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Fully Restored M1938 Cot, Folding, Canvas WW2 to Korean War Specs


Eleven Benningsly
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Eleven Benningsly

Hi All, I came upon this old cot when I was a kid, my father's friend's Father who served in the Korean War and sadly passed away left this behind and it was in pretty sad shape when I came back to it. I spent a long time restoring it, it was frustrating and not worth the money by any means, but I am now somewhat of an authority on how to do these being the only person I have found that has restored these from the ground up. Great learning experience nonetheless, I would definitely make a thread on how to do it if anyone is curious.

 

So from what I could tell it was a WW2 era frame with the older white/tan cotton canvas cover but made its way to Korea. The condition was not good, the cover rotted and actually tore, it was fully stapled in so there was no use in sewing it up, and there was rust on the metal hardware, with some minor cracking in the wood as well.

 

I ripped out all the staples, pounded out all the rivets, sanded the parts to bare metal, primered and painted, sanded the wood and refinished it, and then I hammered it back together with an old stock Korean War Era cover. I also added the straps to secure it from parts cannibalized from a Sleeping Bag Carrier. There is some overspray and some little blemishes in paint, but nothing worse than what it had in original shape because these things are a PAIN.

 

Basically it is now a hybrid style you don't typically see, because the cots made with this cover were painted OD green instead of having the wood finish and vice versa.

 

Please take a look and enjoy!

 

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Eleven Benningsly

Here is the Tag for dating reference. Nothing for the cot other than this original tag. Someone get a medic for the man on the one side, he's been stapled through the head. :huh::blink:

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phantomfixer

awesome job...Looks new.....cots get overlooked a lot of times...and to preserve one from your past is way cool..the metal and wood turned out great. Using a 50s era cover is a good way to go to keep it USGI...great way to keep a bond with dad

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Eleven Benningsly

awesome job...Looks new.....cots get overlooked a lot of times...and to preserve one from your past is way cool..the metal and wood turned out great. Using a 50s era cover is a good way to go to keep it USGI...great way to keep a bond with dad

 

Heck yeah, my Dad helped me out where I couldn't make it work. Definitely a two man job at times. After all, he did rip the cover the first time around.. :lol:

 

I'm sure his buddy's Dad (Former owner of the Cot) would appreciate his token given the TLC it needed.

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phantomfixer

dig it...personally I have no problem swapping covers...I put a USGI nylon cover on a WWII frame....never thought about refinishing the frame..but yours turned out great...dig the wood work...did you stain the wood or varnish...how about rivet replacement or use screws and nuts?...

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Eleven Benningsly

dig it...personally I have no problem swapping covers...I put a USGI nylon cover on a WWII frame....never thought about refinishing the frame..but yours turned out great...dig the wood work...did you stain the wood or varnish...how about rivet replacement or use screws and nuts?...

 

I just varnished it, the color was good, but it just toasted a little bit with that on there. Also, the way screws would work you'd be spending a ton of money.

 

I actually experimented with a few things. I tried post fasteners but couldn't find the right length and the cost was way more than I was willing to pay. That would be the most ideal for disassembly if you could find them cheap. Then I tried cutting nails down to hammer as rivets but they ended up being too hard. I finally just went to Tacoma Screw Products and found the exact type of rivet the original had and pounded the end to secure it permanently, just make sure they're not too short or too long.

 

http://www.tacomascrew.com/Products/Solid-Rivets/050-610_6

http://www.tacomascrew.com/Products/Solid-Rivets/050-610_7

 

You do need two lengths.

 

This is what you want. ^

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Sgt. BARney

Nice post and great info! I'm working on a 1952 dated cot now that the canvas ripped out (well, it didn't just magically rip out. It started as a small mouse-eaten hole, and became a complete length-wise rip about 2 am one morning as I got up to answer the call of nature while out camping). The wood frame is painted green and still solid so I am going to try to replace the canvas. I bought a heavy duty canvas drop cloth at Sherwin-Williams and am now working up the courage to get out the sewing machine and build a new canvas.

 

The original canvas is dark OD green, as is the paint on the cot frame. I will be replacing with plain white canvas.

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RustyCanteen

Nice work. I wouldn't doubt that it is pretty much what it would have looked like if it had been repaired by the QM. Well, it is probably a little nicer looking than they would have done it. I would think the only difference would have been some paint on the wood.

 

Good job.

 

RC

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phantomfixer

Just noticed the end caps have two peg holes in one end....I have to think this is when the cot is first assemble ..it is nice and tight...way tight...and over several days the canvas,,,and even the new nylon cots, the material will sag...so the extra hole is to adjust the tension>>???

 

will have to check my 44 to see if they have the two holes...

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Eleven Benningsly

Just noticed the end caps have two peg holes in one end....I have to think this is when the cot is first assemble ..it is nice and tight...way tight...and over several days the canvas,,,and even the new nylon cots, the material will sag...so the extra hole is to adjust the tension>>???

 

will have to check my 44 to see if they have the two holes...

These holes don't really serve a purpose on this cot I don't think, because the legs only fold out so far for the first hole. The sagging is unavoidable, especially in the middle. I am not really sure why to be honest, later cots only have one.

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