Browning M1919 30 Caliber Machinegun

[Tough Ombre]

Ps, your welcome from bringing your attention to the T/A bar just kidding. I just thought it would make your Tripod alot better.
-Cary

[killbucket]

Pics of the ammo drive are up in the thread about that.
ww2aa.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=technical&action=display&thread=1176978200
We'll see this all pulled together tomorrow,forgotten transit bar and all!
Thanks!

A watercooled barrel has been designed for the unit, for those who have requested this option. The drawing is here:
www.air-sharp.com/WATERCOOLED BARREL AIR-SHARP 1919 BROWNING.dwg
We have no current plans to produce this, so we are releasing the basic drawing. It lacks details, but I'm sure the resourceful can improvise.

[Tough Ombre]

lol looks good
-Cary

[killbucket]

I've added a tan color, still deciding on a color scheme for my camo job.

[2nd Bat]

I can't say that I've ever seen a camouflaged MG paint scheme? I did paint my tripod OD as that is done often. I think it came out nice. The crossbar on the tripod is a nice touch and probably adds a little strength?

[killbucket]

Yes, it does. We have also found that filling the legs with quick-setting plaster adds some mass as well. We would like to do this step for our customers, but it would affect shipping costs directly.

The T&E bar is being shipped out to customers as a retrofit, they will need some PVC cement to install it.

[2nd Bat]

That's great. All these retro fits. I really appreciate your desire to reward your early customers with updates and refinements so they don't feel like guinnie pigs for buying early. I'm anxious to get them all. I have the M-14 internal set up coming, (Very anxious to install it) the box ammo feeder design coming and now the new cross bar. (In addition to the additional items I bought. ) This just keeps getting better and better!

I've already figured out the advantage of stuffing resin paste down into the PVC legs of the tripod for added strength and that is both easy and worthwhile. I like the added weight it produces as well as the more realistic rigidity. Messy process but absolutely worthwhile.

I will post pictures when it is all finished and set up

[TommyGunner]

Hmm a water cooled version would come in handy for a USMC unit to use, I may just stick with the standard version though.

TommyGunner

[killbucket]

Have the watercooled barrel mocked up. Lot of space to hide stuff in here, the batteries, etc.
I have effectively "flipped" the hopup, parts are drying. The hop unit is ABS, so my old friend Oatey black ABS glue to the rescue. I used the Dremel (I have no idea how many of these I have literally worn out over the years. If you don't have one, GET ONE!) and a small sanding drum to grind across the top side of the hopup, right above the feed tube.
Then comes the fun part. Get a 1" long chunk of old mag loader tube (clear ABS, but ABS) and sand/grind the end of it to smoothly mate with the hole made across the hopup with the grinder. I found some surplus nylon bushings at HSC that filled the hopup bore perfectly, so very little if any glue will get into the chamber. I cut the lower ammo feed tube off flush with the bottom of the unit, and put a big drop of ABS glue into it to seal it off. A .250 aluminum pin wrapped with masking tape may be substituted for the nylon bushings. The glue will not stick to the masking tape.
Now it will be very easy to hook the ammo line up through the left side plate along with the fake links. This removes nearly a foot from my planned feed route.
We'll know how it works tomorrow.
Big box heads off to 2ndBat tomorrow, along with the first batch of M14-based pattern kits. What a thrash. I've done too good a job of advertising. ...not complaining, just tired.

EDIT: Parts are dry and installed. It works smoothly, better than I had hoped! I will take and post pics of this today. Going to a top feed allows the ammo feed tube to enter the gun at the top and go directly into the hopup. The alternative (and production design configuration) is to bring the ammo tube in from the bottom directly into the hopup. I was thinking of a torturous path, in from the top, towards the back, u-turn under the gun, into the hop. So many turns to make work properly!
Incidentally, the nylon bushings previously mentioned pulled right out, leaving a nice smooth factory-looking transition inside, where the new feed tube meets the hop unit.

With this setup, the water-cooled style barrel can have the ammo bin inside it.

