M14 Muzzle break removal ..eh?

Can anyone give me a hint where/how to support the barrel while one is banging away to remove the flash hider? I want to be able to remove the flash hider just to make detailed cleaning easier. I've finally got all the damn Cosmoline off (man that Simple Green works great) but I'd like to be able to remove the gas cylinder, gas cylinder lock, etc. off when detailing the rifle.

I'm considering using my workmate, grabbing the barrel along its sides with the receiver butted up against the workmate's wood surface. I figure any loads from banging on the flash hider will be reacted by the front of the receiver rather than the gas cylinder or the op rod guide.

I had no problem loosening the flash hider nut, I just used a very small pair of vise grips. Yep it marked the nut a little but it worked quickly and easily and this isn't exactly a show case kind of gun anyway.

Cheers and thanks in advance.
 
Sage !

Dereck said:
Well, I really needed to remove mine to install a Sage EBR stock. Tapping with punch was not sufficient, started the recommended drilling process, then stopped, thinking I would try one more thing...
Grabbed a small soldering torch and applied small amounts of heat to the suspect weld areas, then was able to easily tap off with brass punch.
Not recommending this to anyone, but I did have a spare M305 in case I mucked things up too bad...
Range result: 5 shots grouped <.5inch at 100yds with Fed 168gr gold medal match, off a crappy rest, by a crappy shooter.
Gotta love a properly bedded Norinco!
Click to expand...

Today I shot my SAGE first time in a tuned norc - sub half inch at 200 yards WITH S/A !!! :eek:- Mind you it was well below - below zero cold. Come summer it will wander as the barrel heats --
 
We sighted in a new M14S on the 100 yd range yesterday. Because the backstop is mostly covered in snow, shooter picked out a dirt clump, and I called impact point (easy to see on the snow covered hill)

Took us 3 shots in the snow, then we moved to paper, and the next 3 shot group was centered about 2" across using 180g hunting ammo.

No fuss, no muss, no bruised fingers or gun parts :D
 
MJL said:
We sighted in a new M14S on the 100 yd range yesterday. Because the backstop is mostly covered in snow, shooter picked out a dirt clump, and I called impact point (easy to see on the snow covered hill)

Took us 3 shots in the snow, then we moved to paper, and the next 3 shot group was centered about 2" across using 180g hunting ammo.

No fuss, no muss, no bruised fingers or gun parts :D
Click to expand...

hey newbie- THE TOP END FOR THE M14 s 175 grain=stop using that 180 grain ammo IMMEDAITELY- or you'll BREAK YOUR OPROD - the REAL top end is 165 for hunting, 168 for match- that's WELL DOCUMENTED
 
Fusilier said:
Can anyone give me a hint where/how to support the barrel while one is banging away to remove the flash hider? I want to be able to remove the flash hider just to make detailed cleaning easier. I've finally got all the damn Cosmoline off (man that Simple Green works great) but I'd like to be able to remove the gas cylinder, gas cylinder lock, etc. off when detailing the rifle.

I'm considering using my workmate, grabbing the barrel along its sides with the receiver butted up against the workmate's wood surface. I figure any loads from banging on the flash hider will be reacted by the front of the receiver rather than the gas cylinder or the op rod guide.

I had no problem loosening the flash hider nut, I just used a very small pair of vise grips. Yep it marked the nut a little but it worked quickly and easily and this isn't exactly a show case kind of gun anyway.

Cheers and thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

i removed the stock and,i believe, the upper handguard.
the handguard is tricky -they can crack easy when being removed.
i left the rest of the parts in the receiver so as to keep the receiver and barrel more rigid.
take some penetrating oil and spray liberally around the flash supressor.let it soak in for a while.
remove the set-screw and castle-nut.
place receiver in workmake upside-down and clamp receiver in the wood surface.
tape up the stubby cut-off bayonet lug and a large "bucking bar" or similar large bar.
using a hammer,whack the stubby part of the bayonet lug from the rear (aft to forward).the bar is at an angle resting on the cut-off lug.
after about 5 good whacks it should come off.the 2 spot welds are either side of the stubby lug.
 
t-star said:
hey newbie- THE TOP END FOR THE M14 s 175 grain=stop using that 180 grain ammo IMMEDAITELY- or you'll BREAK YOUR OPROD - the REAL top end is 165 for hunting, 168 for match- that's WELL DOCUMENTED
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Nice "hey newbie" crack. You are the master of all things internet I take it t-star?

