Springfield M1903 build guide

[aj czarkowski]

"United States Rifle, Caliber .30, Model 1903" I'm using an original drill rifle that has pretty much been stripped of all the metal duing WWII, so I'm going to have to build alot of the parts myself (That's right, a real live drill rifle from ww2)

DO NOT use a drill rifle stock like I did, the wood will be too thin and it might brake during combat.



The tools you'll need:

• screw driver (phillips and flat heads)
  
• allen wrenches (I'll list the sizes later)
  
• hammer
  
• hack saw
  
• regular wood saw
  
• vice
  
• pliers (needle nose and round nose)
  
• duct tape
  
• dremel (with atleast 5 sandpapers)
  
• jigsaw (and I don't mean the movie)
  
• JB Weld (regular JB Steel, and JB Wood. Also JB Kwick would help)
  

I will be using the tokyo marui vsr11 for this rifle, and before you even start with this project, you will NEED to replace the sears in your trigger box. The stock ones are made from pot metal which after around 50 shots will wear down and cause your rifle to slam fire. You only really need the first sear (the one that holds against the trigger), the second one doesn't wear down as much. You can buy machined steel sears here:

• www.redwolfairsoft.com/redwolf/airsoft/Accessories_Rifle_Parts_Deep_Fire_Stainless_Steel_First_And_Second_Sear_for_TM_VSR_10.htm $31
  
• www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?products_id=5951 $55 (not suggested they don't fit at first and you need to do some heavy filing)
  
• www.evike.com/product_info.php?products_id=35657 $40 (this is the sear that I used, and the first sear fits, the second requires filing and will eventually brake after the first few shots)
  

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First thing you'll need to do is remove the barrel and bayonet lug. Then you'll need to remove the bolt.

The is a nail which holds both the barrel and bayonet lug in place, remove the nail with the hammer



and pull out the barrel and the lug



Then you need to remove the bolt, which depending of the springfield will be different. This drill rifle had a flat head screw on the bolt



That's the easy part...
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10/17/12

I got a very important package today. Still not all the parts I need, they won't be here untill the 27th



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10/27/12

Remove the entire bolt and trigger assembly









Take the spring out of the barrel (if there is one)



The M1903a1 Springfield stock next to the M700 Remington stock that the parts are from. Like I said above, DO NOT use a drill rifle stock like I did, the wood is very thin and might brake during combat.

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You will need to use a file to cut out enough of the stock so that the trigger assembly can fit perfectly



And here's the M700 above the M1903 stock



Here is the trigger assembly next to the stock



Getting the trigger assembly to fit took me about 3 hours...



I usually measure once and cut twice because I don't take enough time and screw up













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10/24/12

I found an original weaver scope that my Grandmother gave me after my Grandfather passed away. He served in the Army Air Corps. in the Pacific during '44 and '45






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After you've made sure the trigger assembly and bolt fit, you need to dremel out the stock so the barrel, hop up, and magazine from the bar10/vsr10 can fit. This is the hardest part

Before:



After:


I needed to cut the entire stock in half because this drill rifle was all one peice.



You also need to cut the outer barrel of the bar10/vsr10 just before the hopup. Be careful not to touch the inner barrel by accident



Two R700 outer barrels, one from my kar98k and one from this m1903

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10/28/12

More pictures from today and yesterday.
I cut out the magazine well, and currently working on the trigger guard

























I also filed out the handgaurd so the barrel would fit, and had to use popsicle sticks for the gap between the handgaurd and the stock

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10/28/12

DO NOT use a drill rifle, they are in fact too thin. It broke on me today. I put two small blocks of wood on either side to hold it back together, but it looks like crap...









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I'm racing to finish before a "historic" hurricane makes landfall on the eastcoast, and I will loose power for a week



My m1903a5 springfield next to my kar98 mauser (both I built)

[2nd Bat]

I suspected your drill rifle will be too thin to facilitate your vsr internals. hopefully there is adequate room to do something to cosmetically tie it all in Good luck with the progress and keep us posted.

for a marriage between a DENIX SMLE and a VSR rifle I ended up blending the central area of the stock into the DENIX forearm and the butt stock but the metal stck bands at both ends allowed that to work visually as there was a natural seperation at both ends. Many of these WW1/ WW2 bolt action rifles were quite thin through the area needed to facilitate the VSR magazine and hop up. The actual Springfields and Mausers are just wide enough (but barely) and work fine unless they have the finger grooves.

