Bulgarian rework type 47

[steelmonkey]

Came across this one yesterday while working on the road again. I bought this and another one both marked as East German bayo's. The store owner didn't have a clue on either one, the other is a 1958 Polish '47 with the common "A prefix".

This one in particular is the Bulgarian reworked version. Picked up both for $70. But, there are a couple of problems with this Bulgarian.

1.) Someone ground down the "weldment/rivet" on the scabbard.
2.) Someone stuffed something down into the scabbard, so the bayo itself cannot fully be seated into it.

Beings that I'm limited to tooling while in hotels working on the road, can someone offer any options to at least remove the wadding inside the scabbard? I'm searching for an extra long dental pick to start digging this stuff out of it. Your thoughts???

I can deal with the ground down "rivet" issue at a later point in time.

[Mr. B.]

Curt, as you mentioned, this bayonet and scabbard have been reworked. The scabbard originally had the internal tensioner, (drag), riveted in place. During the rework operation the rivet is often ground off to remove the drag and clean out the scabbard body.
Question #1. Is the drag still there? If it is there try to remove it, then recheck if the bayonet fits without the drag.
Question #2. Is the drag damaged, bent or jammed down in the scabbard? If so try to remove it with needle-nose plyers or forceps.
Question #3. Is the scabbard still constipated? Time to use hot water, solvent, and long pointed tools, (Phillip's screwdriver?), to soften and breakup and dig the crap out. Good luck! Mike

[steelmonkey]

Mike,
yea, I can see some sort of a wadding down at the bottom of the scabbard. The pic in the middle is as far as it will go. Since I'm in hotels, I don't have access to my shop tools back home.
Haha, I did boil it in a large pot on the stove in the hotel for a while, the only positive thing it did do was soften the green nylon strap of the frog!
I'll find something along the way.
Thanks

[Mr. B.]

I have used a wire clothes hanger and a pair of pliers in the past. Use the pliers to cut and straighten the hanger. You can try to un-twist the hanger were it joins to form the clothes rod hook. Use the twisted end like a corkscrew to dig in the scabbard. Or use straight piece wire an use it as a probe, maybe try twisting the end to make a slight hook. M.

[steelmonkey]

I have used a wire clothes hanger and a pair of pliers in the past. Use the pliers to cut and straighten the hanger. You can try to un-twist the hanger were it joins to form the clothes rod hook. Use the twisted end like a corkscrew to dig in the scabbard. Or use straight piece wire an use it as a probe, maybe try twisting the end to make a slight hook. M.

The clothes hanger worked to a point, got some of it out. Next up, was a 1/8"x12" drill bit, this got a big chunk out. Now I have left is the wadding near the tip of the scabbard. Too small for my limited tooling here on the road. I'll wait until I get back home to my shop.

Victory will be mine!

[steelmonkey]

Got home yesterday and had a chance to fix this issue. Air compressor at 140 psi with a rubber tip nozzle did the trick and a little bit of WD40.
Here's a pic of the wadding. Now it seats fully into the scabbard.