Update on my Century L1A1 and reapplication for WECSOG

AmmoSgt · September 19, 2003, 15:33

.. Ok I have taken two more bites at the reboring apple aprox 1/8 inch at each bite and have started the polishing of the Feed ramps.
I am now getting aproximately 1/3 of a magazine in a 1" white circle on a 4" Black bull at 50 yards, with 90% in the black bull . Australian Bandoler and radway green belted mg ammo seen to be doing best Indian seems to be a 3" group but POI is about 3" to the right consistantly.
I am reapplying for wecsog status due to the fact that in hand polishing the feed ramp ( ok well one finger polishing) with fine emery cloth I have managed to make the mandiory blood donation to my rifle . This has led to my current untried and inproven inventing of a feed ramp hand polishing tool .. consisting of a toothbrush with the bristles cut down to about 3/16's of an inch and a small patch emery cloth superglued to the bristles to make a emerycloth tooth brush. this should allow a easier job of polishing without the hazards of a dremel .. I am still getting brass coloring on the left side of the feed ramp .. I'll keep ya updated .. But I am becoming very happy with what this rifle can do .

**bykerhd** · September 19, 2003, 15:42

Have you run out of windage adjustment on the rear sight ?
An impact area to the right would usually mean an overtightened barrel(past top dead center) if you have run out of adjustment.

Deltaten · September 19, 2003, 15:47

* best Homer Simpson voice*

"Ahhhh......blood-letting...."

Well, AmmoSgt.; you are now permitted to [search] and print your own WECSOG diploma. Anyone with both "ammo" and "Sgt." in thier handle *has* to be an honest guy, so we'll trust you without digital pix, Doctor's note, or snail mail proof of said injury.

Just the fact that this was a mod on a uni-brow rcvr gets you an additional "Order of the Mono-brow"( a cut'n'paste of Alley Oop's forehead!), to print as you wish

Really, glad to hear it's coming along. You say "brass" marks; or do you mean copper? You *could* be getting brass scrapes on the ramp as the cart bumps it's way into the chamber. Either way, not to worry. Just polish 'em shiney, and all will slide "home" easier. Are all from the mag feeding, and just some not going wher you point it; or are you getting some hung up at the ramp and jamming things up?

Best,
Paul

**W.E.G.** · September 19, 2003, 20:14

If you ever get one together without blood-letting, be sure to leave the sharp edge on the cocking handle rails. It usually only takes one range trip to drag a knuckle across one of those razors.

AmmoSgt · September 19, 2003, 22:58

DeltaTen .. I stand corrected .. Copper not brass , I am getting a little copper color on the feed ramp still .. quit polishing when I hurt my finger .. still a bit painful to type .. I have only had one round "hang Up" but that, i am pretty sure, was more from playing with gas valve setting while switching between different ammo from different nations The Radway Green needs at least 2 numbers more than the portugesse( I can get away with a 6 with radway, port needs at least a 4, even a 3 for full reliability) . What i was getting was actual flakes of copper in the breech area from being shaved off the bullets, now i am still getting some color but no flakes.
Uh, Deltaten , I don't know exactly how to break this to you .. while I was indeed an Ammo Sgt MOS Series 55 uh .. not all ammo sgt's are guys

Will update on how the toothbrush/emerycloth tool works in a couple of days, Primary mission is helping with my Grandkid this weekend.

AmmoSgt · September 19, 2003, 23:10

Bykerhd .. I still have a little windage, most ammo from most nations is ok windage wise .. I zeroed it intially with the radway green and the port and australian seem to hit about the same POI at least windage wise .. the port maybe a half inch right .. The Indian however .. the dirty stuff in 10 round cello bags is consistantly 3" right, but it is now grouping ( about 3-4" at 50 yards instead of patterning ( about 12-15" at 50 yards ) like it did when I started tinkering. I suspect due to the degree of adjustment I already have dialed in on the rear sight I probably do have a wee bit of over tightening . I have a similar problem with my Century Reciever Garand , but now that I have a thousand rounds or so thru the Garand I find it seems to be a self correcting problem, only the Garand was intially shooting left so much I had to move the front sight.. also the feed timing was off on the Garand so much, I had to install a Holbrook device, which works better for me anyway.. One of these days I will hit the lottery and just buy a DSA or the tools to actually build a kit .

**bykerhd** · September 20, 2003, 07:00

Personally I find the idea of the Century Garand "self-correcting" for windage kind of scary. Especially since it means the barrel must be screwing itself in further ? I suppose anything is possible with Century, as you are already discovering.
If you can zero your rifle with decent ammo and still have a bit of adjustment left then you should be fine. The Indian stuff is a crapshoot from all the reports I've seen so far. I won't use it.
Sounds like you are really getting acquainted with that FAL. You should do a detail strip to clean out the crud from the more hidden areas that the lower receiver especially is full of. Century just slaps them together and throws them in the bluing tank. Old cosmoline, unidentifiable crud, grease and bluing salts can impair functioning also.