The prototype "Fat Barrel" gun is 80% complete, I've decided that it will have spade grips, ta heck with historical detail.
I have a set of real-steel 1917 sights, I will probably fab up the mount that has these on the lid, rather than rear receiver body.
The watercooled barrel drawing has been downloaded over a hundred times in the time it's been up. I will set this up as its own product very soon.

I'm looking for an easy way to add a smoke generator to the barrel sleeve, so firing the gun gives off a realistic plume! I may just go with a mister setup, experimenting should be fun...

I have been shipping ammo feed units with a plate to go on the magazine, that uses a nylon tube to start the bb's into the feed tubing/springs. I have found that a chunk of 5/16" o.d. aluminum hobby tubing will work much smoother, and a slightly larger diameter spring can be forced right over it, no shrink wrap req'd!
Slightly flare the feed end so it will reliably hold the mag catch tab back, or just remove the catch, as it is no longer req'd.
Then a nice tight bend is possible at the magazine. Using the shrinkwrap/nylon tube provided, you can't get as tight of a bend. We are reworking stock, newly-ordered units as of today will use the aluminum. I am building mine into the ammo can today, and adding a huge bb hopper, photos later...

On filling the legs, my cake-decorating wife suggested putting the paste/putty into a big ziplock, and then cutting a corner off. Then you can squeeze out a nice smooth ribbon to more easily reach the tube bottom. Mixing the putty "wet" will make this a LOT easier, it is worth the longer drying time. This works like a charm.


QUESTION:are u the owner of airsharp? or just someone who knows the company?

Great question. I AM AirSharp. I have a bookkeeper, but everything you see is by my own two hands. The guns being shipped currently are handmade by 'ol Killbucket hisself, but we will soon be going to CNC production. We will lose a bit of the personal touch,., but the trade-off will be these first guns become collector's items.

[2nd Bat]

Here are some pictures of my 30 Cal all assembled and ready for the command for final protective fires!







At this point it was set up with the MP40 internals and hasn't had the TO&E brace added. I also painted the tripod OD and filled the legs with resin paste for additional strength. I'm working on my next one which is a M1919A6 and they both will be set up with the M-14 internals I've jsut been too busy with the Garand conversions to get much done on them.

[Tough Ombre]

Im going to start saving up for one Killbucket. I plan on maybe making an A6 version out of it too. Not sure yet though.
-Cary

[killbucket]

the flipped hopup.
The ammo feed goes right into the top of the gun.

Note: The mag loader tube that I cut up to make the feed tube turned out to be acrylic, so the Oatey glue just made a nice cast of it. So a bit of super gloo...

Next time, it would be better to put an aluminum 1/4" rod into the hole and cast a new tube in place. This ABS cement is great stuff, it can even be used to mold small model parts. Over night, this thing is hard enough to sand smooth if I wanted.

It worked on the work bench, time to put it into the "1917" Water-cooled gun in progress.

Note 2: The MP40 and the M14 use two different diameter inner barrels. The MP is 1/2", the M14 is 3/4". If anybody "orphans" a barrel in their retrofit, I wanna see some creative recycling. They aren't easy to get right.

Excellent pictures. I suddenly feel very tied to a workbench. Looks nice outside...HA!

I'm trying to decide on a look for the H2O gun. Beat and dusty? Freshly restored, "fresh parker finish"?
I have a gold leaf pen and know how to do gilt finishes..."1880 WellsFargo Safe" with gold panel striping?
Chipped olive drab with simulated burn marks?...Hmmm.

[YankeeDiv26]

wow those look excellent guys. I'm sorry if this question has been asked before but I havent been following this thread much over time and I'm too lazy at the moment to read through 8 pages of material. Killbucket do you ever intend to sell completed guns with the gearbox's installed anytime in the future?

[2nd Bat]

The parts I'll need for an A6 version is the rear stock, (Gunshow I hope) I have the handle and I used to think the front muzzle cone (Flash hider) but it turns out that wasn't a WW2 item (Korean War and Vietnam) That will save quite a bit as it was a spendy item as I recall. I'll have to fabricate a bipod but that should be relatively easy.

