Gunco Forums banner

L1A1 Muzzle Brake Removal

12K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  tommysixgunner 
#1 ·
can any one tell me how to remove my brake from a century arms L1A1? the brake is 1 1/2" long and has 3 ports on each side. I have been told it is pinned on and i know it is threaded as well. my problem is that i cant see any pins and it wont just unscrew. does any one have any experiance with this kind of gun? also, i would have to drill out the old pins correct? thanks for the help!
 
#2 ·
Assuming they didn't weld or otherwise permanently attach it, removal is easy. At the rear of the hider is a split section sticking down, there should be a small washer in the split with a single pin passing through both "ears" and the washer. Drive the pin out and remove the washer. There is a slot cut in the bbl that the washer fit down into, once it is gone the hider will unscrew. Been a while, but IIRC the threads are right hand.
 
#3 ·
L1a1 Flash Suppressor

Hi Swinger,

Can you post a pic of the bottom side of the Flash suppressor? A side shot as well would be great!

If this is an L1A1 Suppressor, it will have a bayonet mount on it. Just to the rear of that, is a "bump" that has a key inserted into it, and a pin that holds the key in place.

From your description, it sounds like you actually have an IMBEL Muzzle Break.

Look here:
This is an five port L1A1 Flash Suppressor
Entreprise Arms

This is an IMBEL Muzzle Break
Entreprise Arms

Note that this one is a LEFT Hand thread. Lefty-tighty, righty-loosey...

Pics of yours are the only way we will know.

Century tends to mix things up a lot. They will use L1A1 Parts kits, and IMBEL Barrels that get thread chased to slim down the thread bredth and make it compatible with Inch threaded receivers. Or they just threaded the receiver as metric. I have 4 Century made FALs, and they are all a bit funny. They all shoot just fine, and they hold a good group at 400 yards.

And that is good enough.

Good Luck

Bellson:hyper:
 
#4 ·
here are some pics of the muzzle brake. the first pic is the side view. its definatly not a flash hider, and it doesnt have any visible pins. the discoloration is from heating the barrel to melt the solder(if it does have solder) so it has some scale on it.the cuts are also from me for other reasons...not part of the brake. does this help you formulate any other suggestions? thanks for any help
 

Attachments

#5 ·
I assume you're not trying to save the brake for re-use? If that is the case use your Dremel to cut two slots lengthwise down the brake on opposite sides. Cut almost down to the threads, if you go a bit too far it will not affect function as they will be covered with the new attachment. Use a hammer and chisel in the slot to split the brake into two pieces. It should now come off, although some heat to loosen the remaining solder may be needed.
 
#7 ·
Century sells this for $7.95:

Product Detail Page

No pic but I would think it's the same thing.


How hot did you get it? Rarely does a company pin AND solder a brake on, and the solder normally used has a melting point around a thousand degrees or so. If the steel wasn't glowing hot, the solder may still be holding it on.

If it was pinned on, they may have blind pinned it in place and welded over it. If polishing up the brake with a strip of sandpaper doesn't show the ends of a pin, you are pretty much stuck with cutting it off.
 
#8 ·
ya, i talked to a guy from Century and he said that that it was counter sunk and welded over. so i am going to have to search for it.
I have done some blacksmith work and the brake was not only RED hot, it was to the point were the carbon in the metal can be annealed or hardened depending on how it is cooled. so if thats not hot enough, the metal would start to melt...that is how i guessed it was pinned. its pretty cool stuff, you should check it out.
any way, you were very helpfull and right on with your help, so thanks!
 
#9 ·
The brake on a Century FAL is blind pinned and welded. Look on the bottom of the brake. You will see a spot that is not the same color as the rest of the metal. This is the pin weld. Grind the weld down to the barrel, being careful not to grind the barrel and the brake should just fall off. If it does not. put the barrel in a padded vise and use a pared of channel locks to rotate and remove it. The brake will be destroyed.
 
#13 ·
I believe that the South African rifles were standard metric pattern.
Thanks for the clarification.
I was making assumptions about the S. African FAL's
being copies of the L1A1 inch models.

The FAL is new to me, but fascinating to learn all I can
about the development and distribution.
 
#14 ·
South African R1A1's are metric, Imble parts or copies of Imble. I removed a century installed brake last week. After cleaning and polishing the south end of the brake, there were 3 places that showed a weld, 3', 6' and9' o'clock. Put bbl. in bridgeport vise, made a cut top and bottom, light tap with hammer,2 halves fell off, NO threads, 3 flats on bbl. tight fit with welded over allen set screws.:buba:
 
#15 ·
I had the same problem removing the flashhider on my IMBREL build that I am completing right now. Someone on AR15.com suggested to put it in a 1/2 SAE bolt (fits perfectly) and it will come out. Needless to say, I placed the barrel into a FAL barrel vise and the flashhider came out in a flash!!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top