StrangerDanger

The hardest question I have is, what to assemble first? I'm mainly interested in the 9mm AR15 and the Benelli. Glock 36 9mm AR15 Pistol variant Benelli M4 16" full sized Noveske AR15 LMT MRP piston op

I'm not super familiar with the AK platform. Sounds like a Saiga though? Is the receiver and barrel assembly all steel? The only thing that really stops a coating option is dissimilar metals. Also, titanium and magnesium are no-go. Nickel boron is extremely thin and shouldn't effect tolerances. I recall the thickness is .0005" from somewhere. Etchings shouldn't be effected. In with Cerakote, the laser engraving isn't fully covered on things like my Surefires. If you don't care about nickel boron from a function standpoint, Cerakote may be a good choice. It's cheap and extremely durable. You have nearly unlimited color options too. You don't need to take everything apart either. A place named Controlled Chaos did my optics/lights/small parts pretty cheap. Turn around times were about three weeks.

Thanks! I'm hoping the parts will show up tomorrow! Wednesday at the very latest. I went with nickel boron because it can be top coated. With NP3, you cannot apply anything to it. The paint won't adhere to the Teflon in the NP3. So you're stuck with a silver finished weapon. The nickel boron is a harder surface material than the NP3. Some items might benefit from one finish over the other. WMD actually offers a nickel with Teflon finish if you like. On my internal components like the trigger, disconnector and hammer, I didn't coat them. I didn't want to mess wih the sear engagement points. I figure the FFT set in my M4 was optimally coated already. WMD was cheaper than Robar. They seemed to have more options and were more flexible with my complicated requests. I had spoken to Robar before at SHOT and on the phone. They were always nice and helpful, but the options were limiting. Hopefully tomorrow we'll see how well WMD follows directions. I'm also worried about how the Cerakote colors match between different coaters. The trigger group and the bolt carrier of the M4 are pretty complicated. Both were ordered to be completely coated in nickel boron. The trigger group's supposed to be painted in burnt bronze Cerakote only on the exterior visible portion. The bolt carrier and tail is supposed to be painted in black Cerakote only on the right side of the bolt that is visible through the ejection port. The rails should be left nickel boron.

I don't expect to see any bids on this one. You have to get two morons to try to outbid each other to drive the prices up into the stratosphere like that. If he can get that kind of bread out of it, more power to him. Just don't see it happening with weak pictures and poor description.

Titanium is stronger than steel if both materials weigh the same. Kind of like how spiderweb silk is stronger than steel, by weight. A common misconception about titanium is that it is super-lightweight metal. Aluminum is actually lighter than titanium. When titanium and steel bump uglies, steel wins.

Got tracking info today. 23 pounds of parts inbound. UPS says the package will arrive next Wednesday. Hopefully it'll get here a little faster than that. Some weird stuff though. I got billed for work today. I think they botched the billing. I sent in about 60 parts to have done total. The PDF only lists like one item per line item. Example, just one receiver extension instead of three. So the price was pretty cheap considering how many parts went in. 825 shipped back for essentially four weapons, three of which are rifle/shotguns. I was anticipating 1200 - 1400 at least. Needless to say, I'm not going to rock the boat and ask about it. I just hope they followed my instructions closely.

In time when the FFT unit has been used more. Here is a side by side of the carriercomp and the Design Concepts. You can see how the titanium deforms from the steel detent.

Recently I had a chance to get a hold of a Freedom Fighter Tactical 1/2" Titanium bolt handle to compare against an OEM, carriercomp Gen2 and a Design Concepts bolt handle. One of the nice things about the Freedom Fighter Tactical bolt handle is it is actually obtainable. Out of pure luck was I able to get my black carriercomp bolt handle a year ago. Their limited quantity is certainly the only negative aspect about the unit. From my measurements, here is the production weight for the units; Benelli OEM: 12.5 Grams carriercomp 1/2" Titanium: 9.6 Grams Design Concepts: 8.5 Grams Freedom Fighter Tactical 1/2" Titanium: 10 Grams GG&G Steel 3/4": 24.5 Grams Of all the the units I've used, the carriercomp Gen2 is my favorite. I like the steel shank. It really does help with limiting wear on the tip of the bolt handle. I also find that the knurling is superior to all the other offerings. Knurling clean knurls on titanium is a superbitch to do. Given that Design Concepts is no longer in business, it really only leaves Freedom Fighter Tactical as a go to source for bolt handles. Their production quality is quite good. Here is a couple of photographs.

The factory top rail isn't in spec. If you attempt to mount an optic to it with a LaRue mount, the mount will be destroyed during recoil. The recoil lug on the bottom of the LaRue mount is just slightly larger than the sight channel that is cut in the OEM rail. During recoil, the mount shifts to the rear and chews up the mount. Now, if you're using a mount that has a cross bolt design that is supported along the entire picatinny rail, the OEM rail will do okay. The lack of a cut down the center of the aftermarket rails doesn't interfere with the sight picture whatsoever.

