{
  "apiVersion": 1,
  "kind": "work-order",
  "purpose": "Taking the firearm apart for a job such as refinishing, and putting it back together to specification.",
  "firearm": {
    "slug": "mauser-c96",
    "name": "Mauser C96",
    "manufacturer": {
      "id": "mauser",
      "name": "Mauser"
    },
    "category": "pistol",
    "action": "recoil-operated",
    "calibers": [
      "7.63x25mm Mauser",
      "9x19mm Parabellum"
    ],
    "alsoKnownAs": [
      "Broomhandle",
      "Model 1896",
      "Red 9"
    ],
    "coversAlso": [
      "Mauser C96 in its many variants",
      "Chinese and Spanish C96 copies (quality varies considerably)"
    ],
    "page": "firearms/mauser-c96.html",
    "bundle": "api/v1/firearms/mauser-c96.json",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-10-29"
  },
  "notices": [
    "This work order is written for the Mauser C96. It is reported to cover Mauser C96 in its many variants; Chinese and Spanish C96 copies (quality varies considerably) — if the firearm on the bench is one of those, check the torque notes: values do not always carry over.",
    "No torque values are recorded for this firearm. Get them from the manufacturer or a gunsmith; do not estimate."
  ],
  "disclaimer": {
    "headline": "Read this before you use anything here.",
    "points": [
      "This is a guide, not an authority. Entries are compiled from manufacturer manuals, technical manuals, published references, and community knowledge. Some of it comes from sources that are not authoritative, and some of it may simply be wrong.",
      "Always consult the manufacturer's manual for your specific firearm and serial-number range. Manufacturers change designs mid-production without renaming the model. The manual that shipped with your firearm outranks anything on this site.",
      "Consult a licensed gunsmith for anything beyond routine field stripping and cleaning, for any firearm you are unsure about, and for any procedure marked as gunsmith-recommended here.",
      "Treat every firearm as loaded. Verify it is unloaded, with the magazine removed and the chamber physically and visually checked, before any procedure in this database. Point it in a safe direction the entire time.",
      "Disassembly can damage a firearm or injure you. Springs are under tension, parts can launch, and reassembling a firearm incorrectly can make it unsafe to fire in a way that is not obvious from the outside. If a reassembled firearm does not pass a function check, stop and see a gunsmith.",
      "Torque values are shown in two groups. Values from the manufacturer or the issuing military are shown as such, with the document they came from. Values reported by anyone else — parts makers, gunsmithing publishers, articles, forums — are shown separately with who said them, how reliable that source is, and their exact words. Those are not specifications. Confirm any torque value with the manufacturer or a licensed gunsmith before relying on it.",
      "Nothing here is legal advice. Firearms law varies by country, state, and city, and some modifications or configurations are regulated or prohibited. You are responsible for knowing and following the law where you are.",
      "No warranty of any kind. Contributors and maintainers accept no liability for damage, injury, or loss arising from use of this material."
    ],
    "page": "disclaimer.html",
    "legal": {
      "summary": "Legal notice: this material is third-party information compiled from sources of varying reliability and is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not gunsmithing, technical, safety or legal advice, it is not verified or endorsed by any manufacturer, and it must not be taken as fact. Any work on a firearm beyond the routine field stripping described in its own owner's manual should be performed only by a licensed and insured gunsmith. You use this material entirely at your own risk. Fundamental Build LLC and the project's contributors make no warranty of any kind and accept no liability for death, injury, damage or loss arising from its use. Full terms: LEGAL.md.",
      "page": "legal.html",
      "notice": "https://github.com/Fundamental-build-LLC/Pew-Takedown/blob/main/LEGAL.md"
    }
  },
  "sourcing": {
    "confidence": "medium",
    "verification": "community-reviewed"
  },
  "manufacturerDisassembly": {
    "status": "not-recorded",
    "limit": null,
    "statement": null,
    "source": null
  },
  "recalls": [],
  "shopTier": {
    "tier": 3,
    "group": "pistol",
    "rating": "Pew-Takedown editorial rating (1 easy – 3 hardest), not the manufacturer's",
    "reason": "About 29 parts, but the lockwork is an interlocking pinless sub-frame that 'assembles like a 3D puzzle'; owners who strip it report not getting it back together or getting it stuck in the receiver, the hammer must be cocked for the lock to come out, and this page marks it gunsmith-recommended.",
    "confidence": "high",
    "partCount": {
      "value": 29,
      "kind": "pieces",
      "covers": "Whole pistol, approximate ('more or less, depending on the specific version'); a magazine count, not a keyed list.",
      "basis": "publication-diagram",
      "source": {
        "title": "From the Bench",
        "publisher": "Handloader Magazine (Wolfe Publishing)",
        "reliability": "secondary",
        "url": "https://www.handloadermagazine.com/from-the-bench-2",
        "page": null,
        "pdfPage": null,
        "pageUrl": null,
        "quote": "Comprising only 29 parts – more or less, depending on the specific version – Mauser’s pistol has half the parts of a double-action revolver and about the same number as Colt’s Model 1911."
