FN Fal/C-1 Had a Gas Piston....

i think we spent more hours CLEANING that fool thing than on drill, which was no 2 for a recruit-one of the first things that struck me ( not literally) when i graduated to the m14 was how easy it was to clean THAT gas assembly- i don't remember if it was because one was chromed and the other not, or whatever, but i do remember the SCRUBBING- wire toothbrushes, carbon tet, whatever- that carbon build up WOULD NOT come off- it was probably the POWDER that ivi was using at the time- with the 14, it was undo the gas plug, dunk it in cleaner, wipe it off, and DROP IT BACK IN THE GUN- done
 
t-star said:
i think we spent more hours CLEANING that fool thing than on drill, which was no 2 for a recruit-one of the first things that struck me ( not literally) when i graduated to the m14 was how easy it was to clean THAT gas assembly- i don't remember if it was because one was chromed and the other not, or whatever, but i do remember the SCRUBBING- wire toothbrushes, carbon tet, whatever- that carbon build up WOULD NOT come off- it was probably the POWDER that ivi was using at the time- with the 14, it was undo the gas plug, dunk it in cleaner, wipe it off, and DROP IT BACK IN THE GUN- done
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C1 gas piston is hard chromed...
 
t-star said:
i think we spent more hours CLEANING that fool thing than on drill, which was no 2 for a recruit-one of the first things that struck me ( not literally) when i graduated to the m14 was how easy it was to clean THAT gas assembly- i don't remember if it was because one was chromed and the other not, or whatever, but i do remember the SCRUBBING- wire toothbrushes, carbon tet, whatever- that carbon build up WOULD NOT come off- it was probably the POWDER that ivi was using at the time- with the 14, it was undo the gas plug, dunk it in cleaner, wipe it off, and DROP IT BACK IN THE GUN- done
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We do have better carbon solvents today.

I wondered when 1 of the "piston is the perfect answer" crew was going to get called out on the real world of past experience...
 
I don't find the M-14s or the FALs difficult to clean. My H&R M-14 is chromed lined as well as my L1A1, I have to check but I think my StG-58 is chromed as well.
 
Urban_Ops said:
I don't find the M-14s or the FALs difficult to clean. My H&R M-14 is chromed lined as well as my L1A1, I have to check but I think my StG-58 is chromed as well.
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well, i don't know WHAT we were issued back then, but it was pure CRAP - nothing woud get that piston clean enough for inspection- we were TOLD it had carbon tet in it, but we used the same stuff for bore cleaner, which, in retrospect , makes no sense at all- the m14 had this little bottle of usgi bore cleaner, which was the same as what was issued with the m1, and that stuff WORKED -it also cleaned the m16 better than anything issued
 
Weird, same ammo between the 2 of them?

t-star said:
well, i don't know WHAT we were issued back then, but it was pure CRAP - nothing woud get that piston clean enough for inspection- we were TOLD it had carbon tet in it, but we used the same stuff for bore cleaner, which, in retrospect , makes no sense at all- the m14 had this little bottle of usgi bore cleaner, which was the same as what was issued with the m1, and that stuff WORKED -
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oh no, the canadian was ivi- issued crap- the stuff for the 14 was winchester white box - your basic standard m80 ball round- that's why i say it was the powder- the ivi carbon residue was like it was WELDED to the piston-
 
That makes sense. I usually run white box or Federal American Eagle.

About a decade ago maybe a bit longer we were swamped with all the Canadian FALs and you could pick them up for a couple hundred dollars. Since then we have had tons of variations, my fav is the Austrian Stg-58 only thing to change is the metal handguards(HOT!!) for synthetic.

t-star said:
oh no, the canadian was ivi- issued crap- the stuff for the 14 was winchester white box - your basic standard m80 ball round- that's why i say it was the powder- the ivi carbon residue was like it was WELDED to the piston-
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I liked shooting the FN though being Armoured we had SMG's or Browning HP's more often, being a soldier of early 80's vintage we has CLP for cleaning which I still think is crap. The "new" piston gun idea thing makes me laugh too.
 
"...do have better carbon solvents today..." EZ-Off works like hot dam on the rods and plugs. Highly frowned up though.
"...carbon tet..." Toxic as hell.
CLP is a dandy lube, but a poor cleaner.
 
The smart kids managed to get a gas piston rod for show, and another one in their webbing for go.

My C1 used to balance at about.... 3, if I remember correctly. Then, by various and unethical methods, I got a brand spanking new gas piston rod (which I never cleaned, including using the method of going outside and scrubbing it in wet dirt to grind off the carbon). All of a sudden, my rifle balanced at 11. Hmmmm... imagine that.

Can you imagine pulling the pistons out of your vehicle and scrubbing them in wet sandy soil to make them all shiny-like, before putting them back in?

OMC engine cleaner will remove carbon from ANYTHING. Love that stuff.
 
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Thanks for the reminder Rick. Yep, many the hour grinding a piston head in a sand 'cigarette bucket' to get the carbon off.

People always wondered why I asked to be on the crew cleaning up the C5 instead? Anyone else remember the happy and easy times of smashing the quarter inch of carbon off the C5 barrel by smashing the tip with a screw driver and watching the carbon flake off in chunks?

I think the only thing that compares to the FN, currently the C6. Too many darned odd scraper for this, or scraper for that. I suspect that there is an ammo tree on every base in Canada where there is a pile of dumped and abandoned blank, where troops have figured it better to toss away blank than clean the damned guns.
 
sunray said:
"...do have better carbon solvents today..." EZ-Off works like hot dam on the rods and plugs. Highly frowned up though.
"...carbon tet..." Toxic as hell.
CLP is a dandy lube, but a poor cleaner.
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carbon tet may have been toxic as hell, but WE WEREN'T TOLD- just the same way as that "hamburger " you had for "lunch" as "beef, getting your "m" papers,amd you could eat the buttons off your combat, etc- for my money, the best cleaner is still the old usgi bore cleaner that comes in those little bottles
 
lawn gnome said:
I think the only thing that compares to the FN, currently the C6. Too many darned odd scraper for this, or scraper for that. I suspect that there is an ammo tree on every base in Canada where there is a pile of dumped and abandoned blank, where troops have figured it better to toss away blank than clean the damned guns.
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Varsol and OMC engine cleaner is your friend.

Depends on how logical and rational your unit is in how they allow you to clean your weapon.

The showers in the shacks at Gagetown, the Center of Pestilence, still have signs everywhere admonishing that the showers are not to be used for cleaning weapons. They don't have a problem with the drains in the janitorial spaces however... and that hose going full force with hot water in the chamber of 50 cal barrels works wonders for cleaning. Clean 'em just like a muzzle stuffer. I love cleaning 50 barrels while everyone else thinks they got the easy parts...

And who do they think they're kidding once the barracks warden wanders off? And why is the carbon and chemicals washing off my hands not a problem, but a plumbing and environmental disaster if it comes off the gun in the shower before it gets on my hands to be washed off in the shower later?

When it comes to cleaning hard to reach carbon... chemical warfare all the way, baby.
 
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