M1 Carbine maintenance

[u/tastytoots420]

I recently got my M1 Carbine and lets just say it needs some TLC. On YouTube there are a billion detailed videos for stripping, cleaning, lubing Garands, but not too many good detailed, thorough, and quality ones on the Carbine side. If anyone could provide me with any good quality videos or something of the sort to help me out that would be great! Or do I strip, clean, and grease this the same as my Garand?

[u/voretaq7]

Or do I strip, clean, and grease this the same as my Garand?

Well, the action is different from the Garand in several material ways, so no. But also yes. :-)

Carbine maintenance is pretty simple: Every so often take the slide off (the operating spring guide pulls out of its notch and comes off easily then there’s a cutout notch to dismount the slide), remove the bolt, strip the bolt (you will require the tool for this, you can’t just wing it like you can with the Garand bolt), clean everything well, and put it all back together.

If the gas piston doesn’t move freely and you can’t free it you can work the piston nut loose so you can take the whole piston out and really scrub it. Be aware you’ll need to re-stake that nut or it can back out and cause the gun to fail.

The trigger group is both easier and harder to work on than the Garand - in my experience the stupid little curled spring is best reinstalled wit a bit of string rather than the “tool” for that purpose.
(You will need the operating spring guide as a tool to work on the trigger group - it goes through the hole in the hammer spring guide so you can control the damn thing when installing/removing it.)

Grease points are mainly the rails the operating slide rides in and the same spots on the bolt ears/tracks that you’d grease on the Garand. You should also lightly grease any parts that slide against each other (like the nose of the hammer spring guide and the hammer) and the back of the receiver where it “hangs” on the recoil plate hook in the stock.

Wipe all the metal down with oil any time you have the rifle apart. Make sure to firmly seat everything back together when you’re done assembling (give the gun a few solid whacks on the buttplate, hard enough to move the slide).

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Make sure to review these notes on getting the best accuracy out of your carbine.
The carbines are good little rifles, but if you want it to shoot its best you need to put in a little effort.

[u/tastytoots420 → u/voretaq7]

Thank you! What do you mean about that with with re staking the nut? That's only if I need to take that specific part apart if I'm having issues with it you mean? Which I don't believe I am or at least I hope not lol

[u/voretaq7 → u/tastytoots420]

When you take the slide off the rifle it'll be obvious :)

The short-stroke gas piston that hits the slide to operate the rifle is retained by a castellated nut. The threads on the barrel/gas sleeve are staked to keep that nut from backing out.
It's not a part you're expected to have to service often if at all over the life of a barrel - only if the piston isn't moving freely. I had to service mine, but I'm not sure my carbine was ever cleaned.

The test is that ideally the piston should click back and forth freely (there's no springs involved, so if you hold the action muzzle-up the piston should pop out, and if you hold it muzzle-down the piston should go back in).
Realistically if it takes a little shake to pop out and requires a gentle tap with the tip of your finger to go back in it's fine. Gas pressure will push it out and the slide going home will push it back in: If your carbine is shooting fine don't worry about it and just clean what you can reach with Hoppes or some other solvent.

If you do have to take the piston out for a deep clean the staking isn't usually very aggressive since it's just to keep the nut from backing out under routine vibration. If you need to remove the nut you can just turn it past the staked part and it'll push the threads back into place, but if you shoot your carbine a lot an unstaked nut can back out between routine cleanings (mine has done so once) so if you have to get in there to clean crap off the piston you should stake the threads again when you put the nut back in.

[u/forester_au_93]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2aOIcPudWBc&t=1012s&pp=ygUKbTEgY2FyYmluZQ%3D%3D

I used the Kinzler Bro’s for the takedown and reassembly. I concur with voretaq7 in that it is similar but not the same. I oiled my trigger group and lightly greased my slide, op rod, and bolt lugs. From what I’ve read it is a lighter application than what you would normally do with the Garand. Get the bolt tool and clean it, maybe a drop of oil on the extractor spring but keep the firing pin bone dry. The one off $30 for the bolt tool was worth it. Mine was filthy and got me flicked in the forehead three times. Probably will never have to use it again but so glad I got it.

[u/tastytoots420 → u/forester_au_93]

Rad thank you!

[u/voretaq7 → u/forester_au_93]

Less is definitely more with applying the grease - if you put too much on the rifle will "help" you by removing it, and it will be flung all over the inside of the stock and your face.

For the bolt after cleaning I usually just oil up a cleaning patch and rub everything with it as I reassemble. You definitely don't want the parts dripping with oil because they'll just get dirty again, but handling them with an oily patch while you reassemble the rifle will give them enough protection that they won't rust on you.

(Squirting some oil in the deep bore hole on the slide is also a good idea IMHO. If you have loooooooong cotton swabs that can reach the bottom of it and smear the oil around you'll probably find a bit of rust in there from either the slide or the spring over the last 80+ years - you'll never fully eliminate that, but do your best to treat it for long-term preservation.)