From my recent experience buy the $40 bolt disassembly tool. I have one ordered. The man cave/reloading room is now shared with the grand kids play area and some storage. Somewhere there is a extractor spring .......
That said, I have replaced the springs in other firearms including my M1 Garand. The carbine is another animal!
The m1 carbine disassembly tool is a vital necessity to safely and easily disassemble n reassemble the bolt. A well, made or original GI tool is best. The itty bitty extractor plunger will give you night mares if you drop it. Be sure to use your safety glasses. Good luck with it! Ps some you tube videos are spot on and very helpful. Some are very bad n wrong.
Thank you sir. I watched the video on how to use them.
If you work with the bolt in a plastic freezer bag it’ll help contain any “lost” springs.
i have torn them down and reassembled with a screwdriver, when my fingers worked better.
highly advise the bag and the tool, makes it a heck of a lot easier.
if you are anal about finding out how "correct" it is, you got to see the firing pin.
there is another tool by the way that helps with the trigger/hammer springs. key point often overlooked by those saying they have a complete original. original spring had a different number of coils.
there were a couple of versions of that extractor as memory serves me.
t his thread got me to thinking. probably 20years ago i bought a underwood bolt in cosmo, wrapped in that green duct tape stuff. never took it
out of the wrap. now i am wondering about the parts in the bolt.
little bad humor i like to pull on people now and then. the question was have you ever given a carbine a blow job?
you stick your finger in the chamber then suck on the muzzle of the barrel.
you can then see if you are getting proper function of the little gas piston under the barrel.
they are suppose to be staked in, sometimes they come loose.
or somebody firing lead bullets you can plug them up.
most don't think to clean that vital part.
Thanks for the input. I got the bolt tool and have the carbine back together. I took it to the range last Monday and it shot great. It's a fun little rifle.