Wk180c charging handle retro-fit kit concept
- Thread starter lmar
- Start date
Yes the newest ones do but how does that solve the problem for people with early rifles that don't?
sam burton
Regular
- Location
- armstrong BC
Mine is chewed up as well after only a couple hundred rounds, to the point I am almost afraid to shoot it.
I have contacted them and got the standard reply, cosmetic, but the will offer an upgrade for sale. Not sure how I feel about that.
Once again burned by a pre sale.
I have contacted them and got the standard reply, cosmetic, but the will offer an upgrade for sale. Not sure how I feel about that.
Once again burned by a pre sale.
There have been a few ideas thrown around but this isn't something the consumer should have to fix.
If it was built to tighter tolerances so the handle couldn't tilt in the hole you shouldn't even need the magnet at all.
I still don't like the idea of it being threaded in, a better solution would have been to make it like a QD cup so it remained tool-less take down. Just push the button in the end to release it when needed for cleaning or swapping it to the other side.
I would go run 1000 rounds through it and hope it eats itself, at least then warranty should cover repairs as it would no longer be just cosmetic.
It would also prove to Kodiak that it's not just cosmetic as they claim.
So are all the early rifles affected or just a few with the loose handle to carrier fit?
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Hard to say how many are affected but it's apparent by posts on here that there are enough affected to warrant a design change.
In my experience I have not got this issue with either of my rifles. There are very small marks caused by the charging handle but nothing to warrant any concern by me at this point. The marks on mine are only a bit of finish wear, not gouges and chewed up receivers as shown by some people. One rifle has over 400 rounds through it and the other is over 1000 rounds. I know that's not really high usage but it should be enough to give a good indication of whether or not I'm going to have this problem. So far it looks like mine are going to go for a VERY long time before there is any issue with the receiver, if there ever will be. My charging handles do wiggle but the magnet seems to hold strong.
Maybe I got lucky? Or maybe some of the people posting here just happen to be the unlucky ones? Either way I've seen enough pictures posted here to believe there is indeed a problem with some. Perhaps it just needed to be made to tighter tolerances. Or perhaps the charging handle needed to be longer where it fits into the carrier so it couldn't jump out of place as easy. Either way Kodiak needs to get the issue corrected for the people who are having a problem. I'd also be pissed if my receivers were getting chewed out.
That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out.
It may be that most guys have no issues and are just worried because a couple guys have had problems.
If it's not chewing itself up after a few hundred rounds I'd think that rifle will be fine but it's hard to get a straight answer. as to how many are actually a problem.
Also, since only a few seem to be gouging and scraping I'd say that it IS NOT NORMAL WEAR. If it was normal they'd all be doing it.
Kodiak is not doing themselves any favors by brushing off customers who are experiencing this issue.
A wiggly handle alone is not what I would consider a problem or something that needs to be replaced under warranty but if it's shaving off material and gouging the receiver it is definitely a problem and warranty issue.
Yes. However I do not know what the original magnet is (i.e. material).
This would be more important than size since it (as well as operating temperatures) will determine the strength (or lack thereof) of the magnet.
Does anybody have a picture they can post with basic size of the magnet that has fallen out of the charging handle?
Might be able to cross-reference material based on size.
L
Yes someone has tried that not sure how it ended up working out but they did it and used a stronger rare earth magnet. they posted it to 1 of the threads here on cgn
Been reading about the WK180 charging handle chewing up the interior of the receiver.
Have no idea what the fix is other than what I guess is a threaded charging handle with matching threaded bolt.
I understand this has been a design improvement based on feedback from users.
Seeing I have a rifle with a serial number under 500 - mine came with the original magnet system.
Can't say I was a fan as I am a "positive" engagement type of guy. Liked the concept - but the tolerance on the charging handle was too sloppy which allowed for wiggle (I assume it was so people could reinstall the handle into the bolt without having to fiddle). I believe that with the correct tolerance this concept may have worked as intended.
In addition to resizing my original charging handle to fit my bolt, I was playing with the idea of retrofitting my existing bolt for a screw-in type bolt handle 4-5 months ago but life got in the way.
Note this was around the same time I was playing with an ejection port cover and case deflector shown below:
and associated jig.
Fast forward to today.
My original concept was to modify the existing charging handle for a threaded insert that was press-fit into the original bolt (Think Magpul sling mounts that are pressed into their stocks).
I encountered two problems with this idea.
1. There was no way to tighten the charging handle while threading it into the insert.
2. The original magnet pocket eliminated most of the material I would need to turn-down and thread the original charging handle.
Problem #1 was solved by cutting down a socket head cap screw and inserting it into the existing charging handle hole.
May have introduced a problem by increasing the reciprocating mass of the charging handle and the associated moment (introducing bending moment) in addition to original shear.
Problem #2 could be met by reducing the original charging handle diameter down to .3125 threads - but left little material for the threaded insert.
Could have gone to .250 thread but I believe the original magnet hole would leave very little material left for threads (1/4-20 thread shown in rendering above).
By this time I concluded that it would be easier (and cheaper) to manufacture a new charging handle that incorporated the features I needed.
While I can produce a charging handle that will probably fit every rifle I do not know what the tolerance is on the OEM bolt in order for the insert to be sized properly for a press-fit (not a fan of just using a thread locker).
Was thinking of knurling the insert to allow for some "give" in order to accommodate hole variances.
Anybody have pictures of the new system they can post so I can take a look at what Kodiac made changes look like?
Just wondering if a Kodiac retro-fit kit that consists of a new charging handle and two inserts that could be pressed into the bolt be a relatively simple fix for those who want a simpler upgrade path.
Figure inserts are cheaper than new bolts.
L
Update (25 Nov 2019)
I ended up throwing in the towel and picking up a replacement threaded carrier from Kodiak. Required me to send my original stripped-down carrier back with the serial number of the rifle it came from.
Tolerances on the original carrier blind holes were too far out for me to make it work without having to machine custom inserts. Not worth any more of my time.
The idea of using a tighter fitting charging handle with stronger magnets didn't pan out as the tight fit on one side resulted in a "wobble" on the other side (i.e. diameter tolerances were too big to allow single charging handle).
I now have a serialized logo'd carrier with a threaded bolt handle.
My plan is to shoot the rifle until it no longer works.
Pretty much my plan for any rifle.
So far so good. Min. wear, not many rounds down range yet though.
Honestly disappointed in this thread, I was hoping someone was making one of them old style angled up charging handles like the original.
If I designed the upper, it would of been a LH only charging handle with a galil style cover plate.
