[davidgpo]

Hello,

I just got my riveted receiver back from the smith. I'm going to press the barrel in first, but before I started I thought that I would test fit a magazine.

I noticed that the mags I have are extremely tight, side to side, when inserting into the magazine well. The rubbing is on the magazine well. It's so tight that I cannot even get the rear lip to catch.

My question is, should I file the receiver well now? Should I wait until I press in the barrel and install the FCG, then worry about the mag well later?

David

 

[gunnysmith]

Got a picture?

 

[sniper69]

what kind of receiver is it? And what kind of mags are used (waffle, euro, chinese)?

 

[Toten Kopf]

Take care of the problem first, then install everything. Just makes things easier to deal with and less to clean.

Just my opinion.

 

[yosuthnmasa]

Was it a prefab recevier, or did the gunsmith build it from a blank. If it was a prefab, I would assume you wouldn't have to deal with this kind of stuff.

 

[Winn R]

I would generally expect to find a tight magazine that was caused by the trunnion set back to snug it in. Generally all that's necessary is taking off a bit of material, usually from the selector stop plate, at the rear of the magazine opening.

My thought is that the Smith did you an excellent job.

It makes no difference sequentially when it's done.

 

[davidgpo]

The receiver is a Vulcan. The smith riveted the trunnions in for me. The mags are metal, one came with the Polish kit the others are I believe Bulgarian. It seems like I just need to file on the sides of the mag well but I don't want to ruin anything.

David

 

[yosuthnmasa]

I would generally expect to find a tight magazine that was caused by the trunnion set back to snug it in. Generally all that's necessary is taking off a bit of material, usually from the selector stop plate, at the rear of the magazine opening.

My thought is that the Smith did you an excellent job.

It makes no difference sequentially when it's done.

Winn, it sounds to me like the mag isn't fitting side to side rather than front to back. Has anyone else had any experiences with Vulcan receivers not fitting side to side?

 

[sniper69]

with the vulcan receivers I have it is a front to back issue. But that is just three out of how many made.

 

[Winn R]

I don't believe it's the mag well side opening. If the rear lip won't catch, the trunnion's set a little to the rear.

Check the lower rail though.

 

[yosuthnmasa]

Hello,

I noticed that the mags I have are extremely tight, side to side, when inserting into the magazine well. The rubbing is on the magazine well. It's so tight that I cannot even get the rear lip to catch.

David

David, did you get it fixed? Can you push the mag in far enough that the rear lip touches where it should catch on the trigger guard latch? If you can get it this far, but it won't actually push into the latch, I think Winn and everyone else is right. The selector lever plate probably needs to be filed down. But, if you can't even push the mag most of the way, and it gets stuck way before you're actually able to get to the latch then perhaps the sides aren't wide enough.

Can you take it back to your smith? What all was he responsible for?

edit: what are the dismensions of your magwell?

 

[davidgpo]

No, I did not attempt a repair yet as I was waiting to hear from you guys first.
I took another look at the mags, the one that came with the Polish kit it too tight along the sides of the mag well and I can't get it in the mag well. The two E. German mags that I got from Centerfire fit a little snug side to side in the mag well (there may be 0.002" at the most on each side), it's difficult to slip a sheet a paper inbetween the mag and the magwell. Eventhough the E. German mags fit in the mag well the rear of the mag won't snap into place.

I think it's unusual for the mags to have such a large difference is dimensions so I'll probably just work with the E. German mags for now and try to figure out why the rear lip won't snap into place.

The front mount of the trigger guard does have that shim plate installed. It seems like a thicker shim plate would meet the rear lip of the mag but maybe there is something else in the receiver that is hindering the insertion of the mag.

This is my first AK kit so I have nothing to compare it to.

David

 

[davidgpo]

PS. Magwell dimension is 1-1/32 x 2-23/32".
The smith is very reputable, I just wanted to get your opinions to see if this was something that I could handle myself.

David

 

[Winn R]

Use whiteout on the mag on the angle above the lip. See if its not rubbing off.

 

[davidgpo]

I applied the whiteout on the ramp above the lip. The contact occurs 1/4" above the lip.
So it looks like the lip is supposed to contact that plate on the trigger guard.
I think I should file a little bit off of that plate until the mag catches on the latch?
Thanks for the tip Winn R that procedure turned on a light bulb in my head!

I noticed that my used mags have some side wear so I supposed the clearance along the SIDES of the mag well should be close. Maybe my Polish mag that is very tight along the sides should be sanded or filed on the sides of the mag?

 

[Winn R]

I applied the whiteout on the ramp above the lip. The contact occurs 1/4" above the lip.
So it looks like the lip is supposed to contact that plate on the trigger guard.
I think I should file a little bit off of that plate until the mag catches on the latch?
Thanks for the tip Winn R that procedure turned on a light bulb in my head!

I hate mag rattle so I build mine this way. Evidently, so does your smith.

Small wonder I think highly of his work!!

Yes--go back to my first post-- with a small file or Dremil take a little of the rear of the mag well opening.