[aj czarkowski]

I also was concerned about that, and unfortunately the bolt is too wide, and will look like it's sitting on top of the stock. The handguard is also going to be half the size because the cylinder is also too wide, and will look like the sights of a kar98 more than an m1903. I have actually pre-measured it, and I really hope that those are the only two main parts that will be noticably off (there's actually going to be a few other minor problems) The only way this could possibly come to a stop is if the hopup system doesn't fit, that is the only part that will give me trouble, because of course it had to be near the finger-grooves on the stock.

Besides that, I have some experience from building a kar98 last year, so hopefully by following the same way I won't run into too many problems other than the ones from that build.

[jettalewis]

2ndBat expressed some concern regarding the thickness of the stock and your internals. You are going to find that this wood is going to be very thin or the hole for the internals may even be a bit too much for this particular stock. You may succeed, but you would be much better off with a scant stock. You can get those at a relatively low price on Ebay. I too, used a drill rifle for my build and am very happy with the results. Unfortunately, I did not know if I would succeed or not and neglected to take, in progress, photos.

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[aj czarkowski]

It is definitly going to be a tight fit, I bought the rifle from an airshow a few years ago and it's been sitting in my closet ever since. I figured I would use it instead of buying the full sized stock. I hope I don't end up regretting it, I know all the parts will fit, it's just a matter of the stock holding together because it's so thin.

@ Jettalewis you did a great job on that rifle, I would have thought it was real! Atleast now I know the parts will fit the drill rifle's stock, but like I said I just hope it holds together well

[2nd Bat]

Jettalewis,

That looks great. So did you end up using a scant stock or is the rifle shown entirely out of the drill rifle? If so thats a much better looking drill rifle base gun than the Drill rifles Ive seen!

Garnett, you may have to split your stock by sawing right down the center to create the width you will need. Once halved you,ll find hollwing out the center areas for the hop up, magazine and trigger housing much easier than it would be otherwise. You can then use popcicle sticks or wood coffee stir sticks to fill in the neccessary added width and can glue then into place. Sand everything down and apply a stain to your now laminate stock and the end result will probably be quite nice. Your butt plate will remain somewhat too thin and your front and rear stock bands will need the stock filed down where needed but can be made to work.

[jettalewis]

2nd Bat, I used a totally drill rifle. I had to purchase no other parts. At the time of purchase I picked them up for $150 each. I have one more left. I did attempt to purchase some more of them, but the price had jumped to $350. I haven't made up my mind what to do with this last one, but something will come up

[aj czarkowski]

Jettalewis, $150 is a good deal for sure, the ones I saw were in the $300s

2nd Bat, that's good idea to split the stock down the center, then I don't need to worry about it being too thin and braking. I should probably see if anyone I know has a table saw or band saw, using a regular wood one might be kind of hard since I might cut it unevenly. Also, I don't need to worry about the stock bands or the butt plate, because the one I bought was stripped of all the metal except the bolt, trigger and trigger guard, barrel, and bayonet lug (not even the rear sight or sling mounts!)

[aj czarkowski]

I didn't realize this didn't refresh, I was wondering why there weren't any views after all that work.

I'm still waiting for a few things to come the 27th, and next weekend I'm going to work on the barrel

[jettalewis]

You are doing just fine. That is going to be a ton of work. 2nd Bat I may have unintentionally misled you. I did use a drill rifle, but it was originally a real, functional rifle that had been demilled. It was nothing like the work garnett is having to do here. Garnett one thing I used and am still using was the 1" hand held belt sander. Using 60 grit paper would ream out a hole in a very short time. And you could make the edges very smooth and regular. It doesn't eliminate the need of drills and chisles, but it sure helped speed things up. Goodluck on your rifle, but I think you know about what you are doing

[aj czarkowski]

Thanks! I'm surprised how this really isn't taking that long at all, I think it might be because the wood is so old or something... a file cut through it like butter This will probably take half the time than my kar98 did. By the way, the sides of the rifle are now paper thin, not thin enough so that if someone dropped it then it might brake, but might not hold up over a long time. I'll check out that sander too, it would be alot easier than smoothing the edges out with a small file like I did last time.

