigfatdave]

Handguard, Fulton Armory, New Walnut w/Metal
These handguards have been completely redesigned by Fulton Armory to fit your USGI M1 Carbine! Don't settle for an inferior alternative!
25.95

Now, the question is, does your Carbine take a GI-spec hand-guard or something else?

 

[bkjeffrey]

Well, I just got done taking the dremel to the inside of the gunshow wooden handguard. Success. Now the gun looks a little better. Now my only complaint is that its an Iver Johnson and not a Rock-Ola. Looks good though.

 

[bkjeffrey]

Now, the question is, does your Carbine take a GI-spec hand-guard or something else?

I dont know if anything on this gun is GI or not. I completely rebuilt the gun after Hurricane Katrina swallowed it. I retrieved it from a debris pile about a month after the storm. Most of the parts were rusted and corroded beyond recognition. I must have spent a fortune at Fulton Armory trying to find replacement parts that fit. Now its a real mix-master after that. But it shoots great, never jams and is accurate enough to be dangerous even with a "frosted" bore. I just cant afford to shoot it.

The only other thing that really bothers me about it is the slide. On the passenger side of a GI gun the slide has a "leg" that rides in the cutout on the upper handguard. My Iver is milled flat enough to fit under the steel hand guard that came on it. Id like to replace the slide someday.

Also I think the piston is incorrect. Mine is held in by a drift pin. Its just a steel cylinder that rides in a block under the barrel.