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Inspection Marks

2K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  cirelaw 
#1 · (Edited)
On the beautiful 1913 was bold inspections,Mine doesn't on either! Are they special and why on some!! What do each mean?
 

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#2 ·
I am guessing but you’d mark it finished for that step. Perhaps it was for a break, or end of shift, since not everyone has a stamping. I have found some of the same letters in areas of the same on Simsons. It’s actually something I am going to do some research on soon.
 
#3 ·
As owner of this 1913 DWM, S/N 5486 "b" letter suffix, another Forum member sent me a photo of the same area, left -hand side pistol grip, to compare inspection stamps, on his 1913 DWM, also in the same "b" letter suffix block, though a little earlier S/N than mine...all the inspection stamp letters WERE DIFFERENT than mine, except for the letter "M"...Different shifts/people...??? Interesting...

It has also come to light, which I did not know, this Parabellum came from the "Doug Smith Collection "...in fact, there are photos of this pistol in Jan C. Stills' "Imperial/Central Powers" books...I do not own these books, though I have been looking for a copy to purchase...I mostly collect Pre - war, Nazi - era Mausers, though I am slowing moving in the direction and augmenting my collection with "Imperial" Lugers...I do own Jan's "Third Reich Lugers" and the "Mauser Parabellum" book by Hallock and van de Kant...All wonderful books...couldn't do without them...

Edward
 
#4 · (Edited)
The factory produced firearms in batches. Production involved finishing parts, ensuring that they met specification, then entering a step where they were installed, fitted and mated to larger parts groups like the frame and receiver.

As each step was completed, the factory had internal inspection steps where factory employees used gauges and standards to compare the workmanship to what was acceptable for shipment. When that processing or installation step was completed, and it satisfied the factory inspector, they marked the parts group with their personal inspection mark.

Some inspectors used letters, perhaps related to their names. Some used unusual symbols. These markings were placed in locations that would not be visible when the finished firearm was assembled.

The process steps within the factories changed from time to time. Order changed, batching changed. I expect efficiency was involved, as was the availability of parts batches. Think of the challenge of running 50 or 100 firearms through a set of complex assembly, fitting and evaluation processes that would change from time to time.

A very famous photo shows the C96 assembly line, which was on the top floor of the Sweden Bureau building in Oberndorf... This is an excerpt showing incoming parts batches with the frames in individual racks (photo courtesy the Paul Mauser Archive):
652164


Note that the final assembly racks were on saw horses, and the entire configuration of the assembly floor could be changed from time to time...
 
#6 ·
The factories had unique processes for assembly and inspection, and for that reason inspector markings occurred in different places and with different frequency. Those processes changed from time to time.

Later, at Mauser, as the internal factory inspection department formalized, a single mark (intertwined WR) was used in a more standardized location, and with less frequency - probably indicating multiple inspections were done at the end of a number of assembly and fitting steps.

The milling of the stock lug may have occurred very late in production of this frame. 1913 was a transitional year in which early Lugers didn't have the stock lug, and later ones were produced with it. It's likely that this Luger's batch started out without the lug, and it was milled late in the production process.

In later production batches, milling the stock lug would have been done much earlier.
 
#9 ·
The factories had unique processes for assembly and inspection, and for that reason inspector markings occurred in different places and with different frequency. Those processes changed from time to time.

Later, at Mauser, as the internal factory inspection department formalized, a single mark (intertwined WR) was used in a more standardized location, and with less frequency - probably indicating multiple inspections were done at the end of a number of assembly and fitting steps.

The milling of the stock lug may have occurred very late in production of this frame. 1913 was a transitional year in which early Lugers didn't have the stock lug, and later ones were produced with it. It's likely that this Luger's batch started out without the lug, and it was milled late in the production process.

In later production batches, milling the stock lug would have been done much earlier.
As of August 1913, all future production 1913 DWM Parabellums were to have the stock lug milled onto the frame, per new Army specifications...my example was obviously one of these...

Edward
 
#13 ·
These "worker stamps" essentially say that I did this factory work step, used the standardized measurement gauges, and the part or assembly passed my inspection of it's size or it's operation.

That is why I called them "factory inspection" marks. They represent the completion of an intermediate manufacturing step in the production of a part, assembly or fitment of a major portion of the pistol.

They are separate and distinct from the marks applied by government weapons office contract compliance inspectors and separate and distinct from the proof marks applied to weapons after proofing.
 
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