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Fitting original bayonet to repro musket

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  • #1

    Fitting original bayonet to repro musket

    Gents,
    I know there are several threads that discuss similar topics, but I need some advice. I was able to acquire an original 1853 bayonet on ebay for $49. It is one that apparently has British war department marks WD with the broad arrow. I realize this is incorrect for WBTS. I got it in the mail today and tried to fit it to my Euroarms 1853. The barrel is a little too large. Would it be acceptable to attempt to fit it to the musket by filing the socket down? Should I leave it alone and resale it? Also, should I remove the WD broad arrow marks? I don't want to completely ruin it but I would like to have a nice fitting original bayonet. I'm not aware of anywhere I can find an original that cheap, it is bent a little but the blueing is very intact. It's in great shape and has minimal pitting.

    Justin Connor
    Justin Connor
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Fitting original bayonet to repro musket

    Hallo!

    That is a question that is both personal and philosophical.

    Some lads hold that altering an original item is destroying its place in history let alone its "collector's (resale) value" and desirability. On the other extreme are those that maintain that restored originals to the condition and appearance they were in when in use during the CW are preferable to so-so reproductions. Somewhere in the middle is the argument that it risks loss and further contributes to the original's wear, tear, and use.

    Adding a historical note.... the barrels on non-standardized 3rd Model P1853 Enfields vary in diameter as do the bayonets (which were sometimes stamped with the gun's number to keep track of which one fit it). Somewhere in the Enfield Universe's artifact pool, even if you alter the inner diameter of the socket a tad, there will likely be somewhere original Enfields that it will still fit. :)

    Curt
    Last edited by Curt Schmidt; 02-06-2016, 05:22 PM.
    Curt Schmidt
    In gleichem Schritt und Tritt, Curt Schmidt

    -Hard and sharp as flint...secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
    -Haplogroup R1b M343 (Subclade R1b1a2 M269)
    -Pointless Folksy Wisdom Mess, Oblio Lodge #1
    -Vastly Ignorant
    -Often incorrect, technically, historically, factually.

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    • #3
      Re: Fitting original bayonet to repro musket

      Mixed feelings on this...however, absolutely no WBTS provenance here and you will be unlikely to find any original bayonet that will fit an Euroarms barrel (they are quite oversized). Better that you ream out something that did service for Her Majesty's War Department rather than an actual Civil War artifact.
      Craig L Barry
      Editor, The Watchdog, a non-profit 501[c]3
      Co-author (with David Burt) Suppliers to the Confederacy
      Author, The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy
      Member, Company of Military Historians

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      • #4
        Re: Fitting original bayonet to repro musket

        I have used a rat tailed file and dremel tool with grinding wheel attached to fit bayonets.
        Jim Mayo
        Portsmouth Rifles, Company G, 9th Va. Inf.

        CW Show and Tell Site
        http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/j_mayo/index.html

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        • #5
          Re: Fitting original bayonet to repro musket

          Thanks for the advice gentlemen.
          Justin Connor

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