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Posted: 1/11/2010 9:15:59 PM EDT
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There was some interest on FALFILES in my "improvements" to my FN rifles. Perhaps there might be some here as well.
Ambidextrous magazine release. Actuated by trigger finger Ambidextrous safety selector. Actuated by trigger finger Selector in fire position. 
Other side of mag release. 
Rear sight aperture locking mechanism. Spring tension keeps the lock tight during firing. Loosen the lock to move the aperture normally, then tighten the lock. 
Selector in safe position. The selector in safe position can be felt by the trigger finger, thus alerting the shooter that the rifle is in safe mode. 
Selector in fire position 
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Quoted:
There was some interest on FALFILES in my "improvements" to my FN rifles. Perhaps there might be some here as well. Ambidextrous magazine release. Actuated by trigger finger Ambidextrous safety selector. Actuated by trigger finger Selector in fire position. http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/maddogkiller1/magrelease1.jpg Other side of mag release. http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/maddogkiller1/magrelease2.jpg Rear sight aperture locking mechanism. Spring tension keeps the lock tight during firing. Loosen the lock to move the aperture normally, then tighten the lock. http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/maddogkiller1/rearsitelock1.jpg Selector in safe position. The selector in safe position can be felt by the trigger finger, thus alerting the shooter that the rifle is in safe mode. http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/maddogkiller1/safetyselector2.jpg http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/maddogkiller1/safetyselector3.jpg Selector in fire position http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/maddogkiller1/safetyselector4.jpg http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/maddogkiller1/stg1.jpg That'll work! Different from my arrangements, of course, but same basic idea. A few questions: How did you fabricate the mag release? Weld/silver solder the actuating surface onto an existing mag release? Does the safety interfere with wearing winter gloves? I would think gloves on one's hands would tend to bump the lever off safe. Is the purpose of the sight lock to reduce the wobble of the rear sight? |
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Quoted:
That'll work! Different from my arrangements, of course, but same basic idea. A few questions: How did you fabricate the mag release? Weld/silver solder the actuating surface onto an existing mag release? Yes. Sort of. Does the safety interfere with wearing winter gloves? I would think gloves on one's hands would tend to bump the lever off safe.
I have not found this set up to have any detrimental attributes. All win so far. Is the purpose of the sight lock to reduce the wobble of the rear sight?
Yes. I was not sure that I was really solving a problem until I built and tested it. It makes a marked difference in group sizes. But, it is only one third of the system. The wide aperture and centering spacers are the other two thirds. 
If you will notice, there are counter sunk allen head screws in the side of the lower. These hold hardened spacers to the inside walls of the lower. These spacers make the upper lock into the exact same place and stay there. |
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Interesting. I drilled and tapped my rear sight aperture to accept commonly available screw-in apertures. Without aperture, it's a perfect "Ghost-Ring" rear sight. With aperture, selected for range/target size/ambient light levels in mind, I find it much better than original "one-size-fits-all" unit.
I did not go your route on the rear sight. After installing 700M base, I re-built the rear sight with NEW locking pawl and stronger spring. Also lightly peened the bottom of rear sight to close-up the slots for track on base, then carefully filed-and-tested. No detectable slop. On maintaining lower/upper relative position, I installed stronger spring in opening latch, and carefully inspected latching mechanism. I'm told that, going by the position of my latch lever when in locked state, that it's relatively new. Good lock-up, and no detectable side play between upper and lower. Your solution is certainly robust, and obviously works. If any side play still existed in my FAL, I might be tempted to use some Steel-Bed compound, emplaced on the lower, on either side of the upper's locking lug, which would achieve the same thing. If I were to do that, I'd bevel the upper ends of the Steel-Bed supports with a file, and likewise bevel the lower sides of the locking lug on the upper. That done, wear and tear would be minimal. The Steel-Bed epoxy stuff is pretty stout, and the bevels on interfering edges should do the trick. Good mods. |
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The rear sight has a spring and plunger in it that supplies the tension to hold the sight at any given elevation notch. On the 8 it simply wasn't enough to prevent movement. Yes I tried tightening the sight. In the end I drilled a hole thru the back of the tube that holds the spring and plunger and tapped it for a small cap head bolt. I then ground the bolt end to a V to fit the notch and screwed it in. I like the idea of the big knob better though, I may spin something like that up on the lathe. |
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Y'all need a better-fitting pawl––that's the ticket. If the pawl is worn, all you are doing is forcing a worn part into a notch. Over-tightening the knob merely wears the pawl––and maybe notch–– more, making things worse over time.
Using a NEW pawl tightens things up a LOT, on top of a new, more forceful pawl spring. Y'all are forcing things together, which is seldom a good idea. I completely understand your idea of locking things down, but there is a gentler way of doing it, which does not compromise the design, nor the surface-hardning of the components. I'd be willing to bet that my take on things will outlast yours. No way of proving it, of course, but forcing components together in unintended ways is seldom a good idea. Let's not forget the idiot factor, either. Although neither of you are such, your rear sight mod lends itself to an idiot's over-tightening, and thus a quick ruin. But let's not quibble. Your mods are worth considering, and so are mine. Time will tell. FWIW, I posted my Ambi-safety and Ambi mag release mods here and on Falfiles looooong ago. Just guessing, but my mods were so simple that DSA had to go out of their way to make their own, which are inferior, and more costly to make. So's to not copy, of course. |
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The hole is threaded so tight that I do not need a lot of force on it to stay put. But you make a good point. There was no appreciable wear on the pawl, and the sight did not move when it was a 308 rifle, the 8mm is just a little too angry a round for the design I guess. It was a simple, inexpensive, and reversible solution. If I wear out my sight ramp notches I hereby promise to reweld them and mill them back to original spec. 
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Quoted:
The hole is threaded so tight that I do not need a lot of force on it to stay put. But you make a good point. There was no appreciable wear on the pawl, and the sight did not move when it was a 308 rifle, the 8mm is just a little too angry a round for the design I guess. It was a simple, inexpensive, and reversible solution. If I wear out my sight ramp notches I hereby promise to reweld them and mill them back to original spec. Fair enough. And I hasten to add that my comments were in no way intended to deprecate y'all's mods. |
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