headspace?

damon_achey · November 13, 2003, 11:58

Ok, I've found several posts on what it should be and how to measure it. I don't happen to have the tools to verify it at the moment, but what I'd like to know is what are the effects of it being too much or too little?

Basically I got a new STG58 and I'm trying to diagnose a problem it has at the moment.

dougjones31 · November 13, 2003, 12:02

Tell us the problem. It is most likely not the headspace.

skemler · November 13, 2003, 12:06

Too little = rounds that won't chamber...bolt won't lock into battery and carrier won't fully close.

Too much = scattered FAL parts on range and a potential visit to the local hospital.

SK

damon_achey · November 13, 2003, 12:27

I guess I should have posted here first instead of the DSA board, oh well.

Basically the problem is that it won’t consistently go completely into battery. I guess on average about 6-8 rounds a mag, the bolt appears to go almost all the way home but the carrier still has about 1/2 an inch before it's closed.

And then possibly a different problem, or not, is that about once a mag a round will get "stuck" with it's nose just out of the feed ramp but the side of the bullet still touching it.

The first thing that came to me was weak recoil springs since many of the parts on the DSA STG58's are technically used. I replaced with new stainless ones from falcon arms and it hasn't changed the behavior or feel at all.

And just for completeness, if I hand cycle the action, letting it close slowly under control with the charging handle, it seems to encounter resistance while traveling over the hammer. If' I’m real gentle on the close I can actually get it to hold itself open this way, where a slight bump to the gun will release it. Is this normal, or is it possibly too much resistance stealing speed from the bolt/carrier that won't let it slam home sometimes?

I'm lubricating with the G-Lube that I use use in my pistols and assumed it would be sufficient for the FAL also. I could be wrong.

dougjones31 · November 13, 2003, 15:13

I vote for friction between the rails and carrier. "I" would put some lapping compund on the carrier and work the action 50 times. I bet that slicks things up enough to do the trick.

I bet DSA tells you to shoot it 200 times before you send it back. 200 shots is usually enough to break in the gun good, but I like to smooth things out while I am building it instead of having problems for the first 200 rounds.

November 13, 2003, 11:58	#1
damon_achey Registered FALaholic #: 11579 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Wa. Posts: 4	headspace? Ok, I've found several posts on what it should be and how to measure it. I don't happen to have the tools to verify it at the moment, but what I'd like to know is what are the effects of it being too much or too little? Basically I got a new STG58 and I'm trying to diagnose a problem it has at the moment.

November 13, 2003, 12:02	#2
dougjones31 Registered FALaholic #: 6967 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,282	Tell us the problem. It is most likely not the headspace. __________________ "This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future." --Adolf Hitler, 1935

November 13, 2003, 15:13	#5
dougjones31 Registered FALaholic #: 6967 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,282	I vote for friction between the rails and carrier. "I" would put some lapping compund on the carrier and work the action 50 times. I bet that slicks things up enough to do the trick. I bet DSA tells you to shoot it 200 times before you send it back. 200 shots is usually enough to break in the gun good, but I like to smooth things out while I am building it instead of having problems for the first 200 rounds. __________________ "This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future." --Adolf Hitler, 1935

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November 13, 2003, 12:06	#3
skemler Registered FALaholic #: 10024 Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 227	Too little = rounds that won't chamber...bolt won't lock into battery and carrier won't fully close. Too much = scattered FAL parts on range and a potential visit to the local hospital. SK

November 13, 2003, 12:27	#4
damon_achey Registered FALaholic #: 11579 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Wa. Posts: 4	I guess I should have posted here first instead of the DSA board, oh well. Basically the problem is that it won’t consistently go completely into battery. I guess on average about 6-8 rounds a mag, the bolt appears to go almost all the way home but the carrier still has about 1/2 an inch before it's closed. And then possibly a different problem, or not, is that about once a mag a round will get "stuck" with it's nose just out of the feed ramp but the side of the bullet still touching it. The first thing that came to me was weak recoil springs since many of the parts on the DSA STG58's are technically used. I replaced with new stainless ones from falcon arms and it hasn't changed the behavior or feel at all. And just for completeness, if I hand cycle the action, letting it close slowly under control with the charging handle, it seems to encounter resistance while traveling over the hammer. If' I’m real gentle on the close I can actually get it to hold itself open this way, where a slight bump to the gun will release it. Is this normal, or is it possibly too much resistance stealing speed from the bolt/carrier that won't let it slam home sometimes? I'm lubricating with the G-Lube that I use use in my pistols and assumed it would be sufficient for the FAL also. I could be wrong.