Home Made Floor Plates

[Wadman]

Having the general profile of a floor plate cut and punching out the lugs doesn't appear to be difficult. But without the appropriate die and punch press, the embossing can't be done. One thing the embossing does is add structural rigidity to the floor plate. My question is does it need to be that rigid? It's held by lips that run almost the the entire length of three of the sides. In comparison, M14 and M16 mags are just flat; no embossing whatsoever.

[Mac's!]

I made all of my own floorplates for my FAL mags with no problems at all. I used steel of the correct thickness, traced the outline, cut rough shape with shears and then ground to proper shape. No, they ain't as pretty as the originals but they work fine and are US Made! Keep yer powder dry, Mac.
Mac's Shootin' Irons http://www.shootiniron.com

[frozenchozen]

Easy to do, just cut it out and trim as needed. I made a floorplate for my inch mag which was a little more work, as I had to fold the edges over. I used a hacksaw blade as a form to make the lip, trimmed with a dremel, and cold blued. It works but you can tell it's a "US" made part....
Cheers
Chris

[Buk]

I haven't found a way to punch out the lugs but I've made mine from 1+" wide banding material that is scrap where I work. Good stuff, the right thickness, and convenient to work with. You could probably find some at a lumber yard or any plant that ships/receives material banded together.

[Templator]

Your post got me wondering, so I got one of my magazines and checked the hardness of the floorplate by hitting it a lick with a file. (the toolmakers tried and true hardness testing method) *shrugg*,.. unless I miss my guess, they're made of garden variety cold rolled steel. True, the embossed area will give it some rigidity, but I don't know if it's necessary. If you want to put your mind at ease, take one of the floorplates down to your local industrial supply house and ask for a sheet of hardened shim stock the same thickness. It has a very nice blue finish on it and should give a bit of flair to the project. Bear in mind though, you'll need to grind it into shape. It's too hard to file. Thanks for the thought! I'm gonna make up a few for myself!

[Radio]

Templator: Go to your duplicate post. Click on the icon with the page and pencil, "Edit/Delete Post." Delete. Duplicate post gone, original untouched. Then you can also delete your explanation if desired, saves bandwidth. Maybe I'll come back later and take this post out, too. Fun fun fun.

--Radio

[Templator]

Thanks radio,.. it worked. Hope I don't get too adept at manipulating this stuff,.. I got good at punchin the buttons on mIRC and ended up married to a Canadian,... it's a long story,...