I've been trying to get a spot in the Civilian Marksmanship Program's Advanced Maintenance Class since the Fall of 2016. Although, I was on the waiting list, when the Covid hoax shut the CMP down in March, I figured I would be out of luck again this year. In June, I was notified that I have been moved from the waiting list to 'invited' for the August 18th thru 21st. So, I quickly reserved a room at the Finale Hotel in Anniston and put in for a week of vacation.
The CMP had to make lots of concessions to even be allowed to resume classes. The facility tour was out, as was the visit to the South Store and the catered lunch was nixed. Masks were required and your temperature was taken before being allowed to enter the Custom Shop.
Each of the 9 participants had a nice, appropriately distanced work space with all the necessary tools, jigs, manuals and a pile of paperwork.
The size of the class was also reduced. There were 9 (7 gentlemen, 1 lady and myself) which meant we got lots of one-on-one time by the armorers.
We got a lecture and video covering the history and function of the M1. After a little more lecture on selecting a good receiver and things to avoid, two tables were uncover which had about 40 receivers each. One table had Field Grade Receivers and the other had Service Grade Receivers. All were Springfield Armory manufactured. There was a $200 price point difference depending on which you selected.
Of course, most folks went after WWII era receivers. I chose a 4.3 Million serial number because a post war SA fills a void in my collection. Once everyone had chose their receiver, there appeared two tables with several dozen bolts of various manufacturers. I decided that my rifle was going to represent an arsenal rebuild mix master, a Franken-Rifle if you will. So, I picked a WRA bolt.
Next using a jig, a vice and some lapping compound, we lapped the bolt so that the bolt lugs were seating evenly into the receiver.
I wish I had taken better pictures during the barrel installation; but, I wanted to pay attention and not be 'that guy' who screwed something up. They brought each of us a brand new Criterion Barrel dated 06/20. The barrel installation involved putting the barrel in a jig on the work bench, hand threading the receiver and turning it until hand tight. Then, we temporarily fit the gas cylinder on the barrel putting an aluminum rod on the front sight and the rear sight to use as a guide while indexing the barrel with a receiver wrench. When the two rods were lined up horizontally, we were done. We then used a reamer to ream the chambers which are cut short so that they can be reamed out to match a specific bolt. By lunch time on the first day, we had a barrelled receiver with matching bolt.
After lunch, they passed out yellow tubs with trigger group parts and had us select our trigger housing from a few dozen of various manufacture. I chose an International Harvester continuing my Franken-Rifle theme. Gotta have some Indiana parts, right?
After a bit more lecture and a video with details of how the parts in the trigger group interact with one another, we assembled our trigger groups. Day 1 ended with instruction on how to perform a trigger job and in short order my trigger pull was buttery smoooooooooooooth. (Yep. 13 o's. Why 13?)
So again, I donned my mask and showed up bright and early for day two.
They handed out another yellow tub of parts and we made quick work of assembling the internal magazine.
Another yellow tubby and we had parts for the rear sight which were assembled just as lunch break began.
After lunch, they passed out three beautiful pieces of American Walnut. We were allowed to choose an OpRod from several dozen. I couldn't find an HRA. So, I went with an IHC. And we were allowed to install the hand guards and gas system parts. But, they warned us to not try to fit the rear stock because this batch of stocks had some excess material at the back of the magazine opening.
After using a wood file to take off the excess material, we finished the assembly.
As day 2 ended, we got our cases and got to take our rifles with us when we left for the day.
On day 3, we met at Talladega Marksmanship Park which I call "The Disney Land of Shooting Sports!" After the usual temperature check and safety briefing, the opened the TMP Store early for us and we got about 30 minutes to shop. I found a beautiful Remington Model of 1903...but, I'll save that for another post. I also bought a couple of 200 round boxes of the Creedmore thirty ought six. So, I could take full advantage of my day pass at TMP.
We met on the 100 yard range and proceed to function test our rifles. I was surprised how many rifles short stroked initially. Only 2 rifles of the 9 cycled correctly. Our instructor, who got to fire each rifle first(...brave man!) quickly worked through the issues. In my case, after trying a couple of different gas cylinders, he swapped the OpRod and that did the trick. I zeroed my rifle.
I spent the rest of the day shooting both of my new rifles. This was the best group. Sorry, only 7 ... I kept forgetting to reset the electronic scoring system!
I can't say enough good things about the CMP and the fellas in the custom shop. They were wonderful. I learned so much. You could tell they enjoyed teaching the class as much as the students enjoyed being taught. They took an interest in making our stay pleasant. As class was breaking up each day, they made sure those of us from out of town knew which restaurants to try.
I know for some folks this is old hat stuff; but, for a novice M1 enthusiast like myself, it was a thrill of a life time. I highly recommend it to anyone reading this thread!
