ok - time for a summer project!

I have an imbel gear logo receiver on the way from dealer's warehouse.  Whoo-hoo!!

I’m trying to decide what to build.

I’m torn between one of the following:

1) A Grade II kit from Dan's and making a low cost .308 just for fun.  first build KISS principle in effect.

2) A STG-58 kit from DSA  - more money but better quality and almost authentic.

Or…

3) Going all out and getting a 16.5" bbl from DSA and a para parts kit and making a Para-forgery with a fixed stock.

I thought about making a short bbl izzy but dxed that idea on parts availability and cost.

what do you guys think?  I have an HK clone so don't think I need another long, heavy .308.  I am thinking that the shorter bbl would be a little more handy.  

I don't want to get into the gun for a ton of money; if that was the case then I’d just buy a 16.5" from dsa in the first place and skip the fun of building one myself.

Well, #1 is likely out as Dan's stopped taking orders on their imbel kits several weeks ago.  I don't think he had anything other than "Grade III" left for awhile, although the only difference was really in the remaining finish.

ROcko

damn - that is what I get for waiting on the receiver.

Well, you may wish to check with Dans....  I actually ordered TWO kits on friday...

The kicker is that he thought he may still have a Grade 2... so I asked for one Grade 2 and one Grade 3.....

Now, there were no guarentees that I could even get two kits much less a grade 2, so I said I will take whatever I can get at this point.

Hell, I was woried that I had waited too long myself!

Now, where did you get an "an imbel gear logo receiver"?  And what do you guys recommend to use for these, especially if I manage to get a Grade 2?

Also, I had read something about one manufacturer that will provide you with a receiver with a serial number that will match your parts kit...  Who was that?

Lastly, does the 922(r) requirements apply to Dan's kits?  If so, which parts can be subsituted for legality, especially in the case of a better quality parts kit?

Thanks...
QB

I would go with an Imbel receiver on an Imbel kit.  

I would use a DSA or Dan Coonan receiver on a STG kit.  

922r applies to Dan's kits.  

FAC may still have gear logo receivers.

I would be comfortable building on a Dan's grade III kit I have done them for others).  The primary difference is the finish between the grades.  Grades I/II/III are mechanically similar in terms of wear.  I have four grade II's, and two looked like they were never fired.  The ones I've built are all gouping under 2" @100 so far.  I set headspace fairly tight.  If you want to build a shooter, get the Grade III kit, $100 Tapco US parts kit and a $6 can of 1200 deg ceramic header paint from Autozone.  You should come in at about $400-425 in total cost.  I did my second build with header paint, and it is very durable.  I let it cure for about two weeks before I shot it.  It still looks great today.  Here are some pics of it and my other FALs& AKs:

www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?UV=34314905771_54761896803&collid=90744949703&photoid=80744949703&page=1

Ofoto is under maintenance and is running slow, but it should still show the pic.

Jim

Well, I looked at the website where I ordered... www.falparts.com/kits.asp and it looks like these have been in the country long enough that the 922(r) rules do not apply...  <<See me smile>>

Your guns look great...!

Where can I order or buy an "Imbel receiver"?  I assume I will need to order it somewhere and have it shipped to my Local FFL as they look at me funny if I want to order a normal Eagle Arms AR-10 lower!

Thanks for the help!

Quarterbore,

922r does apply in terms of one bad feature (pistolgrip) being allowed with six US parts.  All of Dan's kits are buildable into rifles.  So are kits from anyone else.  The reference about replacement parts only refers to outfits like Century.  A private, non-commercial build of kits is still a go for all of us.

You cannot retain the flashider and must either silver solder a brake with Janet Reno 1200 deg silver solder or blindpin or cut the barrel below the threads and leave it nekkid.  You can go to the Shotgun news web page and find FFLs in your area that you can contact and see if they will transfer for you.  That's what I did for my first receiver.  A guy at work is getting his FFL, so I'll probably work through him from now on.

Go to the Falfiles.com for the best info on FALs.  Their search function and knowledge base is unmatched by any other gun board, IMO.

Dan is a straight shooter, has very well deserved reputation for service and is a good guy to buy from.

I grew up in eastern PA (Pottsville), btw, even though my hootus retus says Texas.

Ok - this gives me hope...  I'll write it all down this weekend and figure out what to do.  I'll call Dan's on monday a.m.  If that is a crap shoot then I'll start adding up the $$ to go w/ DSA.

Quoted: Now, where did you get an "an imbel gear logo receiver"?

The Dealer's Warehouse.  http://www.tdwsales.com/page/page/237305.htm

Oh - Does TAPCO still sell the $100 US Parts kits?  I'm lazy and I'd rather do a package deal like that than buy them one by one.  I can't find the US compliance kits in the most recent cataloge or on the web.

Thanks!

