Considering Stemple 76/45. any input?

CapnMorgan

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I found a stemple 76/45 local in as new condition for what I think is a good price(cheaper than any I can find on the web right now).
Does anyone have detailed pics or schematics of one disassembled?

Anything to look out for? What parts normally wear out on these, if any? It's supposed to run as it should with no issues. I really haven't seen much for spare parts in the normal online places I shop, Are parts hard to find?
 

gunguy45

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I've got an early one, Sq wood hand grip, etc. S/N 1045(I think)
I bought it in 2001, so I've had it a while.
A couple of years after I bought it the gun started running away. It kept firing after releasing the trigger. Some times 1, or 2 rounds, sometimes the rest of the mag.
The sear notch on the bolt had worn to the point of not catching.
I took a lot of measurements, then welded the bolt, turned/milled it back to my numbers.
It's run great ever since, but I keep my eye on it.
I might have 2,000 rounds through it, total.
I don't shoot it very often.
 

BigMT

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Parts, OEM parts, are still available. That may factor into your decision too...

Supposedly, a M/31 "Suomi" FCG is adaptable to increase reliability and allow for selet fire.

gunguy45 - it sounds like your bolt was never hardened. The OEM bolts are 1144 "stressproof", and without hardening of some sort, they don't last but a few thousand rounds before experiencing exactly the sort of wear you did. With your weld being harder than the bolt itself, you're probably golden.
 

gunguy45

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BigMT,

That's pretty much what I figured, soft bolt.
It's good to know what material the bolt is made from for future reference.
 

CapnMorgan

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It's an early one I'm looking at too. with the square wood grip. It has an upgraded bolt from a later version I believe. I was hoping someone would have pics of the trigger/lower disassembled so I could see if it could be upgraded and maybe install an ar type grip.
 

BigMT

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BigMT,

That's pretty much what I figured, soft bolt.
It's good to know what material the bolt is made from for future reference.

Honestly, the bolts should have been made from nearly anything else... but as a machinist, I can entirely understand why he went with 1144! That stuff cuts like a dream.

I keep toying with the idea of a 17-4 H900 bolt (HRC in the 40s instead of 1144's 17), but I haven't gotten around to it quite yet. Maybe this winter when things slow down.
 

gunguy45

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I was thinking about pocketing out the orig. bolt, & inserting it with a piece of A2, or 4140, at least. the sear catch was my only concern.
it seems like the weld is working, so I thought, just go with it.
 
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