[killbucket]

No. Liabilities, etc.

And it would negatively affect pricing in a big way. Also, most units sold so far have ended up on jeeps in the area here. -They weren't even interested in the conversion parts!

I can't say much about it, but soon there will be Batmobiles with them mounted, two each!
(Wouldn't it be great to set one up to fire salt water taffys or something for parades?) I'm not saying any more.

My original intent wasn't a functioning item, but a static display item for my "arsenal" room.

[killbucket]

You can see how easy it will be to hook to the ammo drive unit.
This is in the prototype "H2O" gun. The ammo feed unit will be inside the ammo tin and lay next to the gun. When I can find some time, I will draw up the smaller ammo box that hangs on the gun and swivels with it.
The ammo drive unit will also power the gun. I was going to put the battery in the barrel, but couldn't think of any reason to, other than it would fit there. The ammo tin had a "dead" corner to put this into.

[2nd Bat]

For paint scheme on your water cooled I suggest an OD that is oiled and aged for that been there look. Also the support rack assembly above the tripod that can also house an ammo can and provide a bit more elevation and depression. I'm not sure what the proper nomenclature is.

[biged]

There are alot of aftermarket ammo can holders for the m2 tripod with 1919 setup.
They are usually a jointed riser with a ammo can cradle that replaces the pintle.



///ed///

[killbucket]

Amazing. I woke up thinking about just such an item (sooner or later, I have to sleep some).
I like the idea, but it seems most of these were produced and used in the private sector, rather than for military use. Am I wrong?
I plan to build a permanent mount for my backyard, it will have one so it looks like an AA gun. I'll even add the personnel shield to it for full effect.
On the production guns, I'd like to develop the smaller ammo can posted a page or so back. Then it can cleanly attach to the gun directly. Like every other seemingly simple project, there are tech hurdles. SPACE being the bug here. Time to cut up a hicap for just the drive, similar to Schmitty's work.
I have my .30cal/200round ammo can unit nearly completed, I will take and post pics today. I went with a full-size 7-cell (of course) and it powers the gun as well. The ammo hopper I built, holds roughly 4500 rounds. I have planned a vibrator unit to keep the ammo in motion, to prevent jams. The ammo can will get a thick felt lining to dampen the hum from this, if needed. The vibrator will have its own 3volt (2 D-cells) power source, triggered by a small relay.

On the subject of batteries, two AK skinny stick batteries in parallel (both physically and electrically) would meet with my approval (bitty batts, ugh), and fit right into the top of the receiver. Perfect solution for an A6 model. I will be doing this to facilitate design of the smaller ammo can/drive unit.

I'm designing a bipod mount for the barrel on the 1919. It will be a clamp-on post under the barrel, so you can use a universal bipod.

Oiled and aged is a great suggestion. I think I'm going to use the "been there" part, along with my "wells-fargo black and gold" motif.

This way I can have a glamour model to begin with, take pics, rough it up and add "age", then more pics. Then later, if I go with the olive drab (when I was a kid, I honestly thought this was a reference to Popeye's girlfriend), it will have chipped paint to go over, and look all the better!

Wiring is nearly complete on the ammo drive, still have to add the vibrator unit. It will go on the back of the panel the mag is mounted to, so it will never get any rest. This should keep all the bb's in constant chaos, so jams will be impossible...I hope.

[2nd Bat]

They were a military produced item (Though the one shown above appears after market) They were often not used in the field due to weight or space limitations. They were most common and popular on vehicle mounts.

If such an item were designed as an option that would be awesome as would the bi pod and stock mounted option. In this way, as with the real gun an owner could alter and configure a single gun into a number of variants. (Three guns in one kinda deal)

The initial post way back at the beginning of this thread has an excellent graphic for designing the M1919A6. The Bipod appears very similar to the removable BAR bipod perhaps a bit more robust.

