This post for the most part will show you what is involved in re-barrelling and building a Custom M-14.One main step is not shown and that is bedding the M-14 action.
Since I am using a Sage EBR stock, bedding is not required.
Cover in this post are the following:
-Barrel removal
-Barrel installation
-Barrel timing/alignment
-Barrel chamber cutting
-Bolt lapping
-Assembly
-And a little problem solving.
This project took GG&FB and myself an afternoon to complete.
Removed the box stock Norc pipe and installed the Smith Enterprises CrazyHorse barrel I had set aside.
NOTE: To remove the Stock Norinco barrel, the small set screw on the right side of the receiver must be removed.I have found the easiet way is to simply drill it out on a drill press.This set screw and set screw hole will NOT be re-used (USGI & S.A. M1As do not use a set screw to lock the barrel).
Also installed was a USGI gas system and a Smith Enterpriese Gas Lock Navy Sight.
The Norc barrel came off pretty easy once we found a place to mount the barrel vise (more on this later on :wink: ).
The CrazyHorse barrel threaded in REALLY nice and was only 3/16" away from being timed/indexed!!!!! Ron Smith had these barrels made so that they will time/index VERY easily.Not a lot of force was needed to time the barrel.
NOTE: Some custom barrels (IE, Krieger,Douglas, Barnett, etc.) may require the barrel shoulder to be set back(machined) in order to obtain proper indexing.
GG&FB has ALL the cool M-14 tools, so we used his special bolt lapping/truing tool, and his .308 pull through reamer.
The lapping tool we used laps the bolt without the barrel installed.An alignment fixture screws into the receiver where the barrel threads in.Then you install your STRIPPED bolt with a LITTLE dab of fine valve grinding compound on the lug/receiver bearing surfaces.
You then rotate the bolt open and closed until it seats itself fully without any binding, or roughness.
NOTE: ensure to remove ALL traces of the valve grinding compound when finshed!!!
We checked the headspace after screwing in the barrel and the bolt wouldn't close on the 1.638" or 1.630" gauge.After about a 30 to 45 mins, the chamber was cut and the closed nice and tight on the 1.630" guage.
Cutting the chamber wasn't that hard.You just have to use LOTS of cutting fluid, and take your time and clean off the reamer FREQUENTLY!!! :wink:
The gas cylinder went on nice & tight, and require a 10 thou Fulton shim to index.
Lubed up all the surfaces and re-installed the action im my Sage Chop Mod EBR stock.
Now the CrazyHorse barrel is a Medium weight NM contour and should fit in the Sage stock, but the top rail/handguard was hitting the barrel shoulder just in front of the op rod guide.I had to dremel away some material in order to get enough clearance for the rail/handguard.You have to be VERY careful as there is not a lot of material around one of the screw holes.
But after the modifaction, the rail/handguard went on and IRENE was back together.
We utilised a few "Welfare" rebarreling techniques. :wink: We did all the work on GG&FB's porch with the barrel clamp bolted to a section of 4 " X 4" lumber, which inturn was strapped down to the handrail with some cargo straps. :lol:
I will say that if you are going to rebarrel a few M14s & have the $$$$$$, the Brownells barrel clamp & receiver wrench would be a good investment.
It was a good day that remined trouble free!!! Not once did I here the word "Oooppps". :wink:
Now to Build my “Shorty” M-14……..
Here are the actual work pics. :wink:
Barrel clamp on our "workbench" with the action prior to removal of the old barrel.The work bench is a balcony railing and the barrel vise is lag bolted into a 4X4 chunk of wood, then strapped to the railing.
Receiver with the bolt lapping tool installed.
This tool ensures the bolt lugs are lapped true to the receiver.
The bolt stripping tool.This is a handy piece of kit!!!
The barrel,bolt, & receiver ready to go together.
This shows how close the SEI CrazyHorse barrel is to being indexed when just screwed in hand tight.
Using the alignment bars to check the barrel indexing.
There are two alignment bars in this pic. :wink:
Cutting the chamber with a Clymer pull through reamer.
The parts ready to assemble.
Guess who gets to do the assembly.
Smith Enterprises Medium weight 1 in 10" twist 4 groove 22" barrel installed in IRENE.
USGI Gas system,Smith Navy Sight, and a Smith Direct Connection Vortex.
The completed build.
End result: one match chambered Mark 14 Mod 0 CrazyHorse clone.