AmmoSgt · September 20, 2003, 08:06

LOL BykerHD yeah , I am assuming it is more a parts " settling in" with the Garand. I can detect no barrel movement , headspace seems fine both when I first got it a couple of years back and currently , But it definately looks like I can return the front sight to center and get what I need strictly off the back sight now. Haven't bothered to readjust things because it really is shooting well right now. I suppose I should scibe some witness marks on the barrel reciever interface and see if the bullets going down the barrel are actually torqueing it up tighter.
I have pulled the Trigger group, safety and stuff out of the lower on the L1A1 and it was pretty clean and gave wearing surfaces a light coat of moly grease .. haven't messed with the butt stock and recoil spring as I don't have the tools , pulled the handguards and checked there for binding , I suspect i will have to figure out what to clean up in the handguards as I do have to use the assembly screw to fully bring them together. This does bring up a question ,, there is a loop of wire , looks like a "C" with the ends bent, around the gas tube that just seems to slide around, it is NOT the spring clicker thingy for the gas valve , seem to fit snugly on the rear most diameter of the gas tube near the reciever but doesn't seem to do anything .. any idea what it might be , where it is supposed to go ?
Also whats the possibility of installing some kind of plate in the handguards to mount a sling swivel stud for a bipod ? or since they are not freefloaters whats the deal with mounting a bipod direct on the barrel .. how much does that mess with the barrel harmonics ?

**bykerhd** · September 20, 2003, 13:36

That c shaped clip is supposed to be mounted in the recesses on the gas block behind(towards receiver) the gas adjuster. It holds the gas adjuster in place. If the spring clip is off the gas adjuster can slide out of place and cause functioning problems. It just snaps into place in the grooved area (with a bit of fiddling).

September 19, 2003, 15:33	#1
AmmoSgt Registered FALaholic #: 10713 Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 9	Update on my Century L1A1 and reapplication for WECSOG .. Ok I have taken two more bites at the reboring apple aprox 1/8 inch at each bite and have started the polishing of the Feed ramps. I am now getting aproximately 1/3 of a magazine in a 1" white circle on a 4" Black bull at 50 yards, with 90% in the black bull . Australian Bandoler and radway green belted mg ammo seen to be doing best Indian seems to be a 3" group but POI is about 3" to the right consistantly. I am reapplying for wecsog status due to the fact that in hand polishing the feed ramp ( ok well one finger polishing) with fine emery cloth I have managed to make the mandiory blood donation to my rifle . This has led to my current untried and inproven inventing of a feed ramp hand polishing tool .. consisting of a toothbrush with the bristles cut down to about 3/16's of an inch and a small patch emery cloth superglued to the bristles to make a emerycloth tooth brush. this should allow a easier job of polishing without the hazards of a dremel .. I am still getting brass coloring on the left side of the feed ramp .. I'll keep ya updated .. But I am becoming very happy with what this rifle can do .

September 19, 2003, 15:47	#3
Deltaten Registered FALaholic #: 124 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Lancaster, PA USA Posts: 8,500	* best Homer Simpson voice* "Ahhhh......blood-letting...." Well, AmmoSgt.; you are now permitted to [search] and print your own WECSOG diploma. Anyone with both "ammo" and "Sgt." in thier handle has to be an honest guy, so we'll trust you without digital pix, Doctor's note, or snail mail proof of said injury. Just the fact that this was a mod on a uni-brow rcvr gets you an additional "Order of the Mono-brow"( a cut'n'paste of Alley Oop's forehead!), to print as you wish Really, glad to hear it's coming along. You say "brass" marks; or do you mean copper? You could be getting brass scrapes on the ramp as the cart bumps it's way into the chamber. Either way, not to worry. Just polish 'em shiney, and all will slide "home" easier. Are all from the mag feeding, and just some not going wher you point it; or are you getting some hung up at the ramp and jamming things up? Best, Paul __________________ All or Nothing! Senator McCarthy was right! and as always......FYB!

September 19, 2003, 20:14	#4
W.E.G. Administrator Silver Contributor FALaholic #: 1211 Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Virginia Posts: 31,056	If you ever get one together without blood-letting, be sure to leave the sharp edge on the cocking handle rails. It usually only takes one range trip to drag a knuckle across one of those razors. __________________ . . . Ask me about the Mason-Dixon FAL Collectors Association.

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September 19, 2003, 15:42	#2
bykerhd Dinosaur Bronze Contributor FALaholic #: 2798 Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Burlington Vermont area Posts: 13,262	Have you run out of windage adjustment on the rear sight ? An impact area to the right would usually mean an overtightened barrel(past top dead center) if you have run out of adjustment.

