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Gunsmithing & How To Pro, Amateur & WECSOG and Tutorials, Guides & OLL Build Instructions |
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#1
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FAL assembly?
Has anyone here assembled an FAL before? Was hoping to find someone in teh bay area who could help me assemble my stg 58 upper once my tools and receiver arrive.
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Soli Deo Gloria. |
#3
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I have them en route as well. Still need to get my pin gauges though
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Soli Deo Gloria. |
#4
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There's a guy in Gardnerville, NV that will assemble your FAL upper for $150~$160. I love building rifles but when you add up the cost of a receiver wrench, barrel vice, pin gauges, and head space gauges (OK, I probably need the last one anyway) I'm tempted to have it done.
Do you actually have to solder the compensator onto the barrel? Sorry if that's a dumb question but I watched some how-to videos on YouTube on that and I wasn't sure if that was a requirement or something else. If you guys don't mind, post some pics of your builds. I'm especially interested to see how the barrel times with the gas system. I know there is a ton of info over at FALfiles but there's actually too much info. It's like finding a needle in a needle stack. |
#5
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I used a set of feeler guages to find the size of the breeching washer I needed. You'll also need locking shoulder gauges and head spacing gauges to set the head spacing. I used a couple of blocks of wood in a vise to hold the receiver when I did the final barrel tightening.
I can't think of any real problems I had putting it together.
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Because milsurp. |
#6
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Hmmm.
Sounds like there are several of us in the Bay area that are about to undertake this project. Perhaps we could coordinate on tooling and have a build party. I have an Argy kit here, and will have the receiver shortly I hope. ETA: I have a full set of gauge pins in .0005" increments. |
#7
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Just bought a receiver today at River City Gun Exchange. Barrel vice and receiver wrench should be here in a week or so if all goes well. If A build party were to happen, would be happy to lend my tools. Paulie and Lostsheep, where did you purchase the headspace gauges and the gauge pins at? Any recommendations of timing the barrel?
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Soli Deo Gloria. Last edited by Cessnapilot89; 11-07-2012 at 3:44 PM.. |
#8
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I have a full set of gauge pins courtesy of my machine shop.
As far as timing the barrel (the whole build actually) I am learning as I go. This will be my first FAL and at this time I am just reading everything I can. I found the cruffler page very informative and I may get Gunplumbers video to help out. |
#10
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I am in on a build party but I do no have any FAL specific tooling. I do have lots of machining tools and I will bring whatever I have. I am also willing to make any jigs or custom tooling that we may need.
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#14
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L1A1 Inch Milled Receiver
http://centuryarms.biz/proddetail.asp?prod=RE1166 These were $125 ea now I think they may be $99 just need a middle man FFL |
#16
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Thanks Lostsheep for the Cruffler link. That was where I saw the soldering of the muzzle device. Looks like it was left over from the Federal AWB and is no longer any concern. That tips things back in favor of me assembling it myself.
Good luck everyone with your builds but please post pics when you're done. If nothing else, post pics of the completed rifles so we can drool over them. |
#19
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I think I got eveything I needed from Arizona Response Systems. I can't remember how I timed the barrel now, but I don't remember it being a big deal. Mine is a Brit L1A1. Still looking for a Cali legal, 10 round, inch pattern mag. So far I've only fired it single shot. Here's a pic.
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Because milsurp. |
#21
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I have all the tools and I've built about 80. I'm in oakland most of the time.
The most important thing to consider is how does your bbl time to the receiver face? If you are short of about 11:00-11:15 you will need to remove material from the bbl shoulder, which can be very time consuming without a lathe. You'll all be standing around with needle files for an hour+
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I hate people that are full of hate. It's not illegal to tip for PPT! Last edited by thedrickel; 11-08-2012 at 8:05 AM.. |
#22
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I have a lathe...
