first, let's meet the main players:
sterling l2a3/mk4 submachine gun:
1942 m40 scope:
hengstler counter:
not shown here is the t-track from saberfreak, which arrived this morning.
the first thing i tackled was the mounting rail for the scope. i used 1/2" wide, 1/8" thick steel bar stock from my local home depot. i measured out the length of the top part of the rail, and cut a strip of metal about 4" longer than that.
the first set of bends in the metal was done by clamping the metal in a vice, making sure the bar was squared off to the jaws of the vice, and then hammering it down to a nice 90 degree bend. for the second set of bends (to make the tabs that would be inserted into / riveted to the gun), i scored the inside of the metal with a dremel cutting disc then bent the tabs out with some vice grips. i used a grinding wheel on the dremel to smooth out the area that was scored.
next i drilled the holes for the scope. in retrospect it would have been MUCH easier to do this BEFORE bending the metal, but whatever...
i marked the spots for the holes then used my drill press to make them.
the next thing to do was cut down the magazine. i wanted mine fairly short, but long enough to allow the clip to still be removed easily.
first i slid the cap off of the end and removed the spring / internals. the cap slides onto a small lip on the top and bottom of the mag (top and bottom used here to describe the larger sides of the rectangular clip)
next i put the clip into the gun and marked off the length i wanted. i then cut the clip a couple of inches longer than that, do give me some leverage for bending the sides out later. i made this cut with an angle grinder using a cutoff wheel. WAY faster than a dremel or hack saw
i then used the dremel cutoff wheel to slice the corners of the magazine down to the final line i wanted. i then bent the top and bottom out to my slided lines. i trimmed them short with the dremel cutoff disc. i'd guess maybe a 3/32" lip, but i was just eyeballing it. i used the cutoff wheel and grinder bits to smooth out my lip, then test fit the cap. it was tight, but i could tell that i'd be able to tap it in.
i cut the spring down to a reasonable size for the shorter clip and put it all back in. the cap tapped into place with little fuss, and is VERY unlikely to ever move again.
and these are the leftovers:
the next challenge was the ejection port. there is no bolt or anything in my sterling, so that leaves a big empty hole.
i cut a piece of PVC pipe (1" i think. either that or 1 1/4") to fit the opening, then covered it with aluminum tape as used for heating ducts. i slipped this into the gun, coated the inside edge of the opening with Goop, then pressed the aluminum plated PVC into the opening from behind, through the magazine port.
the nice thing about the heating tape is that it is just a thin layer of aluminum with glue on the back, so it definitely makes the pvc look like metal.
i'm getting ahead of myself here... the scope is already mounted in this pic, but it shows the covered up hole.
the last thing i did last night was mount the scope rail. the front went into the vent hole on the barrel. the tab at the front is angled enough that it applies a bit of pressure, keeping the rail in tight. the rear was riveted into place. on my sterling, the entire section at the rear is solid steel. i drilled about 1/2" into this, and set a rivet through the scope rail and into the body.
hopefully tonight i'll get the-track installed. i'm hoping to paint it all up this weekend.
sterling l2a3/mk4 submachine gun:
1942 m40 scope:
hengstler counter:
not shown here is the t-track from saberfreak, which arrived this morning.
the first thing i tackled was the mounting rail for the scope. i used 1/2" wide, 1/8" thick steel bar stock from my local home depot. i measured out the length of the top part of the rail, and cut a strip of metal about 4" longer than that.
the first set of bends in the metal was done by clamping the metal in a vice, making sure the bar was squared off to the jaws of the vice, and then hammering it down to a nice 90 degree bend. for the second set of bends (to make the tabs that would be inserted into / riveted to the gun), i scored the inside of the metal with a dremel cutting disc then bent the tabs out with some vice grips. i used a grinding wheel on the dremel to smooth out the area that was scored.
next i drilled the holes for the scope. in retrospect it would have been MUCH easier to do this BEFORE bending the metal, but whatever...
i marked the spots for the holes then used my drill press to make them.
the next thing to do was cut down the magazine. i wanted mine fairly short, but long enough to allow the clip to still be removed easily.
first i slid the cap off of the end and removed the spring / internals. the cap slides onto a small lip on the top and bottom of the mag (top and bottom used here to describe the larger sides of the rectangular clip)
next i put the clip into the gun and marked off the length i wanted. i then cut the clip a couple of inches longer than that, do give me some leverage for bending the sides out later. i made this cut with an angle grinder using a cutoff wheel. WAY faster than a dremel or hack saw
i then used the dremel cutoff wheel to slice the corners of the magazine down to the final line i wanted. i then bent the top and bottom out to my slided lines. i trimmed them short with the dremel cutoff disc. i'd guess maybe a 3/32" lip, but i was just eyeballing it. i used the cutoff wheel and grinder bits to smooth out my lip, then test fit the cap. it was tight, but i could tell that i'd be able to tap it in.
i cut the spring down to a reasonable size for the shorter clip and put it all back in. the cap tapped into place with little fuss, and is VERY unlikely to ever move again.
and these are the leftovers:
the next challenge was the ejection port. there is no bolt or anything in my sterling, so that leaves a big empty hole.
i cut a piece of PVC pipe (1" i think. either that or 1 1/4") to fit the opening, then covered it with aluminum tape as used for heating ducts. i slipped this into the gun, coated the inside edge of the opening with Goop, then pressed the aluminum plated PVC into the opening from behind, through the magazine port.
the nice thing about the heating tape is that it is just a thin layer of aluminum with glue on the back, so it definitely makes the pvc look like metal.
i'm getting ahead of myself here... the scope is already mounted in this pic, but it shows the covered up hole.
the last thing i did last night was mount the scope rail. the front went into the vent hole on the barrel. the tab at the front is angled enough that it applies a bit of pressure, keeping the rail in tight. the rear was riveted into place. on my sterling, the entire section at the rear is solid steel. i drilled about 1/2" into this, and set a rivet through the scope rail and into the body.
hopefully tonight i'll get the-track installed. i'm hoping to paint it all up this weekend.
