Mauser K98K sniper repro help

[GT3_richy]

I have a non-matching 1942 K98 that I'm quite attached to. Its been with a fairly well-known historic rifle chap for conversion to long side rail sniper config using the Accumount repro LSR mounts available for the K98s and a 20s/30s vintage Kahles 4x optic.

I know he farms out the machining/fitting of the mount to the receiver to some old chap. A couple of weeks ago he emailed to say the the machinist chap had reported that the receiver was 'glass hard' and that no cutters were touching it. He wanted my authorisation to try to 'fix' this by annealing the receiver (as its way away from the locking lugs), saying it would probably leave some discolouration but was the only way forward, to which I agreed.

He's been in contact again today, saying he's thought about it some more and wants written authority from me to undertake the annealing, waiving any liability for cost of repair or replacement should the process damage the rifle. Alternatively he will just bill me for the service and return the rifle, which is what I have elected for.

Question to those who know metallurgy/machining type things - should I give up with the sniper build (my eyes aren't getting better and I really struggle with the Mauser irons, hence going for the scope fit, as the 4x mag will enable me to enjoy the rifle a lot more and for longer!), or am I likely to find someone else who's likely to be able to complete the work (recommendations welcome!), preferably without turning it into wall art?

Cheers
Rich

 

 

 

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

As I understand it, the problem will have arisen at manufacture. The slave labour that was used to create a large amount of the rifles would ‘sabotage’ them by over-hardening them during construction (I’m no engineer so don’t know the ins and outs). Therefore you might be stuck with one of those rifles and may not be able to find anyone else who could do it.

 

I suspect I know the original chap you’re referring to - I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do that sort of work (even if he doesn’t machine it himself) personally, but maybe that’s just me!

[Popsbengo]

I would be very cautious about heat treatment to anneal the receiver,  this really needs knowledge and experience to proceed safely,  ideally someone who's done that and proven successful.  Suggesting local annealing without affecting the lugs sound like the use of a torch flame - a very difficult to control process I'd think.

There's a member on here that is qualified to offer an educated view;  he may be lurking in his sett..