Parts breakdown:
-Norinco Forged M305 Reciever (The only Chinese part left)
-Smith Enterprises CrazyHorse Barrel (22”, 1 in 10” twist With 4 grooves)
-USGI Gas cylinder
-USGI Gas piston
-Smith Enterprises Navy Gas Lock Sight
-Smith Enterprises Direct Connection Vortex FH
-Sage Chop Mod EBR stock with Sage op rod guide & Picatinney stripper clip scope mount
-TRW USGI Trigger Assembly
-TRW USGI Op Rod
-TRW USGI Bolt
-USGI recoil spring
-Rooster33 NM op Rod spring guide
-Rooster33 oversized bolt release
-ARMS #22 high QD rings with ARMS tactical rail
-Leupold Mark IV 3.5 - 10 X 40mm M1/LR Illuminated Mil Dot scope
-KAC Rail covers
SKBY.
Headspacing Concerns with the Marstar sourced Norinco M14's.
Added by Hungry, authored by Lazarus2000 (thanks a bunch Laz...)
Head space on an M-14 is NOT rocket science ...
. 308 Win GO is nominally 1.6340”. .308 Win NO GO is .005" over .308 GO. AND, 7.62 NATO GO is .0055” over .308 GO. So, if you believe in SAMMI specs, the 7.62 NATO GO gauge is already .0005” OVER .308 Win NO GO.
The 7.62 Military Gauge is cut out for the ejector, so you don't have to strip the bolt for a quick and dirty headspace check. If you use a commercial .308 gauge and don't strip the bolt, the rather heavy ejector spring is pushing the gauge into the chamber - WAY out of specs. I use the .308 Win gauge when fitting a stripped bolt, since most of these refits are intended to set up the rifle to use .308 Win commercial ammunition, or specifically for .308 Match ammo.
ASSUMING that the bolt lugs are square to the bore [ which can usually be determined by checking the wear pattern on the lugs ] stick in whatever gauge you have, close the bolt [ if you can ] then slip in the appropriate feeler gauge between the rear of the bolt lug and the right side of the receiver. Add the thickness of the feeler gauge leaf to the headspace gauge, and you have a very realistic guestimate of true headspace.
Most of the NEW Norinco clones I've checked recently had about .012 - .014" headspace over .308 Win GO. If you do the math, you can see the THEORETICAL SAAMI safety margins are being exceeded by quite a bit. But in the real world, I've seen M-14 rifles with MASSIVE headspace that functioned safely and flawlessly AS LONG AS YOU USED ONLY 7.62 NATO AMMO. The brass in 7.62 NATO is THICKER and HARDER than commercial .308 brass.
More important than headspace is EVEN wear on the lugs. Many of the old Chinese M-305 rifles have the left lug cut improperly. If they show signs of being hand ground by a Dremel like implement, chances are you are shooting with only ONE locking lug engaging properly. This is more important than a few thou headspace, but even here, most of these bolts don't cause safety problems UNLESS they are also very soft. Then the left lug peens back, and the bolt face gets cocked, and excess headspace can get real scary [ like .025" ] in a hurry.
From a practical shooter and gunsmith perspective, the main difference between the old Chinese M-14 rifles, and the newer ones, is that the NEW batch of M-305s will usually take a drop in US GI M-14 bolt without having to swap in a US GI barrel as well. Most of the OLD type Norincos AND Polytechs had barrels that protruded further into the receiver, and these WOULD NOT TAKE A DROP IN GI BOLT.
On my match rifles or my "keepers", I usually swap in a USGI bolt AND a GI barrel. USGI bolts go for about $ 300 these days and a $300 upgrade to a $399 rifle may not make much sense ... until you consider that with that new bolt, and a few other bits, you will end up in a rifle that is totally reliable and as good a shooter as a Sringfield M1A that costs close to $ 2000.
I also prefer to swap in a USGI or aftermarket barrel for my keepers, mainly because the Chinese barrels have MUCH softer steel. Not a big deal for accuracy, cause both GI and import barrels are CHROME lined. However, the softer barrel threads and softer barrel shoulder cause the “DRAW” of the barrel to be erratic. This is why the Chinese receivers have that silly little screw on the barrel/receiver ... to lock the barrel in securely. Notwithstanding that lock screw, to date I've seen three Chinese M-14 clones that had the original barrels come loose.
To keep all this talk of headspace in perspective, there are no proven cases of Chinese M-14 KABOOMS due to excessive headspace. And, in my personal experience, I know of one case where the barrel was so loose the user had to hand tighten it back into place after every ten shots or so. He kept on shooting it as is, without any explosions, until I talked him into a rebarrel. The headspace in that situation could only be guessed at, but it would be monstrous. That this M-14 clone did not explode, is a testimony to the built in safety features of the design.
One last thought, while too much headspace may not be a real world safety issue, too LITTLE headspace can be much worse. Take a tight or undersized chamber, combine it with some fouling, add in a “floating” firing pin that is a bit too long [ or broken or stuck forward ], a receiver bridge that is out of time, and you can theoretically get ammunition going off before the bolt is fully closed. This type of “out of battery KABOOM” would be much more likely, and much more dangerous, than the possibility of a explosion from too much headspace.
