Took the pdf drawings of the STEN and entered them into AutoCAD.
Started taking measurements there.
I stand by my position that there's nothing on a STEN that cannot be made in a high school metal shop.
I modify that position with... this is not a real STEN if it's semi-auto.
Converting it to closed bolt semi-automatic operation might take a bit more doing, especially keeping an eye on making sure it cannot take any full-auto parts.
If ATF didn't consider open bolt, fixed firing pin guns illegal machine guns, then this would be simple. Lock the selector in the semi position and drive on!
The next nut to consider is that while I am certainly allowed to make my own gun for personal use without telling the ATF (or any other government entity in Florida) there might be a bit of sticky wicket concerning design approval. I am still researching that. It could merely be something that you need to do if you're making a gun from a parts kit that used to be an MG rather than entirely from scratch.
And there's nothing in making one from scratch that requires I don't use Indianapolis Ordnance's semi-kit if I am faithful with the other dimensions.
Plus... Since this will have to have a 16" barrel, I think that the handguard should be extended out to the muzzle so that it looks like the suppressor from a STEN Mk IIS. That'd be cool, wouldn't it?
I think it might also be a good idea to look at the dimensions for a Colt 9mm AR magazine, since they're a lot more available than STEN and generally regarded as more reliable.
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AWESOME!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAlso IIRC Colt SMG mags are simply Uzi mags with the mag catch cut relocated.
Food for thought, and I'm excited to see this process!!
I can't imagine that it would be too difficult to find someone with a 3D printer who could clone STEN magazines for you.
ReplyDeleteOr just use the same shop and tools you used to make the receiver to make the mags. I mean its just folded steel. The spring and follower can't be much harder than anything else either.
DeleteA couple of years ago I was in Oslo, Norway. There is a museum there, dedicated to the resistance against the Nazi occupation. One of the exhibits parts and tooling from a clandestine STEN factory.
ReplyDeleteThe SOE provided arms and equipment on a scale suitable for intelligence gathering, sabotage and resistance, but had no plans for a French style army of the interior to fight in conjunction with an invasion. Norway's liberation was to be left till after the Nazi surrender. The Norwegian resistance begged to differ, and wanted the ability to fight on a larger scale if the occupation forces turned nasty or used Norway as a "last redoubt". With this in mind, they started building their own STENs.
The part I found most interesting was the rifling tools. I had always thought that all of the resistance made STENs (Polish etc) were smoothbore. Apparently not! The tooling was simplicity itself. It consisted of a wooden board with a curved slot in it, which guided an arm with a cutter on it, and a handle. You ran the cutter down the bore, guided by the curved slot. Once you had made a few passes, you gave the barrel a 1/4 turn, and repeated until you had the depth and number of grooves you wanted.