Factory Tour 1962: Building the M14 at Springfield Armory (PHOTOS)

By Chris Eger

The last rifle built for the U.S. military at Springfield Armory was the M14, and historic photos from its production vouch that it was made “old school.”
Put into production in 1959 to replace several weapons to include the .30-06-caliber WWII-era M1 Garand, the select-fire M14 would be manufactured by Springfield Armory, Winchester, Harrington & Richardson and TRW through 1964. In all, more than 1.3 million of these 7.62x51mm chambered battle rifles were cranked out before the line was closed in favor of the contractor produced M16.
From the Armory’s archives comes this series of photos, taken in 1961 and 1962, showing the M14 on the line.
A rough forging for an M14 receiver. This would be milled out to a functional component (Photos: Springfield Armory National Historic Site)
Milling out the receiver
Checking an M14 barrel with a borescope, a common task still seen today on the floor of gun factories
Checking the tolerances of a barrel. PPE was kinda optional back in the 1960s.
Turning a block of walnut into an M14 stock
Carving the barrel and receiver grooves in the M14’s wooden stock. While overseas NATO allies used plastic furniture on their FN FAL and HK G3s during the same era, the Army stuck with

Source: Guns.com