20 rd. modifications

[IVIETAL IVIan]

Anyone ever weld two 20's together with any success? Do you have to angle the lower half like AR 30 rounders I wonder?

I am sure the inner union would be a hang up area.

[3doghouse]

There was someone that sold them here a couple of years ago.

[ThunderGod]

Member "Shankton" used to do 30-40-50 rounders back during the Ban. He used some kind of high strength epoxy or somesuch and made them slab-sided. Yes, they had an angle where the mags joined. He also used 2 20rnd springs wired or clipped end-to-end for the spring. He's been AWOL since he moved, maybe 2 years ago.

[FAL guy]

I bought one of Shankton's 30 round mags. It is made from 2 metric mags glued together with some super duper epoxy. His first generation mags were made by epoxying strips of galvanized sheet metal to all four sides of the mag which really made for a very stout mag body. The edges were all softened with applications of Bondo, then spray painted black. During second generation manufacture, Shankton substituted a layer (actually 5 layers glued together) of super thin aluminum flashing. By using the flashing he was able to follow the contour of the mag sides.

By comparing my 1st gen mag to astock 20 round mag I have the following measurements.

The end that inserts into the receiver is a metric mag with 3/4" cut off the bottom, following the stock edge. The bottom section is a metric mag with appx. 2 1/2" cut off the top, following the stock edge.

The spring is really about 1 and 1/2 20 round springs, assembled by overlapping a couple of coils. They are bound together with fiber reinforced packing tape......yes...packing tape!

The mag works great and is well worth the $34 shipped price we paid back when original 30 round mags were $40-$50...plus shipping...and they showed up here rarely.

Can you believe I found all this info just with a single click of the search button?:cool:

[FAL guy]

Here is a shot of a "Shankton" 30, 35 and I believe a 30Cetme mag...left to right.
Photo originally posted by Gary.Jeter
http://www.falfiles.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=486093

[FAL guy]

Here is a "Shankton" 30 having a bit of fun.

Photo originally posted by v187

http://www.falfiles.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=473919

[IVIETAL IVIan]

Wow....no welding at all? Don't make me sad.......all I wanna do is weld.....
The epoxy method sounds not only feasable but super strong. How heavy are they?

So...is the 'crook' in the mag for the compressed spring only? And the follower stopping in the top mag being the main ammo area?

Can the follower make an angled turn?

[FAL guy]

Originally posted by IVIETAL IVIan
So...is the 'crook' in the mag for the compressed spring only? And the follower stopping in the top mag being the main ammo area?

Can the follower make an angled turn?

I haven't really measured, but I believe the follower does not make the turn. I'll do some measuring this evening and see what I come up with.