MG34 firing pin replacement

[anjongni]

I see these once in awhile on Ebay. Is the MG34 firing pin "needle" removeable from the shaft? By mere mortals? I have one that actually looks like it is two pieces, but it has a funny needle, and it doesn't work either! Any ideas from the experts? ....Phil

[shooterike]

The normal MG34 firing pin is one piece. What is pictured is a firing pin tip made up by a waffenmeister to replace the broken or worn one on an otherwise good firing pin. The standard proceedure would have been simply replace the firing pin, but this was not always possible a thousand klicks into the worker's paradice and no spares to be had. So some inspired soul (It is truely amazing high the IQ can climb in a place where one could swing a teacup through the air and catch a peck lead!) realized that a tip is far easier to make than the whole pin! The procedure is listed as item 98 in H.Dv. 181/6 Teil 7 Untersuchung und Instandsetzung des M.G.34.