QB - I believe FAC currently has imbel GL receivers in stock.  They are cheaper than from the Dealer Warehouse at $200, but are imported by Century whereas TDW's are PAC imported.  Some folks don't like having Century's name on their gun and some have argued that it would hurt resale value as folks will think it was built by Century.

Some folks are a bit nervous about using the newer receivers that have the date stamping on the magwell, though, as these were imported under the "for repair or replacement only" clause.  It appears that this is only binding to the importer, but with the recent moves by the ATF on kit confiscations, who knows what they'll be after next...  In that case, the only people with pre-"repair or replacement" Imbel receivers is Sarco, I believe.

I have a FAL receiver wrench, pin gages and headspace gages if you would like to borrow - I believe we're pretty close by.  I don't have a barrel vise, but have been making due with a 1 1/16" wrench opened up a bit on the barrel flats.  It's worked fine for barreling so far, but I did round the flats on one barrel trying to remove it from the receiver stub without cutting it first, as I did with my previous two.  I wanted an unmarred stub as a "souvenier"...   Gonna either need to find someone with a barrel vise, bite the bullet and get one myself, or just give up and cut the stub...

Rocko

Thanks again for the help!  My first priority is working on my 80% AR-15 lowers... then I have an AK kit I want to build...  If I get those done anytime soon, then it will be time to do the FALs....

I am just trying to figure out where I need to get the best receiver in the event that I need to look for an import receiver or something that could be less common and I should buy it now to ensure that in a year from now that I can still build!

Rocko,

You can get by with two pieces of oak from a pallet for a makeshift vise.  

Here's a pic of my rig that has done eight rifles, and is doing two more next week.  

www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?UV=553321112143_45604307803&collid=89968002603&photoid=59968002603&page=1

I'm still using the original oak pallet pieces.  I cut a channel in them just a little smaller than the FAL barrel closest to the receiver and dusted them with rosin (available in the baseball section a Big 5 Sporting Goods).  Right now Ofoto is crashing (I guess until everyone goes back to work on Monday) and my "first barreling experience" album is not on line.  Here is a pic of the vise I made:

When Ofoto comes back up I'll post the other, better album that describes how I made the inserts, etc.

It takes much less effort to crank on the new receiver than to remove the stub.  You could get by with two pieces of oak clamped in a big 'honkin vise, OR bolted together with 1/2 or 5/8 inch bolts.  You wouldn't even need the steel "L" brackets like in the pic.  Just use some really thick pallet pieces for the blocks, cut a channel in them with a Dremel, bolt them together and clamp them to a bench.

Yeah, I was thinking about making my own barrel vise - was gonna try to do something with lead, though.  Up until removing this one stub, it hasn't been an issue, and it wouldn't really be an issue if I wanted to cut the stub - as you mentioned, getting them off is much more difficult than barreling the new receiver.  I don't know if a homemade vise will be up to the job - it really seems on there.  Even removing the f/s was much more difficult than the others I've done.  However, I would like to avoid cutting if possible - I want a more or less "intact" stub for a paperweight as everything from here on out is gonna be a messy torch cut.

QB - yeah you really seem to be on a building tear there .  I was planning on trying a 1919 next, but then picked up a used p7m8 - by the time I got done buying a couple extra mags and sending it off to be hard chromed, the gun fund was depleted, and then some.

Rocko

called dan's this morning.  dan's has some 3s maybe some 2s in the 3-4 week time frame adn the 1s are long gone.
:(

Barrel Vise Plans

I made a barrel vise using the above plans. There's also a drawing for a receiver wrench.

Receiver stubs pop right off, and new receivers go on easily. It was pretty easy to make.

I just recieved my STG58 kit from DSA.
It looked great.
Actually it looked better than great.
My gunsmith told me it looked like it was never issued.
It came with a couple of extra bags full of G1 parts that I used in trade.
I am thuroughly impressed.

hey mechandy - were the barrel and the receiver stub separated?  Or will you have to do that yourself?

IIRC, the STGs have only a chrome plated chamber...the Imbels use a chrome plated chamber and bore...if that really matters. The STGs are puurty though!

GackMan,
They were not seperated,infact there wasn't much to grab on.

gackman
i got an imbel kit from tapco (one of the last ones) and i had to remove the reciever stub myself but i thought it was a lot fun, i got to bust out the dremmel and sent the sparks flying!!  lots of fun!! whole job took about 15 mins.  
a word of caution though, check your cut VERY OFTEN i cut a little ways into the barrel threads on mine, luckily no real harm done though.

BTW omar, your little photo gallery gives me wood!!  very nice collection!  i too used the high heat spray paint and im also very pleased.

I’m not too worried about screwing up the removal of the stem…  I’m sure I could screw it up really good if I tried.  :)

I'm not necessarily the most mechanically inclined.

one of the concerns I had was the current ATF I-O stuff that is going on.  (check out the kit confiscations forum on falfiles.com)

I'd love to have proof that the receiver stub never even came into my possession.