[killbucket]

Makes perfect sense.
From my viewpoint, the aftermarket items' existence is good, I can excercise some lisence with the design and make my own setup. The added height is a great idea.
Something you lose with the self-contained mount is the "setup" routine, which for some could be part of the fun factor. To others, having the bb hose always connected can save some time.
I may attempt my own version of this:


Incidentally, the camera washed out what is very "M1A1 Abrams" tan on that pic earlier in the page here.

'Bat, your pics are inspiring. I'm losing sleep assembling what will be "my" gun. I feel like the street rod guy who keeps letting go of his "personal" ride...

I was thinking for an A6 magazine, maybe a P90 hicap can be reworked somehow to fit in the top of the gun, motorised. The top-feeding hopup would hook right to it easily.

I seem to have an orphaned M14 stock. Would this be "correct" enough to build a Stinger with?

[2nd Bat]

I certainly think so. As with my Garand kit you'll want to remove the butt plate flap and fill the left over slots with resin paste and then treat and paint as needed. The bipod on that and handle seem easy enough to do. It's considerably rarer then the M1919A6 however so I personally plan to go that route.

[TommyGunner]

The Stinger was only used by the USMC and even then in very very small numbers, I remeber reading somewhere that only 6 were ever made in the field (that were recorded being made chnaces are more were converted into Stingers) chances are too that all those guns were slightly different from one another, no one being the exact same seeing as each soldier that made it might have wanted to set it up differently than the next guy.

I say stick with the standard A6 seeing as the Stinger was very theater specific and in some cases restricted to certain battles on certain islands.

It would be cool to make one though just to have but not actually being used for airsoft.
TommyGunner

[2nd Bat]

In many ways it'd be easier and cheaper for me to make then an A6 since I essentially have all the parts on hand to do it. I like the attached ammo box and reversed hand grip. It's very tempting even though such a rare and limited theater item. Again at this point beggars can't be choosers. How many WW2 MG are their available for the US right now? I am in the market for a A6 butt plate anyone know of a source?

[2nd Bat]

Killbucket,

My wife didn't bother to tell me that a big box came for me today. Thanks for all the updated stuff. As before you sent more then I expected and it is all much appreciated. I'm not sure yet why I got an additional finished barrel but it will get put to use! I'll mount the handle on it for my A6 version. I didn't expect the update parts for the original tripod but again thanks. Incidently the real tripod has a loop on one end of the TOE cross bar and the wing nut connection on the other so as you collapse the legs the cross bar adapts. Your set up is fine the way it is by the way and adds alot.

I'm going to try and rig a similar arrangement using a connecting tube sized just larger then the leg tubes (If I can find it) The cross bar incidently adds quite a bit of strength especally with the leg tubes fillled with resin paste. The tripod accomodates the 18lb M60 just fine. I'm also considering a mount for my 90mm recoiless rifle. I'll try and get pictures once I'm done.

I'm swamped with Garand orders that I am racing to finish otherwise I'd jump on all of this. The 30 Cal (Or two) is going to get alot of exposure at the 500 player Lion Claws game where it will be conspicuously displayed alot.

[killbucket]

To mount the M14, the barrel has to change. The Mp40 version is 1/2" i.d., the M14 has a 3/4". So you got the barrel and buttplate that mount the M14. Included was a #6 screw and a grey spacer. these are for mounting the rear of the gearbox. You may need to trim the spacer or add washers to center the assembly. I am working on a rear mount that eliminates the fasteners completely.
The small plastic ring provided replaces the stock flash hider, and centers the barrel in the inner barrel tube on the 1919. You will have to sand it to fit smoothly.
Refer to pictures in this post for the mods to the M14 diecastings,
and the installation of the "L" shaped bracket doohickey that holds the gun in auto-fire mode. The gun is basically set up to fire constantly when power is applied to the stock wiring harness through the battery connector. The new rear butt plate you got has two pairs of output wires, one goes to the gun's battery connector. The other two go to your ammo drive, so pulling the trigger completes the circuit. Holding the pistol grip, the wire pair on your left side goes to the ammo drive. This is wired so having the small toggle switch fully to the center of the gun is the "transit" position. Fully to the right is "fire". Note that pulling the trigger with the switch NOT to the right runs the ammo drive only, so you can preload rounds into the feed tubing.

