Sigh..........What a shame....

[AFJuvat]

Was in the gun store today, saw a T-99 Arisaka on the used rack. It was in bad shape, it was missing the magazine follower and spring, and the lower guide rails look like someone had been at them with a hammer.

Front sight ears were broken, cleaning rod missing.

As an added bonus, the metal was covered in thick black paint, so thick the rear tangent sight was frozen...

On the bright side, the stock was an early type and intact. I gave my son the 'bubba' stock for the "Franken-Rifle" I put together for him last year, and this was a chance to get a unmolested stock for it.

So, negotiating back and forth, I got the rifle for slightly less than I would have paid for a complete stock + shipping from one of the parts places that carries that kind of stuff.

Brought it home, and started taking it apart.....

...and realized I could unscrew the barrel by hand.....So I did.....

Brought out the acetone, and started removing the paint from the receiver and get a better look at the markings....

And got that sick feeling after cleaning the markings that it is a Nagoya (Tokyo) Arsenal, Series 0...

Nagoya was the first factory that made the T-99, and Series 0 makes it the first production run.......

...and it has a serial number less than 50k, which puts it in the first month or two of production, and dates it before Pearl Harbor...

I hate you Bubba.....

[DaFadda]

Would you take $75 for it? It does have coats of paint on it... and it IS in pretty bad shape. And I would NEVER want an Arisaka 99 with the Chrysanthemum still on it... But if it IS there... I'll give you $75.

How's that for sarcasm? Don't know what you paid, but I pray it has the Chrysanthemum on it!!!

DaFadda

[AFJuvat]

No mum, so it was surrendered.

Found the broken off remains of the anti-aircraft sights.

[sdmc530]

I have a T99. My grandpa brought it back from the war. Mine works great but don't have the rod, airplane sights and the Chrysanthemum is removed from mine as well. But I do have the matching bayonet so that is a plus. They were very crudely made to begin with so I can't imagine how bad this sounds.

Fun to shoot but its a sad reminder of that gun being used on us. I don't get mine out very often and I know my grandpa never shot it, he didn't even like to look at it. I think as he got older it was more of a bad memory rather than a fun bring back.

[AFJuvat]

Depending on when it was made, they ranged from very well made, to poorly made. The ones made from late 1944 - 1945 are called 'last ditch' and could almost be considered different rifles.

[sdmc530]

Depending on when it was made, they ranged from very well made, to poorly made. The ones made from late 19441945 are called 'last ditch' and could almost be considered different rifles.

My S/N is showing 34028. I have no idea where that stands in the grand scheme of things but its pretty rough I know that. Looks like a high school shop class made it. It looks good for what its supposed to be. Very poor machining for most standards though.

[AFJuvat]

My S/N is showing 34028. I have no idea where that stands in the grand scheme of things but its pretty rough I know that. Looks like a high school shop class made it. It looks good for what its supposed to be. Very poor machining for most standards though.

Take a picture of the serial number plus the markings in front of and after the serial number. I'll be able to figure out where and when it was made.

[sdmc530]

Take a picture of the serial number plus the markings in front of and after the serial number. I'll be able to figure out where and when it was made.

OK, I will get some pictures up of it. Makes me want to go shoot it now!

[sdmc530]

OK bud tell me all about it :D

Sorry the stamps are very small. I couln't get the really small one very well at all. Didn't see any other markings on the gun that I could tell anyways.

I will put the bayonet in the next post.

[sdmc530]

here is the sticker!

[AFJuvat]

OK bud tell me all about it :D

The small symbol in front of the serial number wasn't super clear, but I was able to determine that it is either a "chi" or a "nu" character which would indicate a series 8 vs series 10. I am betting it is the "chi". you can confirm by looking at the top of the symbol, If it looks more like a 'T' it is a series 8, if it looks more like a number 7, it is a series 10.

What you have there is a Nagoya Arsenal (Tokyo) "Last Ditch" Arisaka.

If it is a series 8, it would have been made sometime between May and September of 1944.

If it is a series 10, it would have been made sometime between September - December 1944.

Once the serial numbers in a series went to 99999, they started over with 00000 and started a new series,

The last ditch rifles were crudely finished, with the bare minimum of machining necessary to make the rifle functional. You may or may not have a buttplate on the rifle, and if you do, it is about a 50% chance that it is a wood plate nailed to the stock rather than a metal plate.

Your bolt handle wasn't finished, and the knob is smaller, which, like the elimination of the buttplate, was an attempt to conserve metal.

Your bayonet is also a "Last Ditch", using a cheaper steel, lacking the hooked quillion of the original type 30 bayonets.

The bayonet was made by a Nagoya Arsenal subcontractor: Kaneshiro Sakuganki Seizo Arsenal, which is indicated by the star next to the Nagoya proof mark, and made sometime between mid 1944 and early 1945.

Kaneshiro Sakuganki Seizo Arsenal is one of the less common bayonet manufacturers. There may be a symbol and a serial number on the pommel of the blade.

Hope that helps tell a little about it.:D

[sdmc530]

Wow impressive info. I will try to get the symbol for you. The butt plate is just tacked on to the stock. Looks really cheap too. The bolt looks like it was quickly welded and no finishing on the bolt or stryker assembly or any place. It shoots will with the fixed peep sights.

