Whilst schlepping around the Holdrege gunshow last weekend, I was walking around with my trapdoor as trade bait. Rumor was someone there had an 1866 and I was hoping to draw him out and maybe arrange a swap. Anyhow, as usual, the Saturday crowd was rather . . . crowded. I got the bright idea that bayonet would be nice for clearing a path about the same time a friend said there were some bayonets on the table behind him, and the predictable happened.
I picked up a decent bayonet in a US marked scabbard. Unfortunately, the bayonet only goes on to the first turn: I'm not able to rotate it into place--and who wants to use a loose bayonet for crowd control? Any suggestions for what I should/shouldn't do while getting it to go into place?
Thanks,
Jim
With the fear of stating the obvious I would suggest to take a file to the inside of the bayonet's socket, rather than to the outside of the rifle's barrel...? 8)
Brake Cylinder Hone
Was the bayonet a repro?
Is the bayonet itself 'US' marked?
If not, a number of foreign bayonets were triangular bladed, so look carefully for proof marks at the 'J' bend of the piece - pretty much all will fit the issue scabbard and look 'right' until one tried to fix it to the barrel.
Scouts Out!
The bayonet is US marked on the bend of the shank, and appears to be the correct pattern and dimensions.
My trapdoor is a shooter that was previously "refinished" by an idiot (nicest way I can describe whoever did it). Aside from the sanded stock and poly finish, the barrel was spray painted. . . . On the bright side, it has my preferred rear sight, shoots very nicely, and was fairly priced for the condition.
I used steel wool to remove the paint around the muzzle. While the bayonet still doesn't turn and slot into place, the "fit" feels much better going that far. I think my next step will be to go over rifle barrel and the slot in the bayonet with a magnifying glass looking for any burrs or dents that might be impeding the fit. If need be I can make a hone and ream out the bayonet a couple .001" but I'd rather avoid that.
Maybe I can even get around to re-bluing the barrel this winter.
20 years or so ago I bought some paki import trapdoor bayonets for the living history program at Fort Hartsuff. Looking at them from the outside they were a dead ringer for an original, but they were tight on the barrel and the slot for the sight base just wasn't big enough. I worked on them with a file and got them to turn into place. That's why I asked if they could be repros. As I recall, about the only visual indication that the quality was subpar was the locking ring. It was loose and looked "off".