PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-585
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 585
AUGUST 2001
M2 Machine Gun…
A
bad sear spring stops your M2 machine gun in its tracks, as in no shooting. But
just two quick checks weed out bad springs.
To get at the sear spring, depress the sear and remove the sear slide. Remove the
sear and sear spring.
Check 1:
Is either end of the spring deformed, or does it fit loosely in the sear or
bolt?
Check 2:
Is the spring cracked, broken, collapsed, or elongated? Set the spring
upright on a flat surface and push it down. If it doesn’t spring back to its full posi-
tion, it’s a bummer.
PS 585
AUG 01
48
Small Arms.
..
Clean Then Touch Up
S
olid film lubricant (SFL) does a great job of touching up spots on your rifles and
machine guns where the finish has worn off. SFL stops corrosion before it starts and
erases shiny spots that can signal your position to the enemy.
But SFL does no good unless you clean
shiny spots with dry cleaning solvent
before
touching them up with SFL. Unless
you clean with solvent, you can’t get rid of
all lube in the weapon’s metal. Lubricant
prevents SFL from doing its job and soon
you’ve got a bare spot again.
M2 Machine Gun Only
SFL can be used to refinish as much as a
third of the M2 receiver. If more than one-
third needs to be refinished, the M2 needs
to go to depot. This criteria will be added to
the next update of TM 9-1005-213-23&P.
The exception is the barrel. If you’re
not
part of a rapid deployment or division-
al combat unit, the whole barrel can be touched up with SFL. If you
are
part of that
kind of unit, no more than one-half of the barrel can be touched up.
p
as
shiny
ots
SFL.
be in
its
the
d,
to the
a
arrel
rrel
L
ooks can be deceiving. Just because the headspace and timing gauges for the M2,
M3, or M296 machine guns don’t have obvious problems like pitting, rust, or bent
parts doesn’t always mean they’re ready for action.
Some of those gauges have been in service for
years and are just plain worn out. There’s no cal-
ibration requirement for the gauges, so you can’t
tell if they’re OK just by looking. A bad gauge
gives a bad reading for your machine gun. That
could lead to poor firing or no firing.
If you have doubts about a gauge, have it sent
to TMDE for calibration. Then you’ll know for
sure. Calibration procedures are in the calibration
pub, TB 43-180.
If you need new headspace and timing gauges,
NSN 5220-00-535-1217 gets both.
Clean with solvent
before applying SFL
Wait a minute.
Did you first
clean that
spot with
dry
cleaning
solvent?
If you have doubts about
gauge accuracy, get support
to check it
M2, M3, M296 Machine Guns.
..
EYES
DON’T
HAVE IT
If you spot any of these problems, get a new sear spring from your armorer.
Spring
loose,
deformed,
cracked,
elongated
or crushed?
Does
spring
spring
back?
585. 48-49 (C)
6/25/01
5:57 PM
Page 1
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