If you are new to the hobby, welcome MJL. If you just have a low post count on CGN, welcome anyway.
 
ok maybe that was uncalled for- SORRY- but for god's sake, take the rest of my post to heart-i'd HATE to see someone lose their gun through lack of knowledge- if one goes through the topics on cgn, there's a virtual library on the norc/poly m14- and if you dig a little deeper on the net, you'll find even more
 
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Well I got the damn flash suppressor off my M14. I described the process to my wife like the way I dance: a lot of waving of arms, interesting to watch, and no one, not even I knew what was going to happen next.

I tried to drill/mill out the welds. This cost me an old end mill type bit and the purchase of a new carbide bit for my Dremel. I drilled until I was afraid I was biting into the barrel metal but after removing the FS, I discovered I hadn't actually made it through the welds on the FS.

I took the stock off and flipped the barrel/action over on its top. I braced the clip guide against a block of soft wood and clamped that end down to the edge of my work bench. I completely removed the Flash Suppressor Set Screw and set it aside. I completely loosened the Flash Suppressor Nut and screwed it finger tight forward. I used a pencil to mark a witness mark on the Nut and the Suppressor. That way after every few whacks, I could screw the Nut forward to see if I had made any progress. It was the only encouragement I had during the process.

I completely destroyed a brass head drift punch but eventually (I'm talking about 45 minutes of whaling away with my hammer) it finally came off. I used a small grinding bit in my Dremel to clean up the welds on the inside of the Suppressor. Now it goes on and off the way it was designed to.

Bigger bonus, after removing the FS, I flipped my Gas Cylinder Lock around front to back. Now it clamps up nice and tight. It was noticeably loose before this process.

So now my Norinco is pretty much Cosmoline free (except of course for the mystery wood stock), the FS comes on and off, the Gas Cylinder Lock is nice and tight, and (I think) the moving parts all have grease where it should be.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to fix the damn rear sight. I took it a apart to clean and lube and now I can't get the screws to the correct tightness where I can actually adjust the sight if I have to. If the weather ever breaks this winter, I'll get this marvel of Garand design and Chinese slave labour out to the range for a trial.

Hungry here: Rear sights ? I was super scared when I tried to pull my chinese sights off initially. The steel is very soft (well documented here) and it will behave as unpredictably as removing your flash suppressor (varied for all of us). If you really MUST remove them, ensure you have a set of USGI M1 Garand Elevation and Windage knob nearby, just in case you never get the chinese ones assembled, let alone get them to work the way they were designed to operate. Lots of CGNutters just roughly sight their M14's at 100yds/m and then SCOPE that rifle. Quite a few of us have bought M1 Garand rear sights and everything is peachy. Hey for $ 400 , who gives a poop? :D

In the mean time, I've got to re-watch Hungry's DVD.

Cheers and thanks for the help.
 
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t-star said:
ok maybe that was uncalled for- SORRY- but for god's sake, take the rest of my post to heart-i'd HATE to see someone lose their gun through lack of knowledge- if one goes through the topics on cgn, there's a virtual library on the norc/poly m14- and if you dig a little deeper on the net, you'll find even more
Click to expand...

A bit sensationalist t-star, you can shoot 180gr in an M14. Your cannot in an M1. Should you make a habit of it? No, it will beat up your rifle sooner than the 150gr it was designed for. It will not however snap your op rod, bend it, or as Hungry would say, make your #### fall off. Certainly not doing your gun any favours by shooting it, but not rendering it ready to fail catastrophically either.

To the fellow shooting 180gr, you can groove your gas piston to handle 180gr on a consistent basis safely, as per the pic of the NM piston below. You can easily find a second norc piston somebody's replaced with USGI components and keep it stock for 150gr/ball ammo.

http://www.sadlak.com/si_rifle_parts_pistons.html
 
RE: 180g

So my #### WONT fall off ???

WHEW !!!! :D :D

T-star - apology accepted.;)

There IS a wealth of information available here, but if you dont have a particular question you are researching or you didn't trip over it by accident, you don't know.

Thanks for the heads up. I will likely see the guy at the range next Saturday and I will suggest he take it down a notch or two.
 
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