Greetings, All.

I am in the process of repairing an 1892 rifle that has been bubba'd. This is a true 1892 that never saw, was never subject too, the 1896 upgrade.

Unless someone wants to make me a deal I can't refuse, I can not afford an 1892 front barrel band and I need to fabricate one from an 1896 barrel band.

If anyone would post photos of an 1892 band, either in situ or by itself, it would be greatly, and I mean, GREATLY appreciated.

If there is any interest I will document the repair work and share it here.

Thanks,

Mark

For now, I'll describe it: There is a bulge at bottom center with a hole to allow passage of the rod. The bulge does not extend the full length of the band, only about 5/8" or so. The whole thing looks (from the front) much like the lines of a camelback mantel clock, as there are smooth re-entrant curves at the sides, it is NOT simply an inset cylinder, as the lower edge of the rod hole is tangent to the line of the inner diameter of the band.

It would be very interesting and neat if you document your progress here, Mark. How exciting.

Congratulations on a worthy project. I am not qualified to be of much help, but, will enjoy seeing the story unfold!

I wish you very good luck in finding great parts!

oh, man, you mean there's a reverse curve where the front of the entry thimble joins the bottom of the barrel band?

This aint going to be easy.

I have not seen any if it looks like this.  Sorry.  It is the only pic I have.  But it you can hold out for August or September I might be able to get a couple more shots.

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Culpeper wrote on Apr 13^th, 2018 at 9:03pm:

I have not seen any if it looks like this.  Sorry.  It is the only pic I have.  But it you can hold out for August or September I might be able to get a couple more shots.

So you (ro whoever owns this rifle)have the solid band. Thanks for the response! I need to see what the front looks like, where the ramrod, excuse me, cleaning rod, enters

Mark - You probably know, already. Brophy has decent pictures of the 1892 front band on pages 23 and 24 of "The Krag Rifle".

Mallory and Poyer have good sketches in their books.

butlersrangers wrote on Apr 13^th, 2018 at 10:04pm:

Mark - You probably know, already. Brophy has decent pictures of the 1892 front band on pages 23 and 24 of "The Krag Rifle". Mallory and Poyer have good sketches in their books.

No! I did not know!

Thanks.

Dug deep into the krag photos.  Found this one on the web years ago.   Have you tried 5madfarmers over on Culver's shooting page?  He might have a pic from his book.

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Springfield Armory picture only shows side-view.

I found a couple of other views on my hard-drive.

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butlersrangers wrote on Apr 14^th, 2018 at 5:05am:

Springfield Armory picture only shows side-view. I found a couple of other views on my hard-drive.

You did it, photo in the lower right hand corner, thanks!

This is not going to be easy.

sigh.

Mark, I had one made about 15 years ago by a local gunsmith. He took a piece of steel tube the proper size and built up the edges with weld then re shaped them. Not too hard if you have or have access to a good welder.

Ned Butts wrote on Apr 14^th, 2018 at 11:15pm:

Mark, I had one made about 15 years ago by a local gunsmith. He took a piece of steel tube the proper size and built up the edges with weld then re shaped them. Not too hard if you have or have access to a good welder.

Ned, thanks! Almost exactly what I have planned. I have a very close friend that is a master smith, I'm going to farm it out to him.

Do you still have that 1892? A photo would be real nice.

My brother has it now I will see what I can do.

All, collectorsfirearms.com in Houston had/ has an "unaltered"
Krag Model 1892 rifle with first variation two piece brass cleaning rod. I looked at it and it was super clean with bright bore. The stock was light colored like soft blond shade unlike what you normally find on a Krag. No cracks or dings . The tag on it was
for $ 10,000 . I have an unaltered '92 with the solid cleaning rod.
So I reluctantly passed on that Krag as I did not have 10 k in
pocket change that day.
Does anyone know if Jan Ostberg is still around ? I believe he
was in Mississippi. He always had some nice Krags and the
accessories to go with them. The last time I saw him he had
some Krag carbines that were unissued and still in the original
wrap. They were $3500 each.

Thanks for the heads-up on the Krag, though the rod might not be right, since most attempts have been found to be reproductions. I'm also a bit short in the wallet!  :) :)

As far as I know, Mr. Ostberg has passed.

He was famous for whizzing carbines - the late Bill Mook (universally revered dean of Krag collectors) referred to them as "red ryders" from the distinctive shade of dye he used in refininshing the stocks.

He was also the applier of the small [OALW] stamp which gets asked about every once in a while. That stood for "Ostberg Armory & Locomotive Works".

He also whizzed Lionel trains.

To whizz is to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear without bothering to inform the buyer.