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AR15.COM
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10/1/2009 7:52:35 PM EDT
Seems to be more than a few people with questions on this, and I just did mine after a bit of research. Thought I'd throw this information out to the hive. Pics will follow in a couple of days when I have more time.



First, I ordered my shims from Fulton Armory. I understand that Smith Enterprises sells them as well, but I've heard that they've been drying up due to Army contract at Smith. Regardless of where you buy them, they are right around $6.



Tool List:

Combination Tool

Castle nut pliers

Gas Cylinder wrench

1/16 in. allen wrench

Rubber Mallet



Okay. Disassemble your rifle as you normally would. Remove the front sight assembly, using the castle nut pliers. Tip-be sure that you unscrew the set screw in the front sight before you loosen the locknut. Remove the gas cylinder plug, gas cylinder piston, and gas cylinder lock. You can use the GC wrench to remove the lock if you feel it necessary.



I'm not an expert, so I can't say whether it is important to remove the handguard or not; I can just say that I did not, and paid particular attention to not putting any stress on it while I was working.



This is a tip that I received from another site; Test fit the shim between the gc lock and the gc. You should be able to rotate the gc lock to about 4 o'clock with hand tension. This will give you the idea of what shim your going to need to use. Then remove the gc lock and the gc.



Using the rubber mallet, tap on the aft end of the gas cylinder, behind the front band. It might be tight; that isn't a bad thing. Once you have it loose, fully remove it. Start with the shim that you test fitted. Put the shim on the barrel, and slide all the way back to the front band. For me, I wanted the system very tight, so I used the two thinnest shims. Replace the gas cylinder; I tapped my back with the rubber mallet.



Reinstall the gas cylinder lock. Here you will need the GC wrench, or something else appropriate. If you have the tool, use it. Rotate it back to 6 o'clock. Reassemble everything else, and don't forget to re-tighten the setscrew in the front sight for the castle nut.



If you did everything right, your gas system and front band will be nice and tight!



Let me offer my thanks to Lympago for the help that he gave me. Also, get out there and research other websites and forums; a wealth of knowledge out there. I was relying solely on The Firing Line, and found myself in a pickle when they got hacked! War Rifles, Surplus Rifles, and many more are great to read.



Birddog
10/2/2009 1:04:08 AM EDT
[#1]
Thank you for the write up!



BTW, SAGE EBR stocks replace the front band with shims and SAGE recently switched over to a crush washer.
This information and pictures are available over on The M14HDW Forum.
10/2/2009 11:27:09 AM EDT
[#2]
The only question I had about it was to fit them with or without the HG.
I would that the HG be loose and the shimmed gas cylinder be tight.
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