[skosh69]

Wow, glad I opened this thread.

No pics Mike?

[AFJuvat]

Wow, glad I opened this thread.

No pics Mike?

The sad remains of the one I picked up today is sitting in a tub of paint stripper.

[Caleb]

If I know Mike, it'll get the best treatment possible. If it's healthy enough to survive, he will be able to save it. If not then, it's a parts gun or wall hanger.

[DaFadda]

Wow.... great thread!

[pitor]

Wow.... great thread!
I agree. I always learn a ton when Mike posts about milsurp rifles.

[AFJuvat]

Wow impressive info. I will try to get the symbol for you. The butt plate is just tacked on to the stock. Looks really cheap too. The bolt looks like it was quickly welded and no finishing on the bolt or stryker assembly or any place. It shoots will with the fixed peep sights.

I attached a picture of the series symbols, Look at number 8, number 10, and maybe number 12 (unlikely) in the attached picture, and see which one matches your rifle.

The butt plate is just tacked on to the stock. Looks really cheap too. The bolt looks like it was quickly welded and no finishing on the bolt or stryker assembly or any place. It shoots will with the fixed peep sights.

All of those features were eliminated in an attempt to speed up production and conserve metal. Added a few pictures that compare the early T-99 to the 'Last Ditch' ones.

The T-99 constantly evolved over its production lifetime. The earliest models had a monopod and fold down anti-aircraft wings on the rear sight (pictured in attachments). The intent was that a squad or platoon would fire at the aircraft 'en volley'. It worked fairly decently against Chinese biplanes that flew low and slow, not so much against US aircraft, so they were eliminated in late 1942 - early 1943.

Trivia: The Arisaka T-99 was the first military rifle with a chrome lined barrel. The original intent was to protect the barrel during the island hopping campaigns in a marine environment. This is why the surviving rifles are good shooters given their age. Chrome lining was eliminated by most of the manufacturers sometime in late 1944 - early 1945.

[sdmc530]

Great info. Mine is just like pics on the right the terrible welds. After i get jr to school i am going to figure out the stamping.

Great thread bud!!

[sdmc530]

The best I can make out the symbol on the other side of the serial number is the one that corresponds with the 10 on your chart. Really hard to tell but that looks like it.

On the bayonet the end is ground off so you can't tell. The end of the handle has some numbers but it is so wore that you can tell what they are at all.

[RKP]

Wow.... great thread!

Agreed!
You Gents have posted some great gun/reloading threads here as of late !! http://www.cotep.org/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[AFJuvat]

Cleaned up all the pieces/parts.

Non-Salvagable:
Receiver (Safety) :mad:
Barrel (Cosmetic) Someone used vice grips to remove the barrel, hence why it was loose.

Salvage for use on a Nagoya Series 3.:
Lower stock
Bolt assembly
Rear sight ladder
Buttplate
Upper band/nose for stock.
Lower sling swivel

All of the above were cleaned up and rust blued in preparation to install them
They are currently soaking in oil after bluing. I took a few pictures before bluing, and I'll take a few more after I take the parts out of the oil bath

Spares/available, left in original finish:
Trigger guard
Trigger
Sear
Lower Band
Bolt Release
Ejector
All Action/Receiver screws/springs
Rear sight Tangent.


.

[Caleb]

It sucks you couldn't save it but, good try bro.

[DaFadda]

to bad you couldn't restore it, but the parts will be welcomed by others!

[Gatorade]

It's like an organ donor! It will live on through others!

I keep thinking back to the era it was brought here. A wall hangar was only useful as a trophy or a reminder. Most of those GIs had gone through The Great Depression and bringing back a rifle like that would have been a tool to put meat on the table. Cut it or use it in the elements doesn't matter as long as it can function for the purpose. You hear about a lot of Mauser that got the same treatment I think they even have a special name, a "duffel cut" where you cut it so it would fit into your duffle bag.

[AFJuvat]

The parts before and after bluing.

Overall, they cleaned up well. I tried a few different techniques, and the color came out a very deep blue/black.

First picture is the parts stripped of paint and soaking in denatured alcohol before bluing.

Second picture is the parts draining from the oil bath.

The last three are after having all of the oil removed.

[NAMVET72]

Looking Good cant wait to see it put together,




Clyde

[sdmc530]

Dang that is nice. So many skilled people here

[Gatorade]

Ok. I have a practice Mauser stock that is ready for this treatment. The barrel bands, butt plate, sling swivels and hardware all show a little rust. How do you treat them and what products do you use. I wiped the stock with some Tru-Oil. Looks like some termites got to the stock at some point so there is a hollow section under the butt of the stock. Probably won't be too bad, lots of stocks have larger holes for tools and such.

[AFJuvat]

No Tru-oil. Tru-oil is a varnish. The Russians were big fans of varnish, but most other nations did not use it - it was much faster to dip the stocks in a vat of hot oil and let them drain for a while.

Mausers, particularly the ones made in Europe, were treated with raw linseed oil (not boiled).

Check out my thread in the dremel room:

http://www.cotep.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13520

That covers how to rust blue.

Or, if you want, you can send me the pieces and I can do them for you.

[pitor]

Very nice project Mike, great bluing job (as always)