Browning M1919 30 Caliber Machinegun

[TommyGunner]

The prospect of a buildable 30cal has really sparked my interest, I have started to look for sources for parts and other items. I would like to start a thread aimed at assembling ideas for building an affordable 30cal.

I have come to the conclusion that the M-14 internals will be best suited for a 30cal. The evrsion I intend to make will not be as complicated as Schmitties 30. cal but will get the job done. The battery and ammo will be stored in the MG but to make thing interesting I just my introduce a circut that must be compleated by adding an ammo belt with prongs that complete the circut for the battery to power the AEG box.

I have also found this really great exploded view of the 30cal and a parts loist and there respective prices.



www.sarcoinc.com/1919a4.html

TommyGunner

[Tough Ombre]

I have looked over my m14, and it is perfect for a 30cal, you can take off the bolt, and everything else leaving you with a straight barrel about the size of the 1919 barrel. Then you just have to build a heat shield, you can buy the end of the barrel for under 25 dollars. The hardest part would be getting the details correct. I think the idea with the links/ prong on the belt is a great idea! Also since you are a marine.. maybe a watercooled 30 would be instore haha. That would be cool and a little easier then the 1919a4 or a6 since you dont have to line up all the holes. If it wasnt for me converting my m14 to and m1 i would be bringing it as an 1919a4 to the midwest event!
-Cary

[YankeeDiv26]

didnt shmitty build a great m1919a4 out of real steel. i think the mango uses it often, you might want ask them for some more information.

[Tough Ombre]

ya, i think tommy gunner and my self are looking for a more cost effective option though, because if i remeber schmittys was pretty intracate, or so to me it seemed.
-Cary

[themango]

Schmitty made an M1919A6...it appears to just be the deactivated firearm with a gear box in it...but really it is very complicated. The loading mechanism especially. It is a resevoir that feeds the BBs up into an AK hop up unit...I dont know how the thing really works so Schmitty will have to explain it. I just know how to set it up and load and fire it. The thing is a work of art truely

[TommyGunner]

Yeah I was going to ask Schmitty about his 30cal specifically how much the body cost, I would liek to use as many reall stell parts as possible but cost production may hammper this.

What I may end up doing is building the body and barrel then adding the rest of reall steel parts to it since the body and barrel probably are the biggest cost.

But yeah like M-14riflemen said I want to use the simpilist configuration possible for the internals, Schmitties was very nicely done but too complicated for me, simple M-14 internals centered inside the gun with either a modifyed M-14 highcap mag built to fit up inside the body or some kind of reservour system (Im leaning to the mag idea though)

TommyGunner

[wade]

I've seen them at gun shows for about $1000-$1500.

[DeB]

maybe looking for some detailed blueprints, and some crappy sheet steel will be the way. Weld them, buy some tubes, drill them, ask to a black smith to buil the more complicate parts and maybe you and your wallet will be happy!
Bye bye!

[Tough Ombre]

i could probably get some thicker sheet metal and me and my dad could weld it he has a mig-welder. Though i really need a plasma cutter otherwise the cutting wouldn't look as nice. Thats why im leaning more towards a wood body.
-Cary

[TommyGunner]

Im leaning twords the wooden body idea also, the key will be to get a metal look to the wood, so it will have to be sanded smooth vanished then painted and sealed.

In looking at the drawings too, I wont have a top that opens up to load the belt into, at least for the first version. The main aim of this project is to simply produce a 30cal that works, after I have accomplished that I will proceed to add the finer operating details.

I do however need dimensions and side veiw drawings of the major components or else this project will go nowhere fast. Infact instead of waiting to buy an M-14 I can start construction on the 30cal now (providing I can be steared to drawings and stuff) and simply add the internals latter ( of course building the gun making shure I can instal the internals into the gun)

TommyGunner

[Tough Ombre]

Ya, another idea to give it a metalic look is coat it in Bondo.. used on car bodys.. will look more like metal and will eliminate the grain. You can buy it at home depot. it also dries in about 10-15 mins depending on how much hardener you add. As for drawings, i have a book that i can scan the pictures of it.. thats the best i could do. I dont know about dimensions though im sure a quick search would pick up something.
-Cary

[biged]

AirsoftNY also built a browning with internals from a classic airsoft gun.
The bolt system is fully operational and the ROF sounds just like the 1919a4.
He bought the real-steel rivet-it-yourself kit and did all the work himself.
Runs flawlessly and is an absoulte beautiful piece.

The 1919a4 forums have all the intel you will ever need when building a browning.

www.1919a4.com/forums/index.php

The kits are cheap. If you look they can be purchased for $300-$400. (Alot of searching)
No rivets, and you will have the semi side plates, most likely beater westhouse or saginaws.

You just have to make sure the seller can ship it to your state.
NO-ONE will not ship to Massachusettes where I live so I have to go through a dealer. (x2 to x3 the cost)

Is someone building them: ()


I have no more information other than this picture.

The pedestal alone I would estimate is around $300 for a repro.
(Double that price if it's real.)

///ed///

[TommyGunner]

Hmmm $300-400 that really is quite cheap, but still more than I want to spend ( I know call me cheap)

Also thanks for steering me to the forums Ill ask someone there if I can get dimensions, and drawings from the Top, Sides, Bottom, Front and Rear.

