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Unfinished Fal Receiver

3K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  vz58 
#1 ·
Anyone know how hard it would be to finish one of the century castings, not sure if they are 50% or 80%. Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
They sold 40% and 70% both FAC and century had them when they were separate companys a few years back

I have got two 70% sitting here ready to go, I am doing mine by hand. I was going to do this with others, but I have lost touch with them

if done without a milling machines I will have to use taps, I got quotes the other day its over $100.00 for the taps but I will use them twice! all the interior cuts will be done with a mounted dremel and /or drill press, hand files, I am in no hurry
the front end is the problem, the thread timing by hand will be fun, but with shoulders I should do ok.
heat treatment I have given this a lot of thought and read every thread out there, this has been done before so I can do it. only I am going to use a blacksmith to do the heat treatment by temp/color

I have downloaded all past posts on doing these 70% and I will be working from these threads were posted by others. Roderus has several posts/threads going way back in the archives on these builds. got to do the research

since you asked for thoughts


sprat
 
#4 ·
I have 3 of them. I spent about 80 hours on 2 of them on the Bridgeport. This was around 2001. Then Sarco came out with $179 Imbel, ( back in the day!) I bought 2 and got consecutive serial numbers. Havn't looked at the castings since. One has been surface ground flat and the other 2 are really 80% receivers. Lost interest.
 
#5 ·
Well I started the 80%, I filed down(by hand) the bolt rails measured from the top rail, I reformed the area above the mag well back behind the carry handle area and the bolt face meet with a dremel stone.
for cutting of the interior rails,dremel cut off wheels will be used, a
individual wheel for the top cover and three glued together to form the thickness of the bolt rails. I have evened the face of the receiver it was off a bit.

sprat
the chamber threads will be done by hand I ordered the taps for the gas plug and barrelled chamber. The gas plug area needs to be openned I will do this with a series of regular drill bits using the barrel stub for guidiance as the openning is stepped inside. I am not cutting a carry handle slot. the barrel/chamber area needs to be openned up I am going to use a brake wheel cylinder stone reamer since I don't have a lathe ( don't need one) the back chamber near the mag well has to be formed by file as the the barrel stub as a guide. Cutting the threads well I figured I would destory a barrel stub by cutting it, starting at the carry handle slot through the chamber than file and sand to form. the front of the stub will form my threading guide! I will hold/support it up against the 80% front by receiver wrench and a bolt/nut/washer through the gas plug and vice/verse for cutting the chamber threads
I am doing the charging handle cuts and ejector block last.

the taps come from mcMasters-Carr
 
#7 ·
If you've got a milling machine and some good tooling, it's not too terribly difficult... It won't be easy, and I believe you have to heat treat the entire thing.

Also, see the post by Sprat... More importantly, see what the FAL Files has to say about Sprat... ;)


- CK
 
#11 ·
... More importantly, see what the FAL Files has to say about Sprat

I assume you are talking about that loooong thread over there bashing His post regarding his hand finished receiver. He never got a fair shake there.

While I'm not crazy about some of his safety procedures, He was a victim of mob mentality. The first person to respond to his post bashed him and the others all piled on. Even the few posters who were trying to give him a chance were ridiculed by the mob.
I doubt that most of them have ever actually BUILT anything. Screwing a barrel into a finished receiver and popping in a locking shoulder is NOT building, it's assembling. FALs are incredibly easy to assemble, nothing like bending a flat (or finishing bent blank) and actually building an AK.
 
#8 ·
Just as an aside , who cares what a differnt board says about a member. I am sure that there are some at the basement that would not have kind words for many of us over here. Until I am proven wrong , I would as soon take a man at his word ; though to borrow a phrase from R Reagan , trust but verify.
 
#9 ·
if i recall ppl on fal files said stay away from century castings because they were dangerous..

but what do i know i've only built 3 fals and fired over 8000 rounds of 7.62x51
 
#10 ·
Glock: Could you be thinking of the Aluminum receivers made a few years ago? I believe they were Century's bright idea, though I could be wrong...

They were made from Aluminum and would very easily stretch and deform under the pressures of a .308 round, and thusly they were named the "Aluma-BOMB" receivers, and word went out to avoid at all costs. ;)

Also, Entreprise is one to stay away from, unless you've got good experience with FAL receivers... Entreprise receivers almost always require refitting on damn near every mating surface to get everything to sit right...

And Glock: You have experience with FALs... Could you honestly build one without the aid of a milling machine?

Mauser:
FAL Files has members who build FALs for a living... I'll take their advice over Sprat's any day.

Honestly, it will be incredibly difficult if not totally impossible to finish out an 80% with nothing but hand tools. The FAL's receiver is very precise machining. A dremel and a screwdriver just isn't enough...


- CK
 
#12 ·
Thank you

Thank you for the word 7.62x39mm

someone named radio is a great assembler but dislikes true builders like myself. in automobile lingo he likes the guys on the assembly line but not the R&D guys who make the prototypes. oh well his loss

sprat

I am currenlty still fooling around I had to set the barrel back and I am in the process of reaming the chamber
 
#14 · (Edited)
thank you again

sharpshooter

thank you also after all the grief I got at FALFiles I stopped posting there, 7,62 was right some really great peple there defended me and were shot down gunplumber was one he is a pioneer and great gunsmith he understood the talent I have or gift,
for the record I only used the JB to help set the mag feed area until I got it fine tuned there is no more JB weld on this receiver it was a temporary fix. I should also note I did not have a 100% FFL receiver to copy from only a few stubs from barrel take offs
thank you all for your support

as far a CeeKay who is he, he has yet to show me or anyone else a real build here or on any other site, probably because there never will be one.

there is a difference between growing the hay and shoving the shit

sprat
 
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