I took my rifle apart last week. I lightly sanded the stock and then hand rubbed 6 coats of RLO into the wood. It brought out some beautiful figure in the wood. Here are a couple of pictures I took today...
The CMP had to make lots of concessions to even be allowed to resume classes. The facility tour was out, as was the visit to the South Store and the catered lunch was nixed. Masks were required and your temperature was taken before being allowed to enter the Custom Shop.
Each of the 9 participants had a nice, appropriately distanced work space with all the necessary tools, jigs, manuals and a pile of paperwork.
The size of the class was also reduced. There were 9 (7 gentlemen, 1 lady and myself) which meant we got lots of one-on-one time by the armorers.
We got a lecture and video covering the history and function of the M1. After a little more lecture on selecting a good receiver and things to avoid, two tables were uncover which had about 40 receivers each. One table had Field Grade Receivers and the other had Service Grade Receivers. All were Springfield Armory manufactured. There was a $200 price point difference depending on which you selected.
Of course, most folks went after WWII era receivers. I chose a 4.3 Million serial number because a post war SA fills a void in my collection. Once everyone had chose their receiver, there appeared two tables with several dozen bolts of various manufacturers. I decided that my rifle was going to represent an arsenal rebuild mix master, a Franken-Rifle if you will. So, I picked a WRA bolt.
Next using a jig, a vice and some lapping compound, we lapped the bolt so that the bolt lugs were seating evenly into the receiver.
I wish I had taken better pictures during the barrel installation; but, I wanted to pay attention and not be 'that guy' who screwed something up. They brought each of us a brand new Criterion Barrel dated 06/20. The barrel installation involved putting the barrel in a jig on the work bench, hand threading the receiver and turning it until hand tight. Then, we temporarily fit the gas cylinder on the barrel putting an aluminum rod on the front sight and the rear sight to use as a guide while indexing the barrel with a receiver wrench. When the two rods were lined up horizontally, we were done. We then used a reamer to ream the chambers which are cut short so that they can be reamed out to match a specific bolt. By lunch time on the first day, we had a barrelled receiver with matching bolt.
After lunch, they passed out yellow tubs with trigger group parts and had us select our trigger housing from a few dozen of various manufacture. I chose an International Harvester continuing my Franken-Rifle theme. Gotta have some Indiana parts, right?
After a bit more lecture and a video with details of how the parts in the trigger group interact with one another, we assembled our trigger groups. Day 1 ended with instruction on how to perform a trigger job and in short order my trigger pull was buttery smoooooooooooooth. (Yep. 13 o's. Why 13?)
So again, I donned my mask and showed up bright and early for day two.
They handed out another yellow tub of parts and we made quick work of assembling the internal magazine.
Another yellow tubby and we had parts for the rear sight which were assembled just as lunch break began.
After lunch, they passed out three beautiful pieces of American Walnut. We were allowed to choose an OpRod from several dozen. I couldn't find an HRA. So, I went with an IHC. And we were allowed to install the hand guards and gas system parts. But, they warned us to not try to fit the rear stock because this batch of stocks had some excess material at the back of the magazine opening.
After using a wood file to take off the excess material, we finished the assembly.
As day 2 ended, we got our cases and got to take our rifles with us when we left for the day.
On day 3, we met at Talladega Marksmanship Park which I call "The Disney Land of Shooting Sports!" After the usual temperature check and safety briefing, the opened the TMP Store early for us and we got about 30 minutes to shop. I found a beautiful Remington Model of 1903...but, I'll save that for another post. I also bought a couple of 200 round boxes of the Creedmore thirty ought six. So, I could take full advantage of my day pass at TMP.
We met on the 100 yard range and proceed to function test our rifles. I was surprised how many rifles short stroked initially. Only 2 rifles of the 9 cycled correctly. Our instructor, who got to fire each rifle first(...brave man!) quickly worked through the issues. In my case, after trying a couple of different gas cylinders, he swapped the OpRod and that did the trick. I zeroed my rifle.
I spent the rest of the day shooting both of my new rifles. This was the best group. Sorry, only 7 ... I kept forgetting to reset the electronic scoring system!
I can't say enough good things about the CMP and the fellas in the custom shop. They were wonderful. I learned so much. You could tell they enjoyed teaching the class as much as the students enjoyed being taught. They took an interest in making our stay pleasant. As class was breaking up each day, they made sure those of us from out of town knew which restaurants to try.
I know for some folks this is old hat stuff; but, for a novice M1 enthusiast like myself, it was a thrill of a life time. I highly recommend it to anyone reading this thread!
I took my rifle apart last week. I lightly sanded the stock and then hand rubbed 6 coats of RLO into the wood. It brought out some beautiful figure in the wood. Here are a couple of pictures I took today...
Last edited: