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 Chris Thomas | Home > 
M14 Machinegun Project
I am starting this project to honor my dad who carried an M14 during the early days of Vietnam.  I started this project by locating a transferrable M14 machinegun receiver that I thankfully got a scorching deal on.  

It is in new, never built condition.  It sat in a vault for decades and now I am embarking on building it up into something exactly like what my dad had back then.
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Vingage M14 Mags in Wrapper
Picked these up in a cool liitle gun shop in Brunswick, Maine while I was on a turking hunting trip last week.  Now I have two vintage "real thing" mags to go with this M14 machinegun project. From 1962.  They are even older than I am!

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Vingage M14 Mags Unwrapped

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Unfinished M14 stock from Fulton Armory
Here is a photo of the bare walnut stock before I started doing the Tung oil process.

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Dad and his M14 "Mona" in Vietnam.pdf

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Fully Transferrable M14 machinegun receiver
Smith Enterprises receiver made prior to the May 19, 1986 machinegun ban!

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Left side

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Bottom

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Right Side

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Under 200 of these receivers in existence

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M14 Build Process Pic 1

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M14 Build Process Pic 2

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Almost done...
Just need the trigger group fitted and some final parts install.  Will do all this in one more trip to the gunsmith in two weeks.

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July 19, 2015  The project is DONE!!!
Today was the last trip to the gunsmith for this build project.  The trigger group had a trigger job performed and it was fitted to the rifle.  A National Match front stock ferrule was fiitted, the full auto/selector switch parts were installed and it was done.  Super hot and super humid day.  Just horrible out.  Perfect day for the birth of this new jungle warrior.  Tested it with a full 20 round mag.  Had some failures to eject- it is still tight and stiff and new.  Should be fine once it is broken in.

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M14 Full Auto Video from Day 1.mov

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I miss having your work available, and now that they've badmouthed you out of existence, everyone is praising your work.

Best of luck and happiness in your ventures
 - 
john, Fri, 15 Dec 2023 6:11AM
 
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