There's been a few such attempts in the past, the following thread may interest you
http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/fo...howtopic=83641
And if you are not already aware of the following site, I think you'd find some interesting bits & pieces
http://www.forgottenweapons.com/
Although they don't have a lot of information, they have a few pages of bolt-action rifles converted to semi- or auto- fire.
http://www.forgottenweapons.com/lore...k-p14-semiauto
http://www.forgottenweapons.com/lore...utomatic-rifle