[;{)
LAZ 1
Again: Thanks to Laz for his generous experience and insight, Hungry....
Since I am using a Sage EBR stock, bedding is not required.
Cover in this post are the following:
-Barrel removal
-Barrel installation
-Barrel timing/alignment
-Barrel chamber cutting
-Bolt lapping
-Assembly
-And a little problem solving.
This project took GG&FB and myself an afternoon to complete.
Removed the box stock Norc pipe and installed the Smith Enterprises CrazyHorse barrel I had set aside.
NOTE: To remove the Stock Norinco barrel, the small set screw on the right side of the receiver must be removed.I have found the easiet way is to simply drill it out on a drill press.This set screw and set screw hole will NOT be re-used (USGI & S.A. M1As do not use a set screw to lock the barrel).
Also installed was a USGI gas system and a Smith Enterpriese Gas Lock Navy Sight.
The Norc barrel came off pretty easy once we found a place to mount the barrel vise (more on this later on :wink: ).
The CrazyHorse barrel threaded in REALLY nice and was only 3/16" away from being timed/indexed!!!!! Ron Smith had these barrels made so that they will time/index VERY easily.Not a lot of force was needed to time the barrel.
NOTE: Some custom barrels (IE, Krieger,Douglas, Barnett, etc.) may require the barrel shoulder to be set back(machined) in order to obtain proper indexing.
GG&FB has ALL the cool M-14 tools, so we used his special bolt lapping/truing tool, and his .308 pull through reamer.
The lapping tool we used laps the bolt without the barrel installed.An alignment fixture screws into the receiver where the barrel threads in.Then you install your STRIPPED bolt with a LITTLE dab of fine valve grinding compound on the lug/receiver bearing surfaces.
You then rotate the bolt open and closed until it seats itself fully without any binding, or roughness.
NOTE: ensure to remove ALL traces of the valve grinding compound when finshed!!!
We checked the headspace after screwing in the barrel and the bolt wouldn't close on the 1.638" or 1.630" gauge.After about a 30 to 45 mins, the chamber was cut and the closed nice and tight on the 1.630" guage.
Cutting the chamber wasn't that hard.You just have to use LOTS of cutting fluid, and take your time and clean off the reamer FREQUENTLY!!! :wink:
The gas cylinder went on nice & tight, and require a 10 thou Fulton shim to index.
Lubed up all the surfaces and re-installed the action im my Sage Chop Mod EBR stock.
Now the CrazyHorse barrel is a Medium weight NM contour and should fit in the Sage stock, but the top rail/handguard was hitting the barrel shoulder just in front of the op rod guide.I had to dremel away some material in order to get enough clearance for the rail/handguard.You have to be VERY careful as there is not a lot of material around one of the screw holes.
But after the modifaction, the rail/handguard went on and IRENE was back together.
We utilised a few "Welfare" rebarreling techniques. :wink: We did all the work on GG&FB's porch with the barrel clamp bolted to a section of 4 " X 4" lumber, which inturn was strapped down to the handrail with some cargo straps. :lol:
I will say that if you are going to rebarrel a few M14s & have the $$$$$$, the Brownells barrel clamp & receiver wrench would be a good investment.
It was a good day that remined trouble free!!! Not once did I here the word "Oooppps". :wink:
Now to Build my “Shorty” M-14……..
Here are the actual work pics. :wink:
Barrel clamp on our "workbench" with the action prior to removal of the old barrel.The work bench is a balcony railing and the barrel vise is lag bolted into a 4X4 chunk of wood, then strapped to the railing.
Receiver with the bolt lapping tool installed.
This tool ensures the bolt lugs are lapped true to the receiver.
The bolt stripping tool.This is a handy piece of kit!!!
The barrel,bolt, & receiver ready to go together.
This shows how close the SEI CrazyHorse barrel is to being indexed when just screwed in hand tight.
Using the alignment bars to check the barrel indexing.
There are two alignment bars in this pic. :wink:
Cutting the chamber with a Clymer pull through reamer.
The parts ready to assemble.
Guess who gets to do the assembly.
Smith Enterprises Medium weight 1 in 10" twist 4 groove 22" barrel installed in IRENE.
USGI Gas system,Smith Navy Sight, and a Smith Direct Connection Vortex.
The completed build.
End result: one match chambered Mark 14 Mod 0 CrazyHorse clone.
Parts breakdown:
-Norinco Forged M305 Reciever (The only Chinese part left)
-Smith Enterprises CrazyHorse Barrel (22”, 1 in 10” twist With 4 grooves)
-USGI Gas cylinder
-USGI Gas piston
-Smith Enterprises Navy Gas Lock Sight
-Smith Enterprises Direct Connection Vortex FH
-Sage Chop Mod EBR stock with Sage op rod guide & Picatinney stripper clip scope mount
-TRW USGI Trigger Assembly
-TRW USGI Op Rod
-TRW USGI Bolt
-USGI recoil spring
-Rooster33 NM op Rod spring guide
-Rooster33 oversized bolt release
-ARMS #22 high QD rings with ARMS tactical rail
-Leupold Mark IV 3.5 - 10 X 40mm M1/LR Illuminated Mil Dot scope
-KAC Rail covers
SKBY.