I am a little concerned that I might have a canted gas block. Does anyone know how to fix this? Step one is to try and exchange it but if not, how does one fix that? |
#23
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Quote:
The flats are also vertical when the barrel is timed correctly to the receiver. I've built 20 or so and have yet to see a canted front sight/gas block, as the barrels were correct (if you're using an actual FAL barrel) when they left the factory. If you're using a US barrel with an installed gas block, all bets may be off. Fix would involve un-pinning the gas block, tig welding the gas port in the barrel closed, re-pinning the gasblock, and redrilling the gas port...major pita. If you guys schedule a build party and need gage pins and headspace gages, pm me...I'd be happy to loan 'em but would need a 100% refundable deposit plus shipping. Based on thedrickel's posts here, getting him to show at a build party may definitely be worth large quantities of food, drink, gas money, etc. Arga, spend more time on the FAL Files, search for timing and you'll see a picture of the hand-tightened triangle you're looking for before you put the wrench to her. Correct timing has to happen first, then you can check headspace and install the correct locking shoulder pin. You can pm me if anything particular doesn't make sense, but be aware that the FAL Files is THE center of info. hth EO eo |
#24
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Quote:
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#25
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I can be bribed with 12yo scotch, Fat Tire, u know, the usual
You guys are in luck, I have a good assortment of locking shoulders and breaching washers/bbl shims.
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I hate people that are full of hate. It's not illegal to tip for PPT! Last edited by thedrickel; 11-08-2012 at 10:12 PM.. |
#26
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I am willing to donate some Fat tire or a 12yo scotch to this cause. Hopefully we can get it scheduled for when there are not many schedule conflicts.
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Soli Deo Gloria. |
#29
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Quote:
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#30
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Hopefully my receiver from Coonan is here before then (+ 10 days in jail). Adding a couple of weeks to that schedule would really help me.
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#31
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4 weeks or 6 weeks it all the same to me. I'd rather have a few more then 2 guys show up, So say the word when when parts come in
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#32
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Quote:
The gas tube clearly does not line up with the notch on top of the barrel. The FSP also appears to be off. I will be giving Sarco a call to see what type of exchange can be arranged. |
#33
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My Sarco Argy barrel looks almost identical. It's defiantly canted but I'm not too worried about it. You're going to install the barrel so the gas system aligns with the receiver so our real problem is going to be the alignment of the extractor notch with the bolt and extractor. The notch appears large enough to allow a slight misalignment. That said I have no fricken' clue how it will really go together. I've never assembled a FAL before.
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#34
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some FAL parts on WG
http://www.weaponsguild.com/forum/in...?topic=34974.0 |
#35
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Quote:
Lostsheep...next step is to make sure the barrel can be hand-tightened to the receiver...may take some thread cleaning on the barrel and/or receiver. Search the FAL Files for 'barrel timing'. Can you hand-tighten the barrel to 10:30 or 11 o'clock? If so, grab the barrel vise and receiver wrench and tighten until the upper barrel notch is at 12 o'clock. If you can't get to 10:30 or 11:00 by hand, you'll need to remove material from the barrel shoulder until you can. If you can hand-tighten to past 11:00, you'll need to shim between the barrel and receiver. Thread pitch is 16 tpi, so a 5-mil thick shim will get you about 30 degrees of movement. I've never used anything but sighting through the gas nut once I get close to correct timing and eye-balling the front sight. Sometimes a piece of light mono-filament tied to the front sight post and pulled back toward the receiver can help. Again, study what you see on the FAL Files and proceed accordingly. hth EO |
#36
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Quote:
WRT timing, I do not yet have my receiver but hopefully that will change shortly. I've heard good things about the coonan receivers and that will be the first thing I check. Should it not time correctly I do have a lathe to fix it and lots of shim stock if need be. I've got an elementary understanding of the entire build process; the FALFILES have been extremely helpful. |
#38
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Barrel vice and receiver wrench arrived today. Worked like a charm. Was able to successfully remove the receiver stub from my barrel. Would highly recommend a 5 foot extension on the breaker bar.
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Soli Deo Gloria. |
#40
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I use StaLube assembly grease, p/n SL3333...NAPA auto parts or similar...outstanding for AR triggers, bolt rifle bolt lugs, etc. Lotsa' guys just use light oil. Use a very light coating of whatever you pick, and make sure you can hand-tighten until the barrel shoulder contacts the receiver.
Double check that the rear of the barrel is NOT making contact with the receiver. If it does, you'll need to relieve the receiver (gently) until there's no interference. I use a breaker bar on the wrench and a chunk of pipe about 3 feet long if necessary, and it usually is. I've had better luck bolting the barrel vise to a bench than sticking it in a vise. Pics of the finished gun will be required. hth -hanko
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True wealth is time. Time to enjoy life. Life's journey is not to arrive safely in a well preserved body, but rather to slide in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "holy schit...what a ride"!! Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. Mark Twain A man's soul can be judged by the way he treats his dog. Charles Doran |
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