Gunsmithing Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

[HillbillyfromAL]

Alright heres what I'm doing. I've take a piece of steel tube and ran it inbetween the oprod block and gas piston assembly. Welded it up and used Brownells Acraglass to be it. I'm hoping this will eliminate some of the movement of the std barrel. The paint gets here tonight, so it ain't finished but here she is.

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

why


i mean.......there is such a thing as an AR-10....and some even come painted...

 

[Guest]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

4 words come to mind,....Front Barrel band pressure,.... do not take them lightly if you want to go long. Quality Reciever Bedding, an those four words have worked for 40+ years.

 

[jacq220]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

scratching my head on this one.

 

[Jerry m]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

Old school was free floated barrel with a double lug bedded receiver.

Good luck

Jerry

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

These don't have a front band. Thats why I'm doing this. The stock dosen't need bedding in the rear. With the Sage theres a little set screw in the top cover of the stock to put just a little pressure on the barrel, when I was shooting it I noticed that it would twang on the barrel and if you pushed down a little harder you could actually see a gap at that screw but only when the rifle was warm. So I'm doing this in hope that it will eliminate that. I don't have the money right now to get a better barrel, which would be the proper way to fix it. About the AR10 you can keep it, I wouldn't invest in something that I wouldn't trust, and sure as hell don't trust any AR platform. The piston driven ones are ok, but no thanks.

 

[AustinTXMarine]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

Hillbilly (very appropriate based on your post),

So what you are doing is taking a proven action, the M14, and a proven chassis system (the sage) and made a mess of things to say the least.

The sage chassis gives better receiver and barrel stability than the standard M1A stock from SA, but if you are looking to make the sage a psuedo sniper rifle, you would be better going with a McMillan or something actually designed to be bedded.

If you are looking to make a true sniper rifle, just put the tools down (or sell them)and go to the store and buy one. Keep the Mk14 EBR the way it was originally designed. It has been proven battle worthy and was never intended to be put through what you are doing to it.

Just two cents from a hick in Texas.

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

i'm getting the buttered and some mountain dew...........

 

[AustinTXMarine]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

No idea what you mean Bolt, but it made me laugh either way.

 

[Witch_Doctor]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

That looks like an obsessive compulsive disorder to me, do you wash your hands alot, or buff a scratch on your truck until you see primer. I thought I was OCD, wow.

 

[KYS]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

our you could ditch the stock and go with a J Allen Enterprises stock system. I have one and let me tell you, the accuracy is amazing for an M1A. Once you get the action lugs properly adjusted and torqued, and set the barrel tensioning screw and your good for a 1/2 moa rifle.

The sage is not meant to be bedded at all.... you might be getting yourself into sticky situation.

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

AustinTXMarine,
So your saying that if this was done in a McMillian you wouldn't have a problem with it, but since I'm doing it in a Sage EBR you do. Hmm. I'm not looking to make this into a Surgeon or GAP rifle. I'm trying a different approach to fix something I didn't like about this particular rifle. It's already accurate, it just seemed loose if you will. Some might think that this is a permanent modification, and it will be if it does what I think it will, but if don't work an hour or two worths of work and it'll be back to where it began. Let me asks you this. Whats wrong with trying something new or different? I'll post some more pics next time I go to the range, and I'll let you know if this worked. I won't be losing anything either way. Heres the targets from the first time I shot with it, after not being able to do shit with a rifle since the end of 07. I fractured my back hoping walls in Iraq, and just got it fixed earlier this month.

Boltripper I'll throw some Dew into the cooler for You, and get some hot wings going.

 

[Kells81]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

Not to sound like an ass, but that is freakin brutal.

Maybe a great idea, but jesus thats some ugly shit. Am interested to see if it helped or hurt though

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

LOL/......hot wings and dew.....i love you man..................

 

[AustinTXMarine]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

Hillbilly,
I have no issue with fixing anything, but there are not many people, that is people who know what they are doing, who would recommend bedding as far up the barrel as you have. Depending on the quality of the barrel you should not need it anywhere forward of a couple centimeters off the receiver. Anyway, good for you man, I hope it works, and like you said, if it "don't work" you can spend the time taking it off.
If it does not stay consistent in different temps, altitude, etc., I would recommend removing the bedding and the barrel, then send it to SEI and have them mount a crazy horse barrel and as many other GI parts as you can afford. They will be able to get you to the accuracy limit of the <span style="font-weight: bold">M1A in a Sage chassis</span>.

Hick

 

[mgd45]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

Didn't it occur to you that with all the companies & "professional" gunsmiths who have designed, tested, & built stocks for the M1A or M14 rifle.......that none of them have done this?

I applaud your desire to "do something" different, but this rifle system has been around for what....40+ years...? I'm sure everything has been tried with this system.

Who knows, maybe you'll turn out to be a genius & design the best stock system for this rifle. I'd luv to see the outcome if it's sucessful. Good luck!

 

[kraigWY]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

Here is an ideal if you want to bed (or other work on a M1a)

Pm me with your e-mail address and I'll send you the army Accurizing manuel for the M14/M1A in .pdf formant

 

[MK14 SEI]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AustinTXMarine</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

The sage chassis gives better receiver and barrel stability than the standard M1A stock from SA, but if you are looking to make the sage a psuedo sniper rifle, you would be better going with a McMillan or something actually designed to be bedded.

If you are looking to make a true sniper rifle, just put the tools down (or sell them)and go to the store and buy one. Keep the Mk14 EBR the way it was originally designed. It has been proven battle worthy and was never intended to be put through what you are doing to it.

</div></div>

<span style="font-weight: bold">Agreed.</span>

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Re: Tightening up My M1A with a glass bed.

AustinTXMarine,
If I had the money I would've put a medium heavy barrel on it. This cost 50.00 including the new paint from where the old stuff on the scope got stipped of by the cleaner. It was accurate as long as I kept the barrel cool, but when it got warm it started to move around, I could actually do it by hand. I didn't like that. The one I carried in Iraq had a medium hvy barrel and was tight as shit even when it was hot as hell. I haven't got around to putting it all back together yet, but with just the action being held by the trigger now there isn't any movement up front, without the top cover. So hopefully this will work. I don't know if anyone would want to do this because it would create extra work to rebarrel. There is 2 trains of thoughts on semi auto weapons systems that I know of, one bed the action free float the barrel from as close to the action as possible, two get the barreled action so that nothing absolutely nothing moves. I'm sure that alot of people here have heard of a PSG-1. That doesn't have a free floated barrel, it's locked down by tension of the end of the stock system. Same with the JAE that someone mentioned here. Barrel tensioner is where the barrel band should be. I'll let all ya'll know how it does next time I got to the range. Here's some more pics of where it is right now.