M14 Gas system

[C9er]

Hello,
Would anyone have a photo of a unitised M14 gas system? That is, the 3 tacks welding the barrel band to the gas cylinder. I want to be crystal clear on this before I have to explain it to my welder.

Also, where can I get some shims to take up the slack before I get it welded? I don't think I have the tools, or do I? Would some tin-snips do it?

Skullboy's sticky on the subject is awesome, but I need to see where the welds go exactly.

Thanks very much,
C9er

 

[Hungry]

C9er:

At the positions of 10, 2, and 6 o'clock. Shims... give Mysticplayer on this board a PM. He's a great guy to deal with. His shims are not expensive.

Back to the gas cylinder. Hold the front band together with the gas cylinder. You will see a little escape hole at the bottom... don't block that little hole with the welding metal. Just a tiny tack is all you need at those 3 positions. Be careful filing off the excess metal. TWICE , I did this. Upon firing, the weld broke loose and I had to buy another large double double for my welder buddy.

By the way... he tack welded the front band to the gas cylinder WHILE it was ON my barrel. No joking. I've had 4 or 5 done OFF the barrel and clamped together and a COUPLE of them done while ON the barrel. No joking. It's all good.

Hope this helps,
Barney

Darn... didn't I show a couple of samples on my Clinic CD set ???

 

[C9er]

LOL, thanks Hungry, point taken, PM sent...

So the shims go between the front ferrule and barrel band, not between the barrel band and gas cylinder?
My lock nut tightens way past 6, so I want to fix that.

When you slide your gas assembly forward along with the front band... you will see the shoulder on which this entire assy will rest on. This shoulder is where the shim will sit. Yes, you do have remove the flash hider. Or you could cut the round shim and lay in down on the shoulder, but I've never done that. You see, all my accurizing over the past 20 years has been on Super or National Match M1A as well as real USGI M14's. Flash hiders come off predictably well. On the 2004 Abbotsford clinic Double CD set you will hear and see the banging and beating on the flash hiders. You will even see Skullboy taking the BFH (big hammer) to the stubborn flash hiders, I believe.

Oh, and one thing I really can't get is the part about "bending the tab up"? the tab on the barrel band? mine is bent 90 degrees...parallel to the barrel... why bend it?

I carry out the bending of the front band tabs upwards so that a FAT Douglas, Obermyer, Hart, Mike Rock 5R, Krieger National Match barrel will slide in there one day. ONLY bend the tabs up if you expect a fat match barrel upgrade sometime in the future. Remember that my background is from building NM quality rifles. Hey ask Skullboy... back in 1993 I sold him a Douglas bbl'ed M14 that he was shooting .38 Spl cases at 200 yards with. The fat barrel forces you to BEND up the tabs and then your handguard is now shaved/shaped to fit into these narrow interfaces. I had to anneal the front band and soften up the metal before bending up the tabs. I've actually ruined a FEW of the USGI front bands in the past by NOT annealing them before bending. In my 2003 clinic that I hosted in my basement, I owned TWO M14's that both wore Douglas NM barrels and then I passed around the gas cylinder unitizing project so that people could see and touch a real NM tuned M14. Darn, I sold those 2 to purchase an AR carbine for my wife as well as her Winchester M70 Stealth II sniper rifle.