Those ridges are from the washers pressing into the aluminum under torque. The FFT unit will probably do the same once the unit is installed. Those grooves help prevent the screw from backing out.

Thanks. I called and harassed WMD Guns today. It's been two months today since the parts arrived at their door. According to them, the parts should ship out in the next week or so. Supposedly they're all coated and have come back from painting. Their gunsmith is reassembling parts and test fitting items. I'll believe it when I have a tracking number in hand.

No problem! For another comparison, here is a factory top rail and a SideArmor center cut top rail.

I recently received a top rail from Freedom Fighter Tactical to install on a friends M4. Since I had my carriercomp top rail removed for my coating process, I figured I'd take some decent pictures and compare the two side by side. Generally, the carriercomp top rail has been the 'go to' rail for anyone serious about mounting an optic to their M4. I noticed that Freedom Fighter Tactical had released an offering that looked quite similar to the carriercomp rail. At various times, the carriercomp rail has been extremely difficult to get -- so an alternative is welcome. While the Freedom Fighter Tactical rail costs a little more than the carriercomp rail, it also includes a set of washers and fasteners. The Freedom Fighter Tactical rail is also available for purchase at pretty much any given time with minimal wait periods. The rails themselves are nearly identical. The only differences I noted was that the carriercomp had a more aggressive dehorning process performed. This means there are fewer sharp edges present. The carriercomp unit also has T markings present. The finish on the aluminum is different. On the carriercomp, the finish is shinier than the Freedom Fighter Tactical model. The Freedom Fighter Tactical model has more of a flat subdued finish. Installation of these rails is pretty straight forward with the proper tools. Procuring a proper flat head screw driver for the fasteners is probably the biggest challenge. The bit you want is a Magnabit 240-6. They fit perfectly. You'll also want to use a torque wrench. Torque the fasteners in an alternate pattern like if you were torquing the lug nuts on a car. Eventually snug them all to 16 - 18 inch pounds. Locktite is recommended for the fasteners. I would take an additional step and coat the fasteners and receiver threads with Locktite Primer. 243 Locktite is recommended for two dissimilar materials. You can make due with 241 blue locktite though. Allow the fasteners to dry for at least 24 hours before shooting the weapon. Bottom line is, you can't go wrong purchasing either one.

Lube both hammer hooks, and the part of the hammer that presses against the disconnector. Make sure the plunger behind the disconnector is also lubed. Some lube along the front of the hammer where the bolt carrier makes contact is a good idea. Grease stays better than regular oil for these sear contact points.

Yes, it will break in with use. Lubricant helps a lot. in this shot, it shows the hammer hook engaged on the trigger sear. To the left is the disconnector. When the hammer is cocked, and the trigger is held to the rear, the hammer hook is forced against the disconnector until the spring loaded disconnector pushes to the rear and captures the hammer hook. The hammer remains on the disconnector until he trigger is released. You'll hear an audible click when it disengages the disconnector and engages the trigger sear. Apply oil on the disconnector where the hammer hook makes contact.

Try creating this problem with the trigger group pulled out of the weapon. Cock the hammer with your thumb in safe and fire. Try pulling the trigger in fire, pull and hold the trigger to the rear, and recock the hammer. This will engage the disconnector until you release the trigger. If the disconnector is what is causing the hang up, try some oil on it. Sometimes a new gun just needs broken in. I recently worked on a new 11707 that was really stiff in the trigger group area even after I swapped the fire control out for a FFT set. After oiling and working the action for a while, it smoothed out significantly. Oh yeah, don't let the hammer drop when the trigger group is out of the receiver. You can hold the hammer with your thumb to allow it to move forward.

You sure you're not comparing when the hammer is cocked vs. hammer forward? The safety should have no effect on the bolt. If not, your trigger group could use some lubrication. Mainly around the hammer pivot point and on the trigger. Lubricate around the trigger and disconnector too.

Pull the bolt to the rear to chamber or eject a round? Yes, the bolt should cycle freely regardless if the weapon is on safe or fire.

Lift the elevator and place your thumb on the inside of the shell stop. This is the part that actually holds the rounds in the magazine. Press the front of the shell stop inward. You may also need to press the shell into he mag tube to relieve tension. As the shell stop pushes in, the shell will eject, pushing your thumb out of the receiver and the round will fall into the palm of your hand. On some weapons, this is harder to do than on others.

Usually the heavy charging handle only effects the Democrat loads. High brass should be sufficient to cycle the weapon effectively. Make sure the trigger group is lubed up well. The hammer should cock easily. I recently worked on a new m4, and the hammer's movement was not smooth at all. Working the moving parts and adding lubricant eventually broke it in. Makes sure there is lubricant in the receiver extension as well.

If it was the SideArmor rail, the screws would contact the barrel hanger and prevent installation or disassembly. Try putting the stock bolt handle in. Some people have had issues with the weight of the GG&G bolt handle. Run the weapon wet, and feed it a few hundred rounds of cheap birdshot.