www.MG42.us

My dfb/'44 gun original top cover internals have always moved from side to side when the removed cover was tilted back and forth. After a recent barrel experiment session, 750 rnds, I noticed the once easy to move feed assembly now requires a light, steady push w/the fingers to get it to move where gravity used to do it........the other top covers I have all drift w/gravity......Any ideas??????

fouling by gun powder residue combined with gun oil ?
? shot in the dark......

you do know that these should be cleaned once and a while

I always clean w/WW 2 stinky bore cleaner, then a gasoline vapor siphon under high air pressure, then a dry air blow down untill all traces of wetness are gone. Then lubed w/US mil spec lsa or msa. I can assure you, after getting past the gasoline smell, that my guns/parts are clean enough to eat off of........

maybe you need a fine spray lube before oiling, as is perhaps the part is to clean, I have found different lubes make guns act different

My componants got stiff once and I put some athletic heat cream on them and they loosened right up, just a thought.

I use a light grease on my top cover and rails. The manuals say that the MG is only to be lightly oiled, but I'm not shooting in the Russian winter. The dab of grease on the hinge points of the levers, and a couple drops of oil on the moving parts make mine work just fine. To be sure it's clean, you can soak it in kerosene and blow it out with an air gun, or just oil it afterwards. Should be all it needs.

In the winter, the manual says to wipe it with an oily rag, then wipe it with a clean one to take the oil off. But then, getting a replacement MG42 wasn't as much trouble then as it is now.

Guys, John has hit the old perverbial "nail on the head" about lubrication for the MG42. You don't have to buy the expensive gun lubricants either; good wheel bearing grease from the auto parts store will cost you a couple of bucks and last a loooooong time. Just remember, when using grease, the temperature outside where you will be shooting should determine what grease to use. The colder it gets, the thicker the grease will be. In the southern summers, I use a high temperature grease that would stop the gun in the winter, but is great for summer. In the winter, I use a thinner surplus German grease.

As the the old Brylcream commercial use to say "just a little dab will do ya" ( most of you guys probably don't remember this commercial and it shows my age, LOL, LOL)

On areas such as roller locks/cams and the feed lever stud and track that I use a light duty wheel bearing grease. Other than that I feel the mil spec lsa and msa are more than appropriate. I use a WD 40 spray bottle w/50/50 mix of 50w Valvoline racing oil and WD 40 to hose down most everything else including loaded belts at the time of their use. Aids extrtaction and keeps down wear on other feedway components. Are the BRP guns I see referred to all semis?????? I remember their ad offering a FA MG 34 and thought the MG 42 offfering was to be a similar exercise.

Use more, but only if you dare: watch out the gals will all pursue ya! They love to get their fingers in your hair

See Abwehr, you're not alone, some of us even remember the whole verse

Hey brassmagnet,

You and I are really showing our age, huh! Man, I am glad we don't have to use that stuff anymore, LOL, LOL.

Back on the subject of oil and/or grease, the LSA, or other MilSpec oil is good. The one thing to look at is how well any lubricant "sticks" to the parts under pressure. Engine oil is a good lubricant, but it does not "stick" to the metal so it has to be continuously pumped thru the system to work effectivly. The more modern oils that are available do lubricate well and stay put under pressure better than years ago.