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Port work for a M4?


Jolly Roger

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I've done a few of them. I don't like doing them though since they take several hours to do by hand. You then run in to refinishing issues afterwards. The only real risk area is around the shell stop release pin. You don't want to thin the material too much to weaken the latch. Removing material by hand is slow going, so there isn't a whole lot of risk of overdoing it.

 

I use a large flat file to shape everything before finishing them up with a dremel. I then enlarge the mouth of the loading port by grinding it out at a steep angle on both sides. This adds about half an inch of additional room inside the loading port area. I polish everything heavily with an abrasive polishing wheel. By the time I'm done, the edges are butter smooth and there are no sharp angles. Everything is radiused over including the front of the loading port.

 

You have to pick a transition point how you want the rear of the loading port to blend in with the front. I do a polished out angled taper.

 

Using one of the TTI or FFT elevator's helps improve the loading.

 

It's best when the receiver is being refinished. I have someone's coming back in a few weeks from Robar. We removed the crappy painted on Cerakote H2O finish, and had NP3+ applied. I'm sending a old school M1014 for NP3+ for a client in a few weeks too. That should look interesting on a flag model.

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That looks great SD! Great attention to detail and a fine job indeed! Im not sending mine for refinishing so if I go through with it Ill have put up with the shiny aluminum look

-Yuk-

 

Another question for you if you dont mind, When installing the aftermarket extended carriers Ive noticed a difference in how much the carrier sticks out of the bottom of the receiver. Some stick out as much as the stock ones do and some end up hanging well below.....Ive been adjusting them to hang out no lower than the original configuration by slightly bending the rear of the carrier where it touches the trigger guard. Is adjustment normal?

Seems to me like a low hanging carrier is just asking to get hung up on gear and clothing..

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I happen to have one of those flag models too, be sure to post pictures afterwards Id really like to see them! It will be interesting to see just how much the NP3 fills in the flag engraving. I think it would look spiffy if you took some flat black paint to the flag afterwards as well, it would be a good contrast to the NP3. or maybe even red white and blue!

Edited by Jolly Roger
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I've black filled markings before on some that I had NP3'ed and Cerakoted. It comes out pretty cool looking. If the client is in for it, I'll see what looks best. I have these lacquer sticks that you melt and push in to the low areas, then wipe off the excess with a rag with acetone on it.

 

The NP3+ won't fill much in. It's very thin plating. I don't even notice much tolerance change on the tight parts like the pistons. Other plating methods causes issues here.

 

I think places like TTI have changed how much the elevator extends down over their production runs. I've noticed several stick down further than others as well. I haven't seen enough of the FFT elevator's to comment on theirs. Having the elevator can be a snag hazard I suppose. I haven't noted it happening to me. It's a balance on how fast you want to go. Sometimes a raced out design can have a few draw backs.

 

Being able to get more of your hand in there really does improve loading and unloading speed. Matched with the extended shell carrier and the A&S trigger frame, and you have a solid speed platform.

 

I have a couple A&S frames coming back from Robar soon too. Can't wait to put my NP3+ M4 back together. I've been trying to get some of the nickel boron plated Trijicon RMR mod 2 optics for these, but they've been back ordered for months. I'm doing another experiment where I had the bodies and tailcap of a Surefire light plated in NP3+, we'll see if it causes any electrical signal issues. I'm just going to have the lamp head Cerakoted titanium since they're practically impossible to disassemble for plating.

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I will have to take a picture of mine. I had RCI (X-Rail) do mine and they opened it up more than SD has done in his photos. It is quite aggressive and on par with what you are seeing on the M2s in 3-Gun. It really made a difference in loading twins, and now I can load quads quite easily too.

 

Mike

Edited by Vortec MAX
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I love how you call it,the ''old school M1014'' it just blows me away,lol lol,stay well friend

CvYT8WH.jpg

RlZ5o4o.jpg

 

I've done a few of them. I don't like doing them though since they take several hours to do by hand. You then run in to refinishing issues afterwards. The only real risk area is around the shell stop release pin. You don't want to thin the material too much to weaken the latch. Removing material by hand is slow going, so there isn't a whole lot of risk of overdoing it.

 

I use a large flat file to shape everything before finishing them up with a dremel. I then enlarge the mouth of the loading port by grinding it out at a steep angle on both sides. This adds about half an inch of additional room inside the loading port area. I polish everything heavily with an abrasive polishing wheel. By the time I'm done, the edges are butter smooth and there are no sharp angles. Everything is radiused over including the front of the loading port.

 

You have to pick a transition point how you want the rear of the loading port to blend in with the front. I do a polished out angled taper.

 

Using one of the TTI or FFT elevator's helps improve the loading.

 

It's best when the receiver is being refinished. I have someone's coming back in a few weeks from Robar. We removed the crappy painted on Cerakote H2O finish, and had NP3+ applied. I'm sending a old school M1014 for NP3+ for a client in a few weeks too. That should look interesting on a flag model.

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