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Bren gun gas plug keys

Article about: After a few months of searching I've finally managed to get a set of Bren gun gas plug keys to finish off my small parts tin. I did come across a set on eBay being sold by a dealer down sout

  1. #1

    Default Bren gun gas plug keys

    After a few months of searching I've finally managed to get a set of Bren gun gas plug keys to finish off my small parts tin. I did come across a set on eBay being sold by a dealer down south for an eye watering £85... I offered him £30 - which was still more than reasonable - but fortunately for me he refused. I then came across a set on the internet which was being sold on by Bryburn Trading Co in Australia. Total cost with Air Mail postage included was AUD$47.40... which worked out at about £27... Unbelievably, the set on eBay were actually purchased by someone for the full asking price!

    First picture is of the set which was on eBay.

    Cheers,
    Steve


    Bren gun  gas plug keysBren gun  gas plug keysBren gun  gas plug keysBren gun  gas plug keys
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Bren gun  gas plug keys  

  2. #2

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    Bren kit prices seem to be rising greatly recently. I bought my spare parts tin (missing the ejector if anyone knows where I might find one?) for £5 about 10 years ago.

    The piece I was most pleased to find was I think the MkI combination tool (my kit also includes the much different MkII tool) that I got from the larger than life and sadly late, Doug Preece of ABI Militaria (if you remember him?) at the now defunct fair in Antwerp around 1994/5 for £25 and they are now in lower three figures!

    I remember tripods being piled high on fairs at £25 but I think I have missed the boat there now!

    I still need a fouling tool but they seem to be fairly common at the moment.

    I'ts easy to get carried away isn't it?

    Regards

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  3. #3

    Default

    Quote by Watchdog View Post
    Bren kit prices seem to be rising greatly recently. I bought my spare parts tin (missing the ejector if anyone knows where I might find one?) for £5 about 10 years ago.

    The piece I was most pleased to find was I think the MkI combination tool (my kit also includes the much different MkII tool) that I got from the larger than life and sadly late, Doug Preece of ABI Militaria (if you remember him?) at the now defunct fair in Antwerp around 1994/5 for £25 and they are now in lower three figures!

    I remember tripods being piled high on fairs at £25 but I think I have missed the boat there now!

    I still need a fouling tool but they seem to be fairly common at the moment.

    I'ts easy to get carried away isn't it?

    Regards

    Mark
    I remember Doug Preece very well. I travelled down to see him just a year before he sadly passed away after battling lung cancer. I got a very nice light pattern Vickers gun with a 1916 date tripod off him after I sold him a spare Lewis gun I had.

    As for the Bren bits... I have the Mk11 combination tool which sits better with my early 1941 Enfield made Mk1*, the earlier combination tool was by this time withdrawn from service and left with the armourers. There are some Mk1 Czech ZB combination tools - which are the same - being offered by a dealer for less than £100. I have all the other bits and spares for both the gunners pouch and the spare barrel holdall, and I was fortunate enough to get myself an Enfield made Mk1* spare barrel. As well as the magazine box with the 12 magazines, I also have an unissued set of 1941 dated utility pouches with six magazines. I have enough inert .303 ball - with some tracer - and all have unstruck primers with dates from the 1920's up to 1945 - to put five rds in each magazine... I got these just a week ago from an ex RE bomb disposal bloke. The only items I do not have is the tripod - which I don't want - and the firing pin gauge. Ejectors might be found on the website of DS Militaria (not DS Solutions) or Raids Militaria.

    Cheers,
    Steve

  4. #4
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    Default

    It's nice to get these bits, Brens and their parts (esp the Mk1) are going up in price. I am now appreciating the Bren now more than when I first started collecting, and will also be looking out for interesting parts and accessories if I decide to pursue this line for my collection.

  5. #5

    Lightbulb

    It's good to see the Bren being appreciated, but I'm amazed at the way prices have gone. I bought mine, complete with perfect transit case, from Witham's nearly 25 years ago.
    I was quite shocked at a fair a couple of years ago to see a dealer asking much the same price I paid....but for just the transit case !

  6. #6

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    Quote by Martin Bull View Post
    It's good to see the Bren being appreciated, but I'm amazed at the way prices have gone. I bought mine, complete with perfect transit case, from Witham's nearly 25 years ago.
    I was quite shocked at a fair a couple of years ago to see a dealer asking much the same price I paid....but for just the transit case !
    I was lucky with my '41' dated Enfield Bren Mk1... I got it from JC Militaria for below the current going rate several months ago. Unlike some of the EU chopped Bren's, this one has a virtually complete piston assembly! The breech block has been chopped and welded in place, but only two very small blobs of weld are visible from the magazine housing... these are for stopping an unmodified magazine being inserted.

    Cheers,
    Steve

  7. #7

    Thumbs up

    Quote by HARRY THE MOLE View Post
    ....I was lucky with my '41' dated Enfield Bren Mk1...
    Very nice indeed !

  8. #8
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    Default

    A great find Steve,
    I'm not very familiar with the Bren.
    I know it's history and it's basic operation, But have never had a chance to fire one.

    So if you would be so kind, Could you explain what the keys for the gas plug do?

    Thanks
    Semper Fi
    Phil

  9. #9

    Default

    Quote by AZPhil View Post
    A great find Steve,
    I'm not very familiar with the Bren.
    I know it's history and it's basic operation, But have never had a chance to fire one.

    So if you would be so kind, Could you explain what the keys for the gas plug do?

    Thanks
    Semper Fi
    Phil
    Hi Phil,

    Utmost apologies... I have only just come across your post which asks what the gas plug keys are used for. They should actually be referred to as: 'Gas regulator keys.' The gas regulator being the circular block at the front end of the barrel on the underside. The keys are used for reaming out any carbon deposits clogging up in the four holes on the regulator. the regulator is used to control the amount of gas tapped off from the barrel to drive back the piston. When the hole being used starts to get blocked and the gun fails to cycle properly, the regulator can be rotated to the next largest hole to remedy the situation and restore the gas supply sufficiently enough to drive back the piston. The barrel is unlocked and slid forward enough to clear the lug an the body assembly, which then allows the regulator to be rotated - usually done with the head of a round.

    Cheers,
    Steve
    Last edited by HARRY THE MOLE; 11-04-2021 at 08:48 PM. Reason: My usual typo's

  10. #10

    Thumbs up

    Thanks Steve

    This has long been one of my 'things you want to know but were afraid to ask' questions...

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