In my last post I had just trashed the barrell and slide assembly of my 'M96 Mauser because I was in a hurry and wasn't paying attention (it never pays to be in a hurry when performing an intricate machine operation as I learned the hard way). Because of what I had done, the slide assembly was twisted so badly it was impossible to straighten - and believe me, I tried. At this point, I began writing letters to companies that handled used gun parts, hoping I might find another servicable slide assembly. After searching for a year, I realized that there was a possibility that this was not going to happen. I started doing research on the Mauser.
I had to have something to take accurate dimensions from and was finally able to buy a slide assembly from a company. The slide was internally okay but was pitted too badly to be used. This cost me $45.00. I found that most of the parts for the gun were made from SAE 1035 steel. I bought a piece of steel with comparable machining characteristics. This cost $55.00. I had no milling machine and this was a necessity so I figured out how to use the lathe to mill the part but I needed accessories to go on the lathe. I took some adult education classes at a local high school so I could use their machine tools. There were also some costs involved for this.
This ultimately became pretty complicated and expensive. Of course, this happened over a period of several years but I was determined to go ahead and finish the gun. Otherwise, I would have been left with a bunch of meaningless parts.
One day while talking to a friend I explained to him the problems I was having, and he recommended I write to a particular company he had purchased a slide assembly from. I sent a letter to that company and their reply was that they had one. The cost was $45.00. I immediately ordered it and a few days later I received the slide. It was in very good condition and the rifling was excellent. While examing the part, I noticed something was odd about it. The barrell didn't look right. I got a pair of calipers and measured the bore and to my surprise the slide assembly was already 9mm., which meant I had to do nothing to it. I continued to look for the missing parts: the magazine floor plate, the magazine follower and follower spring. I acquired the floor plate but the follower and follower spring were impossible to get. I bought some parts that were remanufactured but not quite right. However, the gun was functional. It took me about 2 months of work to finish the gun so I could shoot it.
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