Headspacing Concerns with the Marstar sourced Norinco M14's.
Added by Hungry, authored by Lazarus2000 (thanks a bunch Laz...)
Head space on an M-14 is NOT rocket science ...
. 308 Win GO is nominally 1.6340”. .308 Win NO GO is .005" over .308 GO. AND, 7.62 NATO GO is .0055” over .308 GO. So, if you believe in SAMMI specs, the 7.62 NATO GO gauge is already .0005” OVER .308 Win NO GO.
The 7.62 Military Gauge is cut out for the ejector, so you don't have to strip the bolt for a quick and dirty headspace check. If you use a commercial .308 gauge and don't strip the bolt, the rather heavy ejector spring is pushing the gauge into the chamber - WAY out of specs. I use the .308 Win gauge when fitting a stripped bolt, since most of these refits are intended to set up the rifle to use .308 Win commercial ammunition, or specifically for .308 Match ammo.
ASSUMING that the bolt lugs are square to the bore [ which can usually be determined by checking the wear pattern on the lugs ] stick in whatever gauge you have, close the bolt [ if you can ] then slip in the appropriate feeler gauge between the rear of the bolt lug and the right side of the receiver. Add the thickness of the feeler gauge leaf to the headspace gauge, and you have a very realistic guestimate of true headspace.
Most of the NEW Norinco clones I've checked recently had about .012 - .014" headspace over .308 Win GO. If you do the math, you can see the THEORETICAL SAAMI safety margins are being exceeded by quite a bit. But in the real world, I've seen M-14 rifles with MASSIVE headspace that functioned safely and flawlessly AS LONG AS YOU USED ONLY 7.62 NATO AMMO. The brass in 7.62 NATO is THICKER and HARDER than commercial .308 brass.
More important than headspace is EVEN wear on the lugs. Many of the old Chinese M-305 rifles have the left lug cut improperly. If they show signs of being hand ground by a Dremel like implement, chances are you are shooting with only ONE locking lug engaging properly. This is more important than a few thou headspace, but even here, most of these bolts don't cause safety problems UNLESS they are also very soft. Then the left lug peens back, and the bolt face gets cocked, and excess headspace can get real scary [ like .025" ] in a hurry.
From a practical shooter and gunsmith perspective, the main difference between the old Chinese M-14 rifles, and the newer ones, is that the NEW batch of M-305s will usually take a drop in US GI M-14 bolt without having to swap in a US GI barrel as well. Most of the OLD type Norincos AND Polytechs had barrels that protruded further into the receiver, and these WOULD NOT TAKE A DROP IN GI BOLT.
On my match rifles or my "keepers", I usually swap in a USGI bolt AND a GI barrel. USGI bolts go for about $ 300 these days and a $300 upgrade to a $399 rifle may not make much sense ... until you consider that with that new bolt, and a few other bits, you will end up in a rifle that is totally reliable and as good a shooter as a Sringfield M1A that costs close to $ 2000.
I also prefer to swap in a USGI or aftermarket barrel for my keepers, mainly because the Chinese barrels have MUCH softer steel. Not a big deal for accuracy, cause both GI and import barrels are CHROME lined. However, the softer barrel threads and softer barrel shoulder cause the “DRAW” of the barrel to be erratic. This is why the Chinese receivers have that silly little screw on the barrel/receiver ... to lock the barrel in securely. Notwithstanding that lock screw, to date I've seen three Chinese M-14 clones that had the original barrels come loose.
To keep all this talk of headspace in perspective, there are no proven cases of Chinese M-14 KABOOMS due to excessive headspace. And, in my personal experience, I know of one case where the barrel was so loose the user had to hand tighten it back into place after every ten shots or so. He kept on shooting it as is, without any explosions, until I talked him into a rebarrel. The headspace in that situation could only be guessed at, but it would be monstrous. That this M-14 clone did not explode, is a testimony to the built in safety features of the design.
One last thought, while too much headspace may not be a real world safety issue, too LITTLE headspace can be much worse. Take a tight or undersized chamber, combine it with some fouling, add in a “floating” firing pin that is a bit too long [ or broken or stuck forward ], a receiver bridge that is out of time, and you can theoretically get ammunition going off before the bolt is fully closed. This type of “out of battery KABOOM” would be much more likely, and much more dangerous, than the possibility of a explosion from too much headspace.
[;{)
LAZ 1
Again: Thanks to Laz for his generous experience and insight, Hungry....
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