MG42 Feed tray

[Corston]

Hello to all
My first proper post
I recently purchased a 1943 dfb manufacture
MG42.
I will over time have lots of questions to ask you all
But for now :
The feed tray is post war and so l decided to replace it.
One came up on eBay , cof manufacture which I bought and received today.
After installing, I found that when I try to shut the top cover the tray binds on the feed tray on the vertical edge of the topcover on the left hand side and won’t shut easily or without force. I’ve measured both trays and the cof is about a 1/16 of an inch bigger barrel end to butt end.
Is it normal for replacement parts to have to be “tuned “ to the gun?
Many thanks
Corston

[BrodieBartfast]

Is it possible the feed tray or top cover are out of alignment somehow? The two components do fit together fairly snugly, but not tight enough for metal on metal contact.

If you post some pictures, I can compare it to my own gun and see if I can figure out the problem.

B.B.

[BrodieBartfast]

There is one thing worth checking, actually, though this probably isn’t the issue. Make sure the arm inside the top cover is all the way to the left before you close it. The mechanism prevents the cover from closing otherwise.

B.B.

[Corston]

Thanks BB
definitely metal to metal , and yes the I’ve got the mechanism in the right position ( to the left )

[BrodieBartfast]

Thanks BB
definitely metal to metal , and yes the I’ve got the mechanism in the right position ( to the left )

Something must be misaligned or bent, then. These weapons were used in anger, so it's possible the feed tray or some other part of the weapon has taken a knock and been bent out of shape in a way that's not immediately obvious. Sorry I can't be of more help. It's one of those problems that's hard to diagnose unless the gun is in-hands.

B.B.

[Corston]

Thanks again BB
if I can’t solve it I will put some pictures up
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