On this page you will see gas system damage. This cylinder was found on a re-enactors rifle who was firing plenty of blank ammo at an event. The gas pressure was uncontrolled. The cylinder is ready to explode due to the hot gasses blasting the bottom to pieces. The originals are a two-piece construction, many things go wrong with them. Later production during the war added two holes drilled near where this one is giving out. This cylinder blew hot gas directly at the handguard and could have blown shrapnel into the users hand if it exploded.
Original parts have weaknesses from inferior metal and sabotage from slave laborers.
Uncontrolled pressure can eventually ruin original parts and create unsafe conditions.	This is the other side of the cylinder, the cracks were moving around the seams and were ready to let go.

The rifle this part is from also had a bowed rear receiver like the one featured on page 1. This rifle now has a Shooter's Kit piston and the rear of the receiver has been fixed. A new-manufactured one piece gas cylinder has also been installed, made here at the Apfeltor Waffenfabrik. It can now safely fire live ammo as well as blanks. The re-enactor enjoyed shooting this rifle before it was fixed because the tolerances on the whole rifle were so far out of spec that it fired "full-auto" while shooting blanks, loaded with a converted MG-13 mag that fed 17 rounds before reloading. Think about that...

See page 5