The Mauser safety, and hence all of the three position safeties for Mausers, have that spring and plunger setup on the left side, which I presume is to keep the bolt lugs tight against their recesses when firing the gun.

Looking at the Winchester 3 position safety, there is a small piece on the left side, but it isn't a spring and plunger that pulls back. It looks like it just depresses to keep the bolt from wobbling around when it is in battery. In other words, there is no backward thrust from it that I can see.

That being said, if the Winchester bolt doesn't need any backward thrust from a spring and plunger, then one would think that the Mauser doesnt need it either, which would mean that 3 position safeties for mausers would be smaller, far less complicated to make, and therefore, (hopefully) far less costly.

For example, Pacific tool makes a beautiful 3 position safety for Remingtons that they sell for under $100.00, and yet most 3 position Mauser safeties are now in the $175-$250 Range.

What I am missing here?

Belt and suspenders. we are talking about a military rifle.

It also keeps the mechanizm from rotating loose.

The Rem relies on the tension of the striker against to rear of the bolt body to acomplish the same. ( if I remember)

Ever open a M96 bolt with the safety in the takedown postion. It tends to get out of alignment very easily.

The scale on which Dave Kiff manufactures everything from reamers to firearms parts, dwarfs any of the manufacturers that make 3 Pos safeties for M98's. If Dave decided to start making safeties for Mausers, the other guys would be hurtin', to say the least. Same goes for Bottom metal...Dave could make the same stuff, but for MUCH cheaper.

pointblank: You're wrong! a least about bottom metal...If it could be made MUCH cheaper as you contend, there would be dozens of people doing it... Don't see the revelance to either your post, nor my answer on this thread

Just have a hard time allowing the stuff that makes grass grow green go un- challenged.

I also think there is customer loyalty in this business. I would still buy safeties from Ed Lapour even if someone else made them a little cheaper. I like Ed and his products.

Forrest

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe:
pointblank: You're wrong! a least about bottom metal...If it could be made MUCH cheaper as you contend, there would be dozens of people doing it... Don't see the revelance to either your post, nor my answer on this thread

Just have a hard time allowing the stuff that makes grass grow green go un- challenged.

I'll say it for you. "Bullshit"

quote:

Originally posted by 22WRF:

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe:
pointblank: You're wrong! a least about bottom metal...If it could be made MUCH cheaper as you contend, there would be dozens of people doing it... Don't see the revelance to either your post, nor my answer on this thread

Just have a hard time allowing the stuff that makes grass grow green go un- challenged.

I'll say it for you. "Bullshit"

22WRF

So when can we expect to see your products hit the market?

I am not interested in making products. Rather, I am interested in seeing more products made!!! Competition and choice are good things for the consumer.

quote:

Originally posted by 22WRF:
I am not interested in making products. Rather, I am interested in seeing more products made!!! Competition and choice are good things for the consumer.

The market for aftermarket rifle parts is small enough that it does not fit the standard model. It only takes one or two new suppliers of lesser quality parts to drive the top quality guys out.

The PME safety is a good example of this. Jim Wisner used to sell though Brownells at the same price as Dakota and Gentry. Now Lapour produces this safety and it is only available through him and it costs about 50% more than the competition.

I don't know why Wisner got out of the safety business, but he is a business man and I would guess that he decided that it was not worth his trouble. Everyone seemed to feel that the PME was the best 3pos safety available, as is the Lapour(at a much higher cost). I would guess that it was hard to compete with Dakota's name, as it was not hard for him to kill them quality wise.

But the $145 PME did have to compete, and now it is gone.

It would be interesting to do a cost benefit analysis on aftermarket gun parts to see what quality costs.

Jason.

To answer some questions about the OLD Precise Metalsmithing Ent. Three Position Mauser Safety.

I made between 6 and 7 thousand of the those safeties from 1986 to 2001.

The reason I stopped, was twofold.
One, 9/11 was a disaster, you can not go from over $5000 gross sales a month to less than $ 400 gross sales a month for a long peroid and not have to shut things down.
Two, the liablity of making safties is not cheap.

At one point in the late 90's we were shipping almost 500 of those 98 mauser safties to Brownells, a YEAR.
That kept one machinest employeed making them full time.
I asked Don Allen once ( when he was alive )how many a year was Dakota making, and he gulped after I told him how many I was making a year. He never answered my question as to their production levels.

Remember, all those safties was made on MANUAL Machines. Also we did all of our heat treating in house.

CNC machinery is another story, anyway you look at it IF you do not have a machinest capable of making the part time after time, year after year, then it is not feasable in a long prodcution.

James Wisner
Custon Metalsmith