      }
    },
    "painPoints": [
      {
        "issue": "The pistol is built to assemble like a 3D puzzle with a single screw; every part locks another in, so the order is unforgiving.",
        "during": "both",
        "source": {
          "title": "From the Bench",
          "publisher": "Handloader Magazine (Wolfe Publishing)",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://www.handloadermagazine.com/from-the-bench-2",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "to assemble like a 3D puzzle; its sole lonely screw secures the grips to the frame."
        }
      },
      {
        "issue": "An owner who cleaned his Bolo put the lockwork back incorrectly, struggled to get it back out, and then found it would not cock; it went to a gunsmith.",
        "during": "reassembly",
        "source": {
          "title": "Cleaned Pistol and now won't cock",
          "publisher": "MauserGuns forum",
          "reliability": "anecdotal",
          "url": "https://www.mauserguns.com/forum/index.php/topic,1135.0/wap2.html",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "I took it apart and clean it. I put it back together incorrectly and had a time getting the guts back out of it. I put it back together, however, now it will not cock."
        }
      },
      {
        "issue": "The lock frame only comes out with the hammer cocked, and freeing it can take more than two hands.",
        "during": "disassembly",
        "source": {
          "title": "C96 adventure",
          "publisher": "LugerForum",
          "reliability": "anecdotal",
          "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=343740",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "It would appear to require more than two hands but it was doable."
        }
      }
    ],
    "minutes": {
      "strip": 45,
      "rebuild": 90,
      "basis": "estimated",
      "note": "Lockwork out of the receiver and broken down (hammer, sear, safety, rocker, mainspring), bolt and firing pin, magazine floorplate/spring, grips; rebuild is the puzzle and the time sink, then a careful cock/fire/safety check.",
      "source": null
    },
    "stripScope": [
      {
        "assembly": "Receiver/barrel",
        "removes": [
          "bolt",
          "firing pin and spring",
          "extractor",
          "magazine floorplate, spring and follower",
          "recoil spring"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "hand pressure only for most parts"
        ]
      },
      {
        "assembly": "Lockwork",
        "removes": [
          "lock frame from receiver",
          "hammer and mainspring",
          "sear and sear spring",
          "trigger",
          "safety",
          "coupling rocker"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "bent tool to depress the rocker"
        ]
      },
      {
        "assembly": "Frame",
        "removes": [
          "grip panels and the single grip screw"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "screwdriver"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "hardware": null,
    "specialTools": [
      {
        "tool": "bent tool for depressing the coupling rocker",
        "usedFor": "Releasing the lock frame (method cited from J.B. Wood on LugerForum)"
      }
    ],
    "fitOnRebuild": [
      {
        "check": "Hammer cocks and holds; safety engages",
        "why": "A mis-seated sear spring leaves a pistol that will not cock, as in the MauserGuns thread",
        "source": {
          "title": "Cleaned Pistol and now won't cock",
          "publisher": "MauserGuns forum",
          "reliability": "anecdotal",
          "url": "https://www.mauserguns.com/forum/index.php/topic,1135.0/wap2.html",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "I suspect the sear spring slipped above it's intended position on the sear."
        }
      },
      {
        "check": "Locking block condition",
        "why": "C96 locking blocks are known to crack; check before reassembly",
        "source": {
          "title": "Mauser Broomhandle problems...",
          "publisher": "LugerForum",
          "reliability": "anecdotal",
          "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=253113",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "These have been known to crack, although I do not think it would impede removal of the lockwork."
        }
      }
    ],
    "assessed": "2026-10-29"
  },
  "videos": [],
  "configurations": [],
  "tools": [],
  "phases": [
    {
      "id": "clear",
      "title": "Clear and make safe",
      "steps": [
        {
          "n": 1,
          "instruction": "Point the muzzle in a safe direction and keep your finger off the trigger."
        },
        {
          "n": 2,
          "instruction": "Pull the bolt fully to the rear using the bolt knurls and hold it open."
        },
        {
          "n": 3,
          "instruction": "Press the magazine floorplate release and let any remaining cartridges fall from the integral magazine, or cycle the bolt repeatedly to feed and eject each round.",
          "partsFreed": [
            "Cartridges from the magazine"
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 4,
          "instruction": "With the bolt held open, inspect the chamber and the magazine well with a light.",
          "warning": "Check the chamber and the magazine separately. The integral magazine can hold rounds you cannot see."
        },
        {
          "n": 5,
          "instruction": "Physically confirm the chamber is empty and remove all live ammunition from the work area."
        }
      ],
      "videos": []
    },
    {
      "id": "disassemble",
      "title": "Disassemble",
      "videos": [],
      "procedures": [
        {
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "title": "Field Strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "configuration": false,
          "steps": [
            {
              "n": 1,
              "instruction": "Complete the Clear and Make Safe procedure."
