Yesterday's Weapons Forums

Having checked with the usual suspects, I'm told no more than 50 were made in this configuration. It's rougher than 6 miles of Russian road & appears to have languished in a garage or barn for many years. As purchased, it had no bolt or handguard. Covered in light rust all over and cobwebs in every crevice. The bore was nasty, but oddly, it cleaned right up! Got it shiny now!

This might take a while, but like the cliche' about eating an elephant, it will be one bite at a time. Shown is the magazine covered in light rust.


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This is pretty much representative of the entire rifle. I've no idea why the magazine was left in place - it's for the 10.4x47R cartridge. On another site, a know it all kind of guy said it was there to collect empty 22 hulls, but there's a plate welded over it, so that's out. I'm not complaining - I like the look. I'll be off to work before too long so no cleaning today, but the plan is to start out by spraying it with WD-40 - let soak overnight and attack with brass wool the following day. I've got some brass wire wheels for hand drill, but I'm starting out with hand operation only. I don't want to monkey this up!

This is actually a Vetterli rifle with a 22 barrel installed by Beretta. Had an extra 6,5 Vetterli bolt on hand but it wouldn't close. It was too long by about .050" which I cured with a handy-dandy 8" mill bastage file. Cut - n - try. I only want to remove enough metal so the bolt would close but still be tight. I have fond hopes of actually shooting it someday. Shown is a standard 6,5 Vetterli bolt and the one I filed to fit.


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Next step was to fit a firing pin. Really not much to show here - I just filed high spots until it fit easily. Eventually, I'll put a fired 22 short case in the chamber and use those to file the firing pin to proper protusion. I do think it will fire, but we will see about that much later. Just the end of the firing pin is seen at the end of the bolt. It did take quite a bit of fitting. Cut - n - try... go slowly. Once you take metal off, it's hard to put back!


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Then it was compare, measure and mark the new handguard. I don't think this will be too bad. I'll cut a shallow groove on the top for sighting - the original had one as far as I can tell. Then relieve the front to fit under the barrel band. Once I get it fitted, I really don't want to take it apart too often so I plan to clean the barrel first.


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Pics of that as it happens. Last pic just shows the rifle with a closed bolt and handguard held in place. Keeps me too busy to hit the bars! SW


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Slava Ukraini!!

looking great , interesting project for sure , i think the plate on top the mag is to be used as a loading platform ,

I had intended to clean the metal before fitting the handguard, but I had time and inclination today. The instruction manual for this operation consists only of: "Cut and try".

In the beginning... we have this. Not even close to fitting.

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Tools included an 8" mill bastage file ( I don't have a rasp) coarse sandpaper and this Exacto kit.

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After measuring about 58 times, I jumped in & shaved wood away a LITTLE at a time.

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The next two pics show getting closer. I didn't want to monkey up this blank & went SLOWLY. 10 or 12 file strokes at a time - compare for fit - a few more file strokes - smooth the surface with sandpaper - repeat the process as needed...

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Finally... close enough for railroad work!

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And one final shot of the finished handguard. Sharp corners - beveled on the end like the real deal... I'd rather be lucky than good!

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Kaintuck can do this stuff in his sleep, but it was 3 hours worth for me. And no, I don't do it for hire. SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

very nice work , and a great fitup ,

....pssssssssst.........secret.........kaintuck dont do it....he uses forced labor-his cats and their sharp lil claws do the woodwork...

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....Naj puška govori!....
.............deplorable typical "bitter clinger"....

very cool, nice work, I hope it fires.

yes , me too , but its a great project even if it never does in my book - yet i know it will in the end

After mucho scrubbing with copper wool & WD-40, the top layer of rust is gone. Given the scarcity of this model, I didn't want to restore it - just clean it up. This is about as clean as it's going to be.

The only remaining step is to stain the handguard. Beech is a real "b-bomb" to stain. I'm still deciding between Rit dye or a military style stain from Broiwnells. More on that later. SW


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Slava Ukraini!!

...I have a MAS45 .22 that has a reeeeealy light beech stock that sucked and knew it would be a pain...decided to stain it...I used a military stain(mebbe from Brownells -dont recall)...heres how she came out(below the K98)... ...it also seems to have darkened with age as this is an older pic,and i'm sure it'd have gotten darker if I'd given it another coat or 2....


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....Naj puška govori!....
.............deplorable typical "bitter clinger"....

That 22 trainer sure cleaned up nice!

it is one of those really interesting pieces that one should never pass up in this life

incredible! The stuff that you can bring back to life.

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It's 5 o'clock and it's watermelon time.....................
because you can't drink beer & load rockets - TXPete

Some things are past hope though... like Lindsey Lohan. Eat yer heart out, Kaintuck!! SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

a suggestion on staining it , get yourself a small can of walnut , mahogany , and maybe pecan stains , a sperate china bristle brush for each , use a dry brush - dip and wipe off excess , to slowly blend the stains to achieve a match , tedious and best adapted to small repairs but you can be very accurate in the match ,

otherwise take scraps of the wood and mix stain samples up to try and match with a single/multi-coat application , then dry brush the touching areas to match ,

Today was the day! My friend who sent the handguard blank told me beech is a real bastage to stain. Among the options he suggested was Rit dye so I grabbed a package of dark brown & mixed with 12 oz tap water. The plan was to test that on scrap beech and adjust the dye/water ratio as needed.

I monkeyed around with that until it looked close and painted the handguard. I'll leave it a few days and paint again as needed if it's not sufficiently dark.

I figure it's 90% done now. Next comes fitting the firing pin against fired 22 short cases until it no longer pierces them. I'll also have to fit the sear to the bolt. Cut-n-try... go slowly... I can't emphasize that enough. You can eat the elephant one bite at a time, but be sure to take SMALL bites! Once you file metal or wood away, there's no putting it back! Ask kaintuck! He does this in his sleep... while dreaming of Lindsey Lo Life!

I wish I had taken more pics of just how nasty it looked from the box. Dust, dirt, grime & general crap-ola several thousandths deep. All beat TO heck! As mentioned, I just went over the stock with a damp washcloth & lightly rubbed the metal with fine steel wool after spraying with WD-40.

The trick in a project is knowing when to leave well enough alone.

Overall I don't think it turned out to badly for a $165 POS. A newer variety in better shape recently sold at auction for $1000.

(PSA: wear latex gloves when using the dye - especially concentrated like this! ) SW


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Slava Ukraini!!

i like it , turned out real nice

If I may be allowed one more pic, it's shown here with M91 bayonet in place. How odd! These were intended for Fascist shooting clubs, but it's bayonet capable... There has to be a story behind that.

Big cheese collectors in Italy estimate fewer than 50 made in this configuration with Vitali magazine and bayonet lug. The magazine was for 10.4x47R long rifles. There's a plate welded over it, so it's just for looks. Not so the bayonet lug! It's fully functional! SW


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Slava Ukraini!!

very nice , it looks terrific , if that is that rare i would look to make it function and if there werethat few made ..... crap , you are the winner ,

Found this one at auction. It's a more typical configuration of the 22 trainers lacking the Vitali magazine. I originally thought Beretta made the stocks new, but notice this one has attachment points for the Krnka quick loader experiment - which have been filled. Thus proving the original Vetterli stocks were cut down as needed for the trainers. I wouldn't mind having this one, but 4 figures is a trifle over budget. SW


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Slava Ukraini!!