K31 owners please respond

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BombthePeasants

New member
I am about ready to detail strip my K31, and I need to know how easy it is to remove the stock and all other wood parts from the metal parts. Is it possible? are there metal pieces on the hand guards that cannot be removed? I ask in this forum, because here at work I cannot access many websites.

Thanks for your responses!
 
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benogil

New member
Ditto,

When I knew not much more than to - GET ONE - the surplusrifles tutorials supplied the knowledge I needed to disassemble. FYI, swissrifles forum and the swisssrifleswebsite ( different entities ) can also help with many pursuits.
Last words, from all perspectives - get ye all the GP11 while ye can -

also try gunboards and parallaxbill forums
 
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jsmaye

New member
I recently disassembled mine to refinish the stock. The disassembly/re-assembly is pretty straight-forward, except I wanted to remove the spring clip on the bottom of the handguard. It's held in place by a circular nut with two holes, similar to the cross-bolt retaining nut found on Mausers and Mosins, only much smaller. None of my snap-ring pliers would fit, so a friend of mine who owns a machine shop fabricated a tool from a flat blade screwdriver.
 
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BombthePeasants

New member
yeah, there's some metal components in the stock that seem impossible to remove. I want to use Strip X wood stripper on the stock, so I can refinish it, but there's metal furniture that I just can't figure out what to do with. I guess I'll put some painter's tape on it, and keep on truckin'.

Also, does anyone know if K31's originally came shellacked (spelling?), or were they BLO'd?
 
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SP Shop Foreman

New member
And for the most complete and comprehensive Swiss Rifles site on the net http://www.swissrifles.com/links.htm And the forums for specific info http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard.yuku.com/

And for direct contact with the European faction who buys, sells, exports and advises on all things relating to Swiss Rifles ask for Guisan. His specialty is everything relating to the Swiss Army, firearms, vintage accessories, clothing, manuals and anything within the realm of Swiss shooting and collecting, old and new.

Latigo
 
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NYPD13

New member
I also refinished my K31 stock and found it quite easy to remove all the metal components from it. The only trouble I had was removing the upper handgaurd retainer as the two pins which secure it are flared on bost sides. Pins are of soft metal so punched out easily, but had to use a leather punch to press them bak in and restore the flare. Came out great though.
attachment.php
 
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NYPD13

New member
I refinished the stock the old fashioned way, hand rubbed Tung seed oil. Used three coats, requires at least a day between coats to dry. The stain is Minwax Gunstock. Found some neat things after I removed the original varnish like the Swiss crest on the right side of the buttstock and armourers proofs at the tip of the handguard.
 
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jsmaye

New member
I used Minwax Gunstock with one light top stain of Sedona Red just for a hint of red. I sprayed a coat of shellac last weekend but it might have been too cold - the shellac didn't set up smooth at all. After sanding it down, I may just use Minwax Satin Poly, which has worked very well for me in the past.

NYPD13 - did you apply any final finish like shellac, poly, etc, or is that just the tung oil?
 
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NYPD13

New member
Just Tung oil. You could also use Linseed oil but I've heard it takes days to dry between coats. Tung oil will also revitalize really dry wood to prevent future cracking.
 
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BombthePeasants

New member
I believe I have read that a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed, and paint thinner, would soak in and dry fairly quickly. I think I will try that.
 
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SP Shop Foreman

New member
6 coats of Tung oil with glass wooling between coats.

drilltap.jpg


drilltap2.jpg




Refinished by removing original finish with alcohol and recoating with Shellaq.

k31.jpg


Everything here is now done with Tung Oil.

Latigo
 
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SP Shop Foreman

New member
Use a small amount of break-free just around the head, ( because paint and corrosion can bond the heads to the retainer bars) then use a square tipped gunsmith's screwdriver tip, not a standard tapered one. It must fit squarely and exactly.
Laying the rifle on a towel flat on the table,give the screws a very slight bit of pressure clockwise, then with full downward pressure turn them counterclockwise to remove them. If the screwdriver isn't the right fit you'll ruin the heads. If that happens contact Guisan here..... http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard.yuku.com/topic/3823/t/MY-SWISS-MINISHOPS.html

He'll send you replacement screws. Its not hard to doi but you have to take your time and definitley use the right driver.

Latigo
 
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