bent receiver - discussion

[Charmedlyfe]

Well, maybe not bent....my 'smith was rebarreling my DSA, and the part of the rec up near the carry handle where the gas tube nut screws into is now out of round (gas tube nut won't screw in properly). Also, the lower cocking handle rail is bent in. is the receiver buggered, or is this repairable? I love the gun, and am worried.

[ July 22, 2001: Message edited by: gary.jeter ]

[Farmer from Hell]

I'm not there to look at it but it doesnt sound good and would be hinting to the guy that he should come off the coin to replace it. Were the gas piston goes through is kind of importent.

FfH

[Ted III]

Well, Farmer is right you want the piston to move freely. I'd also ask the smith to pay for the damage if it's not fixable. If I had my car worked on and the mechanic damaged some part of the car while he was working on it, I'd expect him to fix it or pay for it to be fixed http://www.fnfal.com/forums/wink.gif

Good luck,
Ted III

[Wrangler100]

He should definitely replace the receiver or reimburse you purchase price and costs. He has a legal obligation to do so. I would be skeptical of having him do any future work. He should have known better (no receiver wrench?), and immediately made the situation right with you.

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"A free people ought to be armed. When firearms go, all goes. We need them every hour." George Washington

[Casey]

If your "smith" wont make good, send it George Gouger, He did a preban Izzy receiver for me that was bent in 2 directions, he straitened it out beautifuly, one would never have a clue. This is the sort of thing that happens without the correct jig, I hear it alot. Did he use a pipe wrench too? I would tell the butcher to buy it.

[Charmedlyfe]

Actually, he's built a lot of FALs, and never a problem. He was using an AGI wrench on a DSA receiver, and it seemed like (from the problems) that it didn't fit right. He never had a problem with the Enterprise and Imbel receivers. I really hate this...That particular gun meant a lot to me, was my cruiser-mate for years. I never should have lusted after a shorter barrel.....

[Casey]

I am with Wrangler, he should have known better if it didnt fit right which I dont understand, sounds like something else probably went wrong, who knows, but he is obligated to get you a new receiver or make right at the price of the receiver. It is good you lusted after a shorter bbl that is part of the hobby, dont feel bad about that. a "gunsmith" should not make a major screw up like that but if he does, He should make it right no questions.

[Charmedlyfe]

Well, the only bending noticable is the cocking lever rail. The gas picton nut screws in most of the way, and gets too tight to turn 1/4" before being located properly. He is trying to put the part in front of the carry handle back into round. Is this safe? Is this possible? I think he's trying because he knows how important this particular gun is to me....but I don't want to eat hot flaming metal death...

[FootLongCuban]

Regardless of how it happened you have a problem. If the gas tube screw hole is out-of-round then you can try chasing the threads with a tap. As far as the receiver rails go its hard to say without seeing it. You can of course, simply file on the areas that are now out of spec. If the cocking handle wont run inside the rails identify where its hitting and use an appropriate file to clean up the rough spots.

Now, If it were me I would make him buy me a new receiver OR pay for repairs to the old one. Good luck and tell him to move his wrench all the way to the rear of the receiver next time. -FLC

[gunplumber]

I've seen this several times, usually from the wrong tool slipping and smacking the receiver (and yes, at one time in the distant past, *I* bent one myself). The rear gas tube support is threaded 9/16x24 and you can chase it with a bottoming tap, maybe a plug, but thats fixing the symptom. The hole is still out of round. On a particularly fubared one, I threaded a mandrel, inserted and tapped the mandrel with a hammer to straighten it. went too far and used a wooden wedge between the barel and the mandrel to raise it back up. I originally tried with a different rear gas tube support and bent that pretty quick. The metal there is relatively soft and can bend slightly without breaking. With the mandrel in place, you can also tap the circumference of the hole with a brass punch and twist the mandrel to find when it moves freely.

the bend in the cocking handle rails will prrobably require an expendable cocking handle or scrap metal with a similar profile. (maybe an expendable screwdriver) machine/file/grind a slight taper (wedge) and hammer it in from the front until the rail expands back to normal. I have a century cocking handle that was unserviceable (what a suprise) that I cut for just this function.



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T. Mark "Gunplumber" Graham
gunplumber@arizonaresponsesystems.com
Arizona Response Systems
5501 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85013
623-873-1410 http://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com