[2nd Bat]

You will be surprised how strong even very thin wood can be provided it doesnt have to be load bearing. As long as the fit is tight the rifle inside should provide a lot of regidity and strength. the term "drill rifle" can be a bit misleading as many actual Springfields were deactivated for use as drill weapons and of course these make fabulous donor guns for these projects. The drill rifle Garnett is using appears to be a "parade" replica. Of a Springfield?

i couldnt touch all the needed parts for a Springfield conversion for $150.00 so what a bargain. The end result was gorgeous. it will be interesting to see what Garnetts end result will be. i imagine the wood in the parade rifle is much much softer than the Walnut from an actual old '03. great seeing a number of different approaches to replicating our needed weapons.

Garnette if the wood seems oo weak for your taste you may want to coat the inside cuts with a thin layer of fiberglass through potential stress areas. I had to do that on some Garands I built from actual stocks as they were so thin through the neck area to facilitate the M14 motor that without the reinforcement they split simply from relaxed use. With the fiberglass, the neck wound up extremely strong. These items can be bought at most hardware stores in the Marine repair section and are available in small quantities. buy some small sections of fiberglass cloth which you lay in in strips using the resin to function as adhesive and hardner. Literally coat your inside walls and layon the fiberglass fabric and smooth it all in. A Marine repair kit typically contains all you need. As with all of this stuff wear latex gloves and work in a well ventilated area.

[aj czarkowski]

The fiberglass is a good idea, there's two places in particular (trigger assembly and hopup) where the wood is very thin, still strong through, but I'd rather not take the chance so I'll get the fiberglass.

[2nd Bat]

its messy and awkward to work with initially but in the long run youll be glad you did it. Since it wont be visible you dont have to worry about what it looks like cosmetically but do tape off the outer stock areas to minimize the slop over effects. Incidently I recommend you do that as you shave and drill out your inner cuts so the inevitable oops that will occure dont marr up the visible portions on the stock and handguards. It goes without saying to insure you have enough clearance with you cut outs so that once the fiberglass layer is in place your parts will still have room to slide into place. You really dont want to find yourself having to grind out the fiberglass cloth!

[aj czarkowski]

I'm so close, I can almost taste it.

[aj czarkowski]

I have some very bad news... The magazine well was too thin and the stock actually broke in two

I was able to put two small blocks of wood on either side, but now it just looks like a POS

[aj czarkowski]

I'm racing to finish before a "historic" hurricane makes landfall on the east cost, and I will loose power for a week

[jettalewis]

I'm so sorry about your break. Is there anyway you can salvage it? How about as 2ndBat suggested and saw the stock down the middle and insert a piece of wood. Then fiberglass the heck out of the inside and put a thin coating of 2 part epoxy on the outside. That is the way I repaired my rifle. That 2 part epoxy is unbelieveably strong. I would defy anyone to find the break now. Also, I did build up the interior with 2 part epoxy also. When you rap it now it has a kind of ring to it rather than a thunk. Whatever you do, good luck and it it looking good.

[2nd Bat]

The other possibility is to sand down the outer walls you,ve added until they are essentially a veneer that can blend into your existing stock. With the resin reinforcement inside and especially if you carry the added stock walls up to the front stock band you might be able to blend it well enough to be okay with it visually.

Good luck and batten down the hatches. I just flew out of JFK two days ago and felt like i got out of there just in time. frankenstorm looks like a doozie.

[aj czarkowski]

it's been a while, I've actually finished this project around Halloween. Unfortunately I'm having some issues with this website on my home computers ,(I'm typing this on my phone). What I ended up doing was sanding down the walls and staining the entire piece the same color. Doesn't look half bad now! Hopefully I can get some pictures up later

[2nd Bat]

Glad to hear you made a reasonable recovery.