[Pier23]

Gentlefolk,

Recently got a mixmaster P38, so this is a shooter grade, not collectible.

Finally got around to stripping/cleaning and when reassembling, found I had more parts than when I started.

The plunger for the locking block fell out, apparently since there is no retaining pin to hold it in place.

It is this guy here:

How do I pin or screw is guy back in place?

History of this piece is uncertain. It is, as mentioned, mixed numbers so this is a post-war build but shows very light use. The pin, I am guessing, was just never installed.

Suggestions?

Thx!

Don

 

[Redcat94]

I had that happen to one of my P1's. The part you lost is just a small roll pin. You can probably get a replacement from a decent hardware store.

 

[Pier23]

I had that happen to one of my P1's. The part you lost is just a small roll pin. You can probably get a replacement from a decent hardware store.

And then if needed, how is the pin removed? How do I determine length of pin? Taking a firearm into a store for sizing, even in my town, may raise eyebrows…. I guess all I really need to take in is the locking block, rest of firearm not needed…OK, that is doable.

(You can see Im very much a newbie about all of this…)

Many thanks for the hand-holding!

 

[Pier23]

Is there a Walther shop kicking around where I can pick up parts like this? The diameter of the pin I will be able to tease out, but not the length.

Thx!

 

[Redcat94]

And then if needed, how is the pin removed?

The pin is never supposed to be removed intentionally although they do sometimes come loose.

Is there a Walther shop kicking around where I can pick up parts like this?

Walther Arms won't service it but you can try Earl's Repair Service. Here's a link to his website.

Walther Firearms and Accessories, Earl's Repair Service Inc. - Home Page

Walther Firearms and Accessories, Earl's Repair Service Inc.

carlwalther.com

 

[Pier23]

The pin is never supposed to be removed intentionally although them do sometimes come loose.



Walther Arms won't service it but you can try Earl's Repair Service. Here's a link to his website.

Walther Firearms and Accessories, Earl's Repair Service Inc. - Home Page

Walther Firearms and Accessories, Earl's Repair Service Inc.

carlwalther.com

Thanks, Redcat, sent Earl’s an email.

 

[Pier23]

Redcat,

Called Earl’s and he said there is no pin holding in the locking block plunger - that item is held in place if the barrel is inverted and a punch is used to deform the channel, and this secures the plunger/pin in place. Is this your experience with securing this locking block plunger/pin?

It really isnt bothering me having it loose and not captured, it just seems…. crude to punch the bottom of the locking block.

I have a P5, so now I need to look at that locking block and see what is holding -that- plunger in.

Thank you for any insight!

Don

 

[Redcat94]

The locking block pin on one of my P1's is secured by a roll pin. It backed out last year and I tapped it back in place. I wish I had taken a picture of it then.

Looking through past threads on this subject it would appear that the pin is originally secured by staking it in place. Perhaps that didn't work on my P1 so someone drilled out the staked part and used a roll pin. I've never seen a Bundeswehr P1 armourers manual but maybe that was a standard repair.

What I would try next is to reinsert your locking block pin in the correct position and try to restake it using a small punch. Don't use too much force because you want that pin to move freely.

 

[Pier23]

OK, to confirm my absolute lack of guy knowledge here, by “staking” do you mean punching a small indent into the locking block itself to secure the pin?
And as I have been thinking of this, the fact the pin is not captured doesn’t concern me a whole lot…in the bizarre, moon-shot occurance I would need to replace that pin, it is easy to do now, and far more difficult if it is captured by some method.

This is an amazing firearm to learn about. I got the P5 on a whim, it was in the marked-down case at my LGS when it was still open. And I love the PPQs I have and even enjoy the SmithWalther PPK/s which I kinda imagine as being a real Walther…

Near as I can tell, the P38 is a 1945 vintage, at least for the frame.