            },
            {
              "n": 2,
              "instruction": "Remove the grip panels if fitted with screws.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Grip panels"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 3,
              "instruction": "Using a suitable tool, press the lockwork retaining catch on the underside of the frame and draw the entire lockwork assembly out of the frame as a single unit.",
              "warning": "Keep the lockwork assembly intact. Do not take it apart. It is held together by its own geometry and goes back in exactly one order.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Lockwork assembly"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 4,
              "instruction": "Slide the barrel and barrel-extension assembly forward off the frame rails.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Barrel and barrel extension with bolt"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 5,
              "instruction": "Withdraw the bolt rearward out of the barrel extension and remove the firing pin by depressing and rotating its retainer.",
              "warning": "The recoil spring in the bolt is compressed.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Bolt",
                "Firing pin"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 6,
              "instruction": "Clean at this level and reassemble. Do not disassemble the lockwork unit.",
              "warning": "If the lockwork is malfunctioning, take the pistol to a gunsmith who specifically knows the C96."
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "refinish",
      "title": "Refinish",
      "components": [
        {
          "name": "Grip panels",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 2
        },
        {
          "name": "Lockwork assembly",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 3
        },
        {
          "name": "Barrel and barrel extension with bolt",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 4
        },
        {
          "name": "Bolt",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 5
        },
        {
          "name": "Firing pin",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 5
        }
      ],
      "manufacturerPartsList": null,
      "partsDiagrams": [],
      "materials": [],
      "note": "The components the procedures above separate. Coating, masking and cure are outside this database; follow your coating system's instructions. A part the manufacturer marks \"factory fit\" should not be swapped or reworked."
    },
    {
      "id": "reassemble",
      "title": "Reassemble",
      "videos": [],
      "procedures": [
        {
          "procedure": "reassembly",
          "title": "Reassembly",
          "configuration": false,
          "steps": [
            {
              "n": 1,
              "instruction": "Reinstall the firing pin in the bolt and secure its retainer."
            },
            {
              "n": 2,
              "instruction": "Insert the bolt into the barrel extension and seat it."
            },
            {
              "n": 3,
              "instruction": "Slide the barrel and barrel-extension assembly back onto the frame rails from the front."
            },
            {
              "n": 4,
              "instruction": "Insert the intact lockwork assembly into the frame and press it up until its catch engages.",
              "warning": "If the lockwork will not seat, something is out of position. Do not force it."
            },
            {
              "n": 5,
              "instruction": "Reinstall the grip panels."
            },
            {
              "n": 6,
              "instruction": "Cycle the bolt several times and perform the function check."
            }
          ],
          "instruction": null
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "torque",
      "title": "Torque",
      "coverage": "none-recorded",
      "manufacturer": [],
      "reported": [],
      "notes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "function-check",
      "title": "Function check",
      "checks": [
        "Verify the chamber and integral magazine are empty before each check.",
        "Cycle the bolt and confirm it locks fully into battery.",
        "With the hammer cocked, engage the safety and press the trigger. The hammer must not fall.",
        "Disengage the safety and press the trigger. The hammer should fall.",
        "Confirm the bolt stop holds the bolt open when the magazine is empty.",
        "Confirm the lockwork assembly is fully seated and its catch engaged."
      ],
      "videos": []
    }
  ],
  "troubleshooting": [],
  "sources": [
    {
      "n": 1,
      "id": null,
      "title": "Mauser Selbstladepistole C96 Handbook",
      "publisher": "Waffenfabrik Mauser",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": null,
      "accessed": null
    },
    {
      "n": 2,
      "id": null,
      "title": "System Mauser: A Pictorial History of the Model 1896 Self-Loading Pistol",
      "publisher": "Breathed & Schroeder",
      "reliability": "secondary",
      "url": null,
      "accessed": null
    },
    {
      "n": 3,
      "id": "tier-d8540940",
      "title": "From the Bench",
      "publisher": "Handloader Magazine (Wolfe Publishing)",
      "reliability": "secondary",
      "url": "https://www.handloadermagazine.com/from-the-bench-2",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    },
    {
      "n": 4,
      "id": "tier-bf311876",
      "title": "Cleaned Pistol and now won't cock",
      "publisher": "MauserGuns forum",
      "reliability": "anecdotal",
      "url": "https://www.mauserguns.com/forum/index.php/topic,1135.0/wap2.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    },
    {
      "n": 5,
      "id": "tier-1f4ed37b",
      "title": "C96 adventure",
      "publisher": "LugerForum",
      "reliability": "anecdotal",
      "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=343740",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    },
    {
      "n": 6,
      "id": "tier-af5f1976",
      "title": "Mauser Broomhandle problems...",
      "publisher": "LugerForum",
      "reliability": "anecdotal",
      "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=253113",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    }
  ]
}