SU-16 wanting a threaded muzzle (need a gunsmith)

little_airwolf

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The SU-16 is unable to be stripped to be put into a lathe. I don't know if hand tapping is the only way of threading but I'd really like to put my Hara arm comp on my SU.
I live in Calgary and ATRS won't touch it and I can understand why, a few degrees off and disaster.
Just wondering what you guys thoughts are and advise please.
Thanks
 
Joe Dlask made a spacer for me too, so that the gap between the bump for the original SU-16 sight and the brake is no longer there. Looks better finished that way, IMO...and looks really nice now with the A6 brake. :D
 
I've not threaded a SU-16 muzzle for a brake, but I have done others when the barrel could not be removed from the receiver.
I used a mandrel inserted into the rear of the receiver, locked in place, and dialed in. The muzzle goes on the tailstock center. After threading, I touch up the crown with a piloted crowning tool. Doesn't matter that the upper receiver is large and eccentric to the barrel axis; the rpms used in doing the threads is low enough that vibration is not going to be an issue.
 
Sounds interesting!! I'd like to do something like that on my su-16. Could you post a pic? Thanks

I'm a lousy photographer...but here are some shots...:)

su_16_001.jpg


su_16_002.jpg


su_16_003.jpg


BTW...the ACS stock has become my favourite.
 
Well...here's a not so nice view of my SU-16. :( Less than 500 rounds down the pipe...fifth shot today at the range. Noticed the upper receiver felt loose even though the pin was securely in place. Looked like the bolt carrier travelled too far and punched the back of the upper receiver out. Luckily, no injuries.

IMG_20130308_00845.jpg


Sucks.
 
Man I hope they go good on it for you. I really like shooting mine too. Lots of non restricted fun! Good gun for the money. Good luck getting it fixed!! Let us know. I'll be watching. I want to thread the barrel on mine too. Was yours one of the newer batch? I thought kel tec had corrected this problem?
 
Just spoke with Gary from Vault...I might be SOL on my SU-16. I was candid with him and told him that I bought this rifle from the EE...so even though it seemed pretty obvious to me that the rifle was new or at least near new, that is still not buying it from an authorized dealer and I am not the original owner. I was hoping after a quick internet search that since this issue with the bolt carrier slamming the back out of the upper receiver seemed to be a known issue with the SU-16, that Kel Tec would offer to replace my receiver for a nominal fee. Gary is going to make some inquiries for me to see if that's a possibility, but I am certainly not expecting it.

I think I'm going to chalk this up as a $700 lesson learned, and buy a brand new pistol caliber carbine instead. I also don't think I'll be buying any rifle whose receivers are made out of polymer ever again. It's just too damn bad that AR-15's are restricted...otherwise, I would bring one of mine with me while camping or to the cabin and there would be no issues at all.
 
preciseinnovationsllc.com Do it yourself.

Can't, as the barrel is slightly to thick to do it by hand with just a die. Needs to be turned down.

According to CGNers who know more than me.


I sold my SU16. No problems, but I didn't trust the rifle. Plastic receivers do not do it for me. And then you see pictures like Allstone posted.
Probably a 1 in a thousand incident, but that doesn't put your mind at ease.
 
Can't, as the barrel is slightly to thick to do it by hand with just a die. Needs to be turned down.

According to CGNers who know more than me.


I sold my SU16. No problems, but I didn't trust the rifle. Plastic receivers do not do it for me. And then you see pictures like Allstone posted.
Probably a 1 in a thousand incident, but that doesn't put your mind at ease.

If one were to search "Broken Receiver" at KTOG, one would find threads about other SU-16 owners experiencing the same issues with broken receivers from the bolt carrier impacting it. I would tend to agree that with the number of SU-16's in the US and Canada, these failures are probably relatively low in numbers...though I suspect significant enough to cause concern.

http://www.thektog.org/forum/f88/strange-su-16s-bolt-carrier-contacts-its-plastic-reciever-245716/

This person's Kel Tec suffered the same failure after allegedly shooting less than 100 rounds!

http://www.thektog.org/forum/f88/le...gh-my-new-su-16-boom-cracked-receiver-253299/

I am surprised to learn from the response from a supposed Kel Tec rep that it is NORMAL for the bolt carrier to impact the back of the receiver under normal cycling. It is said that a hard impact will always show up with the cocking handle impacting the back of the slot first...all I can say is that before Friday, the back of the slot on my gun has never shown any signs of impact, and I have always taken it apart completely for cleaning and oiling after every shoot and the gas system has never shown me any signs of trouble. In fact, after this catastrophe, I took a look at the gas piston system, and all seemed to be normal, except when pulling back on the charging handle, it's very obvious that there's overtravel and it easily wants to extend beyond the slot...so something's changed. Also confirmed that the gas tube was properly installed with the tab at the front of the receiver clocked in its proper position towards the left before taking it apart.

There's a video on Youtube of the exact same failure as mine also...though I can't seem to find it right now after a couple of searches. Will try again tomorrow and post a link.

It sounds like Kel Tec allegedly has made some changes in the receiver at some point in order to address this problem...and perhaps my rifle is one of the ones prior to this change...I don't know. I was hoping that since this issue is not unusual, that even though I might not have been the original owner, that Kel Tec would consider helping me out and fix the rifle for a reduced fee of some sort. I think that is a reasonably fair request from me...but I know that would be totally up to Kel Tec since they would be under no obligation under their warranty statement.

I want to be clear that I'm certainly not holding Vault to any responsibility either, and Gary offering to talk to Kel Tec for me is already going above and beyond his responsibility...so I do already appreciate that.

If I were to offer any advice after this? DON'T BUY A USED POLYMER RIFLE unless a $700 lesson is something that isn't significant to you...lol. I know that these rifles are a bit of a rarity these days...but I certainly wouldn't risk buying another used one again to save a little bit of money. In fact, with the asking prices some of them go for these days, you might not even save anything at all. The lifetime warranty is worthwhile being the original owner, IMO...which is why tomorrow, I'm likely going to pick up a brand new rifle (something else, LOL) from an authorized dealer. Just my 2 cents though.
 
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Personally, I don't think a rifle should fall apart like that(especially for the premium it goes for up north) and would expect a lot more from vault and/or kel-tec.


Must be using the cheap plastic in the 3d printer.
 
Can't, as the barrel is slightly to thick to do it by hand with just a die. Needs to be turned down.

According to CGNers who know more than me

The die is ajustable for diameter, comes with handles and an alignment spud. Not that it matters as 99.9% of the tools here couldn't cut threads on a bet.
 
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