After I have the dimensions I can enlarge the drawings and use them as a pattern to make the major components of the gun like the body and barrel, then use the drawings to also help me fabricate some of the details on the gun too.

I will ofcourse have to source reall steel parts like the bolt handle, the trigger handle, and the sights.

TommyGunner

[TommyGunner]

While I was searching though my basment looking for some of that pink styrofoam sheet, I found a huge sheet of thick styreen from a very old model project (years old infact) I had forgotten all about, infact there is enough sheet to probably make two full 30cal bodies out of.

Now that I have the proper material required I still have to find the dimensions and drawings of the top, sides, front and back. I figure that if I can find those I can have the empty shell of a 30cal MG built in about two weeks with most of the details (building the sight will be hard so Ill look for a reall steel part) and painted in three Then I can plop and AEG motor inside.

TommyGunner

[2nd Bat]

How thick of Styrene are you going with? Will you reinforce it with anything or will it be strong enough on it's own do you think? Once finished what will you do to treat the styrene prior to painting so it'll hold the color and not always scratch to white?

If you go with wood I will caution you when working with Bondo that if you mix it too hot it will not file or sand as well. (Crumble) also it can get very very hot (if mixed too hot) and nasty to work with so wear rubber latex gloves. If you mix it properly (follow directions) let it sit over night before filing and sanding. Wear a aeration mask when you do. Very nasty stuff but it will give the effect your looking for and camouflage the wood should you decide to go that way.

Given the new available gear boxes out there I will take on this project and build a 30 cal.

[TommyGunner]

I suspect the the styreen will be strong eough but as a precoution the entire interior and conecting points between the bodies front, back, top, bottom, and side plates will be reenforced, especially where the barrel and trigger handle will connect.

The entire body will be coated with an industrail primar (silver colored) that the paint will stick very well and if it rubs off it will expose the silver underneath giving it a worn look.

I am currently working on getting diagrams of the body from the M1919 forums and when I get all the info needed from them Ill forward it to if you would like (ease research a bit)

We could make it a contest of sorts who can make the cheapest most authentic M1919A4 .30Cal MG. Im not too shure exactly how much time I can realistically devote to the projcet so we dont need to put a finish date on it, but if I want to have it ready by our event here then we shoudl have them finished by April (ish)

Im not too shure if I can get my hands on internals in time so well make it an exterior contest assuming that if we both had internals instaled they would work.

TommyGunner

[airsoftny]

Having built a .30 cal from a parts kit, if I had to do it again I would try to replace as much of the original steel with aluminum. The weight of my gun makes it quite hard to hump around. That in addition to the tripod gas and ammo, it does really become a crew served weapon.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTGoWjhe46g

www.classicairsoft.net/forum1/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5273

[TommyGunner]

Hmmmm one thing I havent though about yet is if I will decide to add weight to the gun, as it will be it will be quite light, I expect it to weight less than or equal to the Tokyo Marui Thompson.

Would you be able to provide me with some measurements, length width and highth of the body, I need to basic overall dimensions of the body and from there I can actually start to cut out the side plates, top, top cover, rear and front plates. I have some really good photos to work from also so replicating all the details on the gun will be very easy I only need some dimensions.

TommyGunner

[DeB]

www.1919a4.com/blueprints/Browning1919A4Blueprint.pdf

Blueprints!!! I'm downloading them hoping to be useful!!!

[DeB]

www.1919a4.com/blueprints/

[TommyGunner]

Those are exactly what I need thanks so much.

TommyGunner

[Tough Ombre]

Hey tommy gunner, where did you get this sheet styrene, and whats the cost. I tried makin a 30 cal about a year ago and realised that my styrene was jsut too flexible and gave up lol.
-Cary

[YankeeDiv26]

if at first you dont succeed............get another .30 cal in the field

[Tough Ombre]

lol ya i will make it so i can either be a rifleman or an 30 cal gunner use my m14 for both
-Cary

[DeB]

Happy to have been useful!

There was on a blog a PPSH41 building entirely of styrene, it was very very good... I can't find the link...
And in Italy is not sinple to find big styrene sheets...
Ciao!

[Tough Ombre]

well then move to america lmao
-Cary

[pete59]

The link for the blog on the PPSH41 is;

mydumbprojects.blogspot.com/search?q=ppsh41

[TommyGunner]

My god that is amazing! Being a model builder that works for Revell and understanding the design and development process involved with making kits for him to make that it is outstanding! I wonder if he can make airsoft guns too? lol

TommyGunner

[biged]

Another anything and everything you wanted to know site about the browning:

www.liberatorcrew.com/1919.htm

It's where I got the intel for making my mounts.

My favorite page, and what I hunt for at the gun shows.
www.liberatorcrew.com/Mounts/Mounts.htm

One of the "Know thy history" pages.

///ed///

[click]

deb said:

Happy to have been useful!

There was on a blog a PPSH41 building entirely of styrene, it was very very good... I can't find the link...
And in Italy is not sinple to find big styrene sheets...
Ciao!

Forgive my ignorance but what is styrene. I was thinking it was like polystyrene but when I saw the PPSH41 project it dosent look like that at all.

Click

Sorry for the total hijack of this thread.