This one's real!!

[Jersey Devil]

Received this a day or two ago.
Authentic USGI SA Type 1 follower rod with punch marks. This follower rod will be used on 20435.
Not only Winchester parts have punch marks!!
Thank you, Sir!!

[Bodyman]

Awesome - congrats.

I once almost had a phenomenal deal on type 1 rods.

It must be about 15 or almost 20 years ago that I saw a little old surplus store that had a new web page online and they used to list a bunch of 'collector stuff' on the interweb here. I think the owner was Bob and he would occasionally go thru the shelves in back and clean out stuff that had been there for years. I would check the web page every once in a while and one day I noticed, way down near the bottom, listed without pictures, was a description of an early follower rod, "the kind that needed the 2 springs not just the one (but that I don't have any of the springs left)". He had it listed for 15 dollars.

Well I scrambled to find a phone number and called, and the girl ended up getting Bob on the phone to answer some questions. He told me the same thing again, and that he would go look at them for me. Shortly I am listening to what sure passed for a bunch of follower rods in a box knocking together. I asked how many he had and he counted out 15, and then adds that he had 2 of the ones that were thicker and didn't need the second spring. Trying to not get excited at what must certainly be almost a dozen and a half very rare and desperately underpriced follower rods (even back then), I asked how much for the other 2. He said they were the same; 15 bucks. Struggling to come up with a good reason why, I said I had a small table at the shows and liked the early stuff and would he just send me the lot. "Sure", he says "I'll box them up", and puts me back on with the young lady to take my CC and shipping info.

Now I am sitting there, blown away that this is actually going to happen and just can't believe my luck. But it was short lived. About 2 hours later, a new guy puts a post on CSP's forum wondering if this might be real or not and puts up a link to Bob's site and the early follower rod for 15 bucks.

...

Well, I am sure that the phone lines blew up and unless the box had already gone out there was no way that I was going to get them. Nothing to do but wait, and when the box showed up I got 17 regular old follower rods that were, at the time, going for about 15 bucks ...

Ah well, ...

I know they were real - I heard them and I know he knew what he had. He just didn't know what they were worth. I used to check his site every once in a while but I never saw him selling them again so I can only guess that someone else offered him enough to make him swap them out - and somewhere, someone bought about 17 at one time. I knew it was too good to be true.

Soooooo close.

Here is another pic for you just for fun.

[Jersey Devil]

Bodyman,
Thanks for the inspiration with that photo above......now that's a nice rare part right there!!

That story is fascinating. I can only imagine the number of old, rare parts that get found like that. I'm sure it's not a ton of them, but I know that in my very short time collecting Garands I've now come across two rare parts in a similar situation. One was a number buttplate and the second was an unmarked op rod.

This hobby is crazy fun!!

[CCyooper]

And its twin ....

[Bodyman]

Sah-weeeet!

That is a nice early one too - looks to have blued finish still and a nice double bevel follower arm, too.

Very cool.