[Brad70]

For those of you that were following the story on the family that had the Type I, I have an update. Well I went over to the families house today. A reporter and I interviewed the family and we managed to get the story straight from the vets mouth. Here is the story of how he acquired the Type I. Mr. Flagg was a cook on board a transport vessel that had stopped in Saipan. He and some crew mates went ashore and came across a cache of captured weapons. From what we gathered the cache was unguarded and they all proceeded to take a rifle. He took the rifle back to the ship and eventually sent it home. There aren't any official papers for the rifle. Somewhere along the line someone must have taken out the firing pin and stuck the bolt in backwards. As you can see from the pictures it is still missing some of the bolt parts and the bolt is lodged in there backwards. The rifle had remained in his closet since it came home and his family wasn't even aware of it until about 2 years ago. When they found it they wanted to know more about it and this year they finally decided to go to a gunshow to get some more information. That is when I met them and talked to them about the gun. It came out that they were on hard times and needed to sell it. I offered to buy it from them as long as I could document their story. This is the basic version of the story but there will more information soon. Now I have to clean the rifle up. It has lots of surface rust and has a splotches of pink paint on it. Mr. Flagg had taped some papers with his name on it so I don't know how I can take it apart without ruining the papers. I don't even like the idea of taking it apart but if I don't it will continue to rust away. Hopefully I can have some pictures up of it in a cleaner and better preserved state. Stay tuned for more.
Brad

 

[03man]

Thanks for the pictures and the 'rest of the story'!

A keeper.

 

[Bill In Indiana]

GREAT Brad!!!! Heck...there is $100 worth of sling on it...but keeping the history with it is priceless to future generations. WELL DONE!!!! Oh...and thanks for the update!

 

[Bushido101]

I am glad to see you got the rifle, and as stated above you got the straight story, straight from the vet that brough it back and were able to help them out at the same time. It will be interesting to see it cleaned up, maybe you might even be able to find the parts it needs to get it working. Great catch and congratulations.

 

[czechmate82]

I think I might have some Type I parts lying around somewhere. I bought them off one of the auction sites awhile back as spares for my Type I. I haven't needed them, since I really don't shoot it much. I'll see what I have and let you know.

 

[Brad70]

Thanks for following the story and thanks for the words of encouragement. I think that this situation has really turned into a win/win for everyone involved. I got the feeling that the family was kind of sorry to see the rifle go but they were also happy that it was going somewhere where someone would appreciate the history of it and it could be taken care of properly. I told them that as long as I have the rifle that they can always buy it back for the price I paid. I also think that one of the things the family is happiest about is the fact that I am getting their fathers story on tape. According to the family, the interview we did was the most he had talked about his service. I'm going to give them a DVD copy of the story and interview so they will always have his stories.

When things settle down I will have to get to cleaning the rifle. It is really dirty and desperately needs help. It's going to take a lot of work to remove all of the surface rust but I think underneath it all there is a good rifle. The one thing I need help with is how to deal with the tape on the stock. I want to try and keep the papers that are taped to the stock intact but I have to take the tape off to clean the whole gun. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to approach it? I think I had read that WD40 is really good for getting sticky stuff off without harming the wood. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also thanks for checking on the bolt parts Czechmate. As you can see I can certainly use them. I think the bolt is missing everything but the extractor. If you can help I would really appreciate it. In case Czechmate doesn't have any spares can I just use bolt parts from a regular 91 Carcano?

Once again thanks everybody. I'll try and post some pictures of the progress of the cleaning when I get some time.
Brad

 

[czechmate82]

I'm going to have to take back what I said. I thought I had some Type I parts, but I couldn't find them. I must have sold them awhile back and forgot about it. I'll keep my eyes peeled and let you know about any parts with reasonable prices I find.

 

[bones92]

Brad,

I'd love a copy of that DVD, if you can swing it.

bones

 

[ireload2]

The only mechanically different parts on a Type I bolt is the bolt body and the extractor. The firing pin/safety assy is mechanically identical.
The differences are the extractor claw has a different shape to fit the Jap semi rimmed round. The bolt body had the ejector slot in the middle instead of off center and the bolt handle is about .250 further forward on the bolt body. While I say the other parts are mechanically the same they may have different markings since I only have 2 of the Type I assys and 2 Carcanos. One of my bent down Carcano carbine bolts had the same markings as one of the Type I bolts. Since I have not seen all variations of either version I would not no if there are any part markings that were excluded form the Type Is or unique to them either. One other detail is different. The Japanese appeared to have monitored production because the surface finish (RMA of tool marks) and deburring of the Type I is better than the same on my Carcanos.

 

[jsmosby]

Brad,
This is probably a two stage process: 1. To separate the tape from the paper I'd recommend using heat from either a hot air gun or an iron of the type used to apply flight surface coating to model airplanes. Hot air guns could be as simple as a hair dryer or one used for electronic assembly. The latter is preferable in that it can provide a higher maximum temperature and is has a smaller focused footprint. My preference would be the small iron. You can purchase cheaply at a hobby shop. They usually have a Teflon foot and geometry to focus heat in small areas. You'll want to work in small areas and carefully pulling to separate the tape from the paper. 2. The second part may be removal of residual adhesive from the paper. This may be accomplished with acetone, again, small areas and test effect before proceeding (with good ventilation).
Finally, the paper may be brittle. It may work to steam to soften before attempting to unfold. Then press flat until dry.
And finally, finally...patience.
Where are you located? If in Maryland, I may be able to help. (BTW, I'd pay $200.00 just to have the project on my to-do list; fun!)
John

 

[czechmate82]

Brad,
I found those Type I parts I thought I had sold. I sent you a PM.