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Posted: 8/11/2004 12:44:57 AM EDT
i had a FN FAL (metric) which barrel is already well worn out iam planning to replace its barrel with the one available @ dsarms.com...im assuming that unscrewing the original barrel will be like changing the barrel of a ar15 rifle...with the normally availble tools in my garage can someone share their experiences in changing fal barrels? thanks 
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not really the same as an AR you really need to beg/buy/borrow a receiver wrench and barrel vise rather than trying to make do IMO. you can bugger things up quick. & FALs should bugger, not be buggered! also need HS gauges. a barrel timing tool can be made or bought pretty cheaply or omitted. the FAL requires YOU to position the barrel TDC w/the receiver and torqued in the neighborhood of 100 ft lbs. there are specs and long debates about how tight is tight enough. search on FALFiles for more than you could stand to read. consensus seems to suggest if you can hand tighten the metric barrel to 10:30-11:00 then you are good to go, tighten to TDC and headspace it. you may need a new locking shoulder for proper headspacing. if you hand time short of that you may need to shave the barrel shoulder or your barrel may be bottoming out on the receiver. make sure to put the handguard retaining cap on the barrel before screwing together. s'all i can think of now.... maybe more cost effective to farm it out if you've only one FAL & don't anticipate changing the barrel again. OTOH if you bought the tools for the job you can build as many FALs as you like / afford! |
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The barrel unscrews and screws back in similar to any normal barrel in that you won't need a 5-ton press and a welder or any other nonsense to get it on and off. Headspace is much more an isse with the FAL though. You WILL need headspace gauges, and probably will need to change out the locking shoulder for the right size to match the barrel. There's no way to know what size you need until you mount and time (i.e. get it straight up and down) the barrel. Then check the headspace. If it's off (and it probably will be), then you need to figure out what size locking shoulder is needed, and press out the old one and press in the right size. The best way to figure out the right size is by using a different gauge thats for that. It's a little more complicated than the AR-15, but the AR-15 is as simple as it gets and is truly just assembly. Compared to a bolt-gun, or even an M1, the FAL is very easy to do. I'd say it's just one step higher in complexity than an AR-15. Ross |
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You definitely will need a receiver wrench but you might be able to us a adjustable (15" or bigger) or 1 1/16" open end wrench opened up a little. With the old barrel still in place remove the hand guards then push the hand guard retainer back, look and see if there is a witiness mark at bdc of the barrel. If there is use a extra fine sharpie and transfer the mark to the reciever. This will help you time the new barrel. Also look inside the the receiver at the extractor relief cut on the barrel and receiver. Look at how the two line up. The new barrel should look the same. If you want to do this your self, and there is no reason why you should not, then contact "The Gun Plumber at Arizona Responce Systems and buy his book. It has all the info you need to do just about anything to a FAL. Good luck. |
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