commercial barrel-band on ebay

Sporterized and unofficial modified Krags
FredC
Posts: 1991
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 4:38 pm
Location: Dewees Texas

Re: commercial barrel-band on ebay

Post by FredC »

Makes you wonder if the swivel eye nut "E" was really a nut at one time. It is a screw in the package that you and I got. If it was a nut at one time the instructions would make more sense, but a lathe would be the best way to trim said nut to length. A longer screw "C" would make more sense also. Longer set screws are available off the shelf.

Since "E" is a screw and now nut "F" will have both the set screw and swivel screw threaded into it. Do not like that as the nut is fairly short. Both screws will be engaged by only a few threads. A machinist or a gunsmith could always make a longer nut. A hex nut would make it easier to tighten.

The parts are still at the house while I have been puzzling over this. I have not measured the ring or saddle to see if they are really tapered like the instructions say.

Added thought: Looks like you hit the nail on the head with a change of items supplied, that does look like a nut ("E") in the instructions, I took it as the screw cut off for saving space on the drawing.

Another unsolved piece of the puzzle is where on the tapered barrel does this thing end up? How thick is the wood there? Will it work on a carbine?

FredC
Posts: 1991
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 4:38 pm
Location: Dewees Texas

Re: commercial barrel-band on ebay

Post by FredC »

I have it sort of figured out. The band does have the arrow and size very faintly stamped on the inside. Have not found any marks on the saddle so you will have to test the fit as to which direction goes forward. The size on mine is .700 to .750 inches that will fit between 12 1/8 to 14 3/8 inches forward of the receiver ring on my loose barreled action. That should be the same measurement on a carbine. The sizes and arrow are just barely visible without magnification and additional light. I guess on some rifles it will be used as a sling mount only away from the stock. In that case you will need the non existent swivel nut. If you are real good and have the right tools mounting it as a barrel band on a Krag sporter. Probably a 1/2 hole in the barrel channel with clearance cut out for the corners of the saddle. A 9/32 hole through the stock with a flat bottomed counterbore of 3/8 diameter to match the "F" nut. To me you would an escutcheon unless the end of the "F" nut was almost flush with the bottom of your sporter stock. Not sure why anyone would want to travel down this road when armory barrel bands do well on an original stock.

A special tool would be helpful tightening the "F" nut if you did not have a 10-32 nut and bolt. Screw the screw into the "F" nut and use the 10-32 nut to jamb the assembly till you get it tight, then hold the screw against the torque as you loosen the jamb nut. Piloted counterbore tools would help in getting pockets in the right spots and not going to deep. Somewhere in this process you will need to cut clearance for the band itself.

If someone wants to do this I can make a drawing like I did for Jim. The counterbore I made for that other project would work for this if a person did not mind a larger escutcheon. http://kragcollectorsassociation.com/vi ... 817#p31817
Last edited by FredC on Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

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butlersrangers
Posts: 9823
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:35 pm
Location: Below the Bridge, Michigan

Re: commercial barrel-band on ebay

Post by butlersrangers »

Fred: This rig was never intended for a U.S. military Krag stock.

The band, when assembled, fits approximately 2 inches in front of Krag rifle and model 1899 carbine bands.

Its very limited application is intended for use on commercial sporting stocks, (especially, Mannlicher style).

FredC
Posts: 1991
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 4:38 pm
Location: Dewees Texas

Re: commercial barrel-band on ebay

Post by FredC »

Yeah, I woke up thinking about this. Realized the thickness of the stock has to be right to about a 1/16 of inch for this to work with out gunsmithing help. Spacers and length of the screw would have to customized for stocks for anything not in that range. A gunsmith fitting a custom stock would have all the tools and could use the $2.50 kit to good advantage. With the cost of gunsmithing and the low value of the finished Krag it is not practical unless you are building something you need and or want and planning on dying with the result still in your possession.

Indy650's idea of welding a nut to the barrel is not as easy as it sounds. http://kragcollectorsassociation.com/vi ... 064#p38064
Weld the nut off center and you will have to jump through some hoops to make it look good. All of this stuff is easy enough if you are a gunsmith or a machinist. http://kragcollectorsassociation.com/vi ... 211#p33211 Link for ideas on one way to pull this stuff off.
Br, you could pull this off with a good and good looking result with some planning, but for the average do it yourselfer without a plan not so much. The kit I made for RomeoJim would have cost about a thousand plus dollars plus the planning it took. With the kit he did the work in a couple of hours while he was took off work with the flu. If he had not been sick and groggy he probably would not have made that one mistake. Even that mistake was easy enough to fix with another custom part.

All that said if you ever want to put that band on a custom stock I could lend you the tools, make a drawing, a spacer and maybe a custom escutcheon to make it work good and look good.

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butlersrangers
Posts: 9823
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:35 pm
Location: Below the Bridge, Michigan

Re: commercial barrel-band on ebay

Post by butlersrangers »

We see a lot of Krags with commercial stocks, that need a barrel-band or 'barrel screw' arrangement.

"Uncle Mike's" barrel-band was one of the last after-market Krag accessories made.
The parts will work for a narrow spectrum of altered Krags and can provide a solution.

For me its kind of fun to be aware of these peripheral Krag items.
Will I use it? Probably not.

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