Armory Sponsor
Posted: 2/13/2008 6:45:53 PM EDT
| to buy the kits and parts and then to assemble a FAL? is it as easy as assembling an AR15 from parts? |
There is a bit more to it than assembling an AR. The biggest obstacle is installing the barrel properly, the rest is just assembly. The other obstacle is finding a good kit and reciever for a reasonable price. Arizona Response Systems has a really good DVD for the FAL builder. It's worth the money IMO. |
|
If I where you I would just go to dsarms and buy one that all done on one of their receivers. By time you find a kit and receiver plus all the special tools, not to mention all the postal shipping on parts, you could by one from DSA. I've built one I know better now.I've seen/here many people trying this and end up selling it or messing something up bad. 
|
|
Unlike the AR where the barrel indexes into the little slot in the upper receiver and attaches with a separate barrel nut, one must torque an FAL barrel into its receiver. The kicker is that the FAL barrel must be within about a degree, plus or minus, of top dead center. If the barrel isn't darn close to TDC, at best one can't align the sights to point of impact, and at worst the gun won't run because of gas piston binding. Making sure the barrel times to TDC can certainly be done by a home builder, but it's not as easy as slapping an AR barrel on an upper. Another thing that must be done with the FAL is setting the headspace. The FAL bolt locks on a shoulder that's installed in the receiver. One must determine the correct shoulder size to install to reach the desired headspace. This process isn't particularly difficult, but it's one additional step. The rest of the assembly is essentially straightforward part installation. |
all that took me about 2 hours to do at someones shop |
Pics!!!! Any commentary about the build? What were the hardest parts? did you buy any special tools?? Thanks, I'm getting ready to take the plunge myself |
|
did not buy any tools. i went to a shop in south Houston who had all the parts. The hardest part was getting the damn locking shoulder in. and torquing the barrel back off after forgetting to put on the hand guard support. Lots of cussing and elbow grease though. pics will come after i get out of work and school today. ETA: cost me $100 to put together at the shop. $25 for the correct locking shoulder, and $75 to use her tools. |
|
Building an FAL is easy. It was the first gun I built from the ground up. The barrel should index to 11 o'clock. As long as it doesn't over index, you can fix it. You can sand down the shoulder in small increments until it indexes properly. Torque the barrel down to the 12 o'clock position using an FAL receiver wrench. Then you need some gauge pins and some headspace gauges to figure out what size LS you need. Easy as pie. |
Armory Sponsor