The tripod is much stronger now, I am going to leave them as they are for now. Anything more elaborate is already available from other sources, and I personally don't have a passion for tripod development. Note that the strengthened version has dispensed with the pretty molding job. The customer can still easily smooth these contours, if desired. Once I work out the new vacuum-formed version, I will switch to that.
You will note that your new tripod has added gussets for a chain to link the front leg to the T&E bar. Not being a stickler for accuracy, mine has a nylon strap so I can adjust the preload.

If I build a "stinger" it will be a wall piece, probably non-functional. I think it makes a statement all its own.

I need to sketch up a "modern" version, with a car stock and M16 handgrip...

For those sliders, get a standard PVC 3/4" butt connector, and use a Dremel to remove the center rib and slightly increase the inner dia. I have done this in the past, it is just too labor-intensive to do on production models. On the .30 tripod, both ends slide; one travels upward, the other down, when folding. I have bonded my tripod permanently open, so I won't need this on mine.

I made a simple riser for my pintle, a standard 2" ABS "Female adaptor"

(internal threads one end, 2" butt connector on the other, the same part that is in the center of the tripod), a 2" threaded cap (the same as the pintle base), and a .75" long chunk of 2" ABS tubing. The tubing is glued to the top of the threaded cap, and then glued into the female adaptor. The tubing can be made longer as desired. I'm going to use this to make an ammo can mount as well.

The tan gun above found a home today, I didn't get a chance to camo it. I'll try to get pics of what its new owner has planned.

[biged]

The picture I posted is aftermarket because there was no cradle for the M2 tripod in WWII.
The cradles for the M25 and M31C vehicle pedestal mounts unfortunately do not have compatible shafts.

Here's a link with all the mounts made for 1919 brownings.

www.browningmgs.com/Mounts/Mounts.htm

///ed///

[killbucket]

The ammo drive works flawlessly, it does not need the vibrator, the rounds just keep coming! Springs are definitely the key item here, they make great bb conduits. The red button allows precharging bb's at the mag, and it stayed fully wound, even after heavily extended fire. I will HAVE to put bushings in this thing, no way it will survive the thumb button. I've done 500-round bursts today that did not skip a shot! I pity anybody facing one of these ammo systems! You will not get up till the gunner uses up the battery, the ammo, or his attention span. Hope for the attention span part. The first two won't happen quickly. I only have 1200Mah of old NiCd in there so far, and it is actually adequate to empty the bin.
Put a beefed up M14 in this and you will own all you survey.
I WAS using a big block of Styrofoam for a target for at least the last three months. It didn't survive this morning. Having a seemingly endless supply of ammo, is addicting.
Hook this system to any gun out there, and you have instant trigger-happy.
I am designing an M16 mount, so I can use this in the Shrike project.


The new ruggedized tripod is here, note in the second pic the tripod riser previosly mentioned. It isn't needed for tabletop use as shown, but on the ground it is nice to have. The small rocker switch in the end of the buffer tube is the safety/on-off switch.


See how this was done? The pintle bolt is the mount. Very clean design!

[applestrudel]

Great gun kill bucket is that just the standard m14 motorized magazine you designed? can't wait to finish my 1919!

[2nd Bat]

Killbucket you are tempting me to want still another variant. Once painted up it's going to look awesome. It occures to me that we need Tommie Gunners ladder sites he fabricated for his springfield.

This ABS sheeting is cool stuff. The ABS glue is pretty amazing stuff as well. I have found it worthwhile to reinforce it with JB weld but honestly it's probably not essential. As I'm messing with this all kinds of creative uses come to mind. How do you bend the tubing for the legs? Hot water? Also do you just paint over the pattern paper once it's glued onto your ABS sheet or is there a good way to remove it before painting.