September 19, 2003, 22:58	#5
AmmoSgt Registered FALaholic #: 10713 Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 9	DeltaTen .. I stand corrected .. Copper not brass , I am getting a little copper color on the feed ramp still .. quit polishing when I hurt my finger .. still a bit painful to type .. I have only had one round "hang Up" but that, i am pretty sure, was more from playing with gas valve setting while switching between different ammo from different nations The Radway Green needs at least 2 numbers more than the portugesse( I can get away with a 6 with radway, port needs at least a 4, even a 3 for full reliability) . What i was getting was actual flakes of copper in the breech area from being shaved off the bullets, now i am still getting some color but no flakes. Uh, Deltaten , I don't know exactly how to break this to you .. while I was indeed an Ammo Sgt MOS Series 55 uh .. not all ammo sgt's are guys Will update on how the toothbrush/emerycloth tool works in a couple of days, Primary mission is helping with my Grandkid this weekend.

September 19, 2003, 23:10	#6
AmmoSgt Registered FALaholic #: 10713 Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 9	Bykerhd .. I still have a little windage, most ammo from most nations is ok windage wise .. I zeroed it intially with the radway green and the port and australian seem to hit about the same POI at least windage wise .. the port maybe a half inch right .. The Indian however .. the dirty stuff in 10 round cello bags is consistantly 3" right, but it is now grouping ( about 3-4" at 50 yards instead of patterning ( about 12-15" at 50 yards ) like it did when I started tinkering. I suspect due to the degree of adjustment I already have dialed in on the rear sight I probably do have a wee bit of over tightening . I have a similar problem with my Century Reciever Garand , but now that I have a thousand rounds or so thru the Garand I find it seems to be a self correcting problem, only the Garand was intially shooting left so much I had to move the front sight.. also the feed timing was off on the Garand so much, I had to install a Holbrook device, which works better for me anyway.. One of these days I will hit the lottery and just buy a DSA or the tools to actually build a kit .

September 20, 2003, 07:00	#7
bykerhd Dinosaur Bronze Contributor FALaholic #: 2798 Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Burlington Vermont area Posts: 13,262	Personally I find the idea of the Century Garand "self-correcting" for windage kind of scary. Especially since it means the barrel must be screwing itself in further ? I suppose anything is possible with Century, as you are already discovering. If you can zero your rifle with decent ammo and still have a bit of adjustment left then you should be fine. The Indian stuff is a crapshoot from all the reports I've seen so far. I won't use it. Sounds like you are really getting acquainted with that FAL. You should do a detail strip to clean out the crud from the more hidden areas that the lower receiver especially is full of. Century just slaps them together and throws them in the bluing tank. Old cosmoline, unidentifiable crud, grease and bluing salts can impair functioning also.

September 20, 2003, 08:06	#8
AmmoSgt Registered FALaholic #: 10713 Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 9	LOL BykerHD yeah , I am assuming it is more a parts " settling in" with the Garand. I can detect no barrel movement , headspace seems fine both when I first got it a couple of years back and currently , But it definately looks like I can return the front sight to center and get what I need strictly off the back sight now. Haven't bothered to readjust things because it really is shooting well right now. I suppose I should scibe some witness marks on the barrel reciever interface and see if the bullets going down the barrel are actually torqueing it up tighter. I have pulled the Trigger group, safety and stuff out of the lower on the L1A1 and it was pretty clean and gave wearing surfaces a light coat of moly grease .. haven't messed with the butt stock and recoil spring as I don't have the tools , pulled the handguards and checked there for binding , I suspect i will have to figure out what to clean up in the handguards as I do have to use the assembly screw to fully bring them together. This does bring up a question ,, there is a loop of wire , looks like a "C" with the ends bent, around the gas tube that just seems to slide around, it is NOT the spring clicker thingy for the gas valve , seem to fit snugly on the rear most diameter of the gas tube near the reciever but doesn't seem to do anything .. any idea what it might be , where it is supposed to go ? Also whats the possibility of installing some kind of plate in the handguards to mount a sling swivel stud for a bipod ? or since they are not freefloaters whats the deal with mounting a bipod direct on the barrel .. how much does that mess with the barrel harmonics ?

September 20, 2003, 13:36	#9
bykerhd Dinosaur Bronze Contributor FALaholic #: 2798 Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Burlington Vermont area Posts: 13,262	That c shaped clip is supposed to be mounted in the recesses on the gas block behind(towards receiver) the gas adjuster. It holds the gas adjuster in place. If the spring clip is off the gas adjuster can slide out of place and cause functioning problems. It just snaps into place in the grooved area (with a bit of fiddling).