My custom G43 WIP.

[Jerry-ADK]

Jul 1, 2014 22:49:41 GMT -5 stuka said:

It should be worth noting that shoot and scoot is coming out with a g43 upper receiver but i believe it is only meant for a m14

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=697070506997262&set=a.116787291692256.6884.108611319176520&type=1&theater

They have some other nice stuff on their site too.  I would like one of their Enfield kits  for a Tommy impression I want to put together.  Prices will be high with conversion to US $ and shipping though.  

I bet you could get that rubber G43 receiver to fit any conversion with a little work.  Hopefully they will have the stock end cap and magazine available too  eventually.  

[Dracul]

Too bad its not out yet. Though, it shouldn't be TOO hard to swap out what I have planned with this, once it comes out. Only thing I absolutely need from the M14 is the gearbox/motor and the lower receiver.

[2nd Bat]

Excellent offering that should simplify and improve an M14 custom conversion project which isn't going to be perfect but should look passable until some main manufacturer fills this obvious void. i wonder what they will want to charge for this part? For the magazines a molded part that would fit as a shroud for the MAG M14 shortened 70 round magazines would be awesome.

[Sgt_Tom]

Quite a project. Looks like it will come out nicely.

Why did you decide to go with a Kar98 stock vs using an M14 one though?

[Dracul]

The Kar98 has that German style stock, and the Kar98 had a lot of the same or similar hand guard and stock hardware to the G43.

[Dracul]

So, after I been working on a M1903A4 on the side, I decided to take another look at my problem. I started to spot cut and I have great results with fitting and lining up the M14 Gearbox/motor,  but ran into a different problem.

I was able to take down the wall in the stock neck by placing a flat head screw driver down there and striking it with a hammer in a few places. 

From the top;


From the bottom:


Not sure if one can see it, but the bottom 1/4-1/2 inch of the gearbox sticks out of the bottom, which is the new problem. Outside of that, I still need to cut off that bar piece of lower receiver (earlier post), I need a new dremel for that.

Even with the new problem here, I have a really good feeling about this conversion. 

[brownien]

Bondo! You will most likely have to build up a false bottom to cover the gearbox, and create the magwell.
Or... You could rotate the gearbox's clyinder head 180* slightly cut down the tappet plate to engage the nozzle. That would raise the gearbox up about 1/2", let you keep the bottom where it is, and it would give the correct illusion of the RS guns gas system being above the barrel.

[Dracul]

Problem with bondo (and a lot of other fancy tools everyone else here has), is that I live in an apartment. I'm pretty sure that stuff is toxic in closed spaces. I know I lost a decent amount of my lungs from being deployed with an AAV unit when I was in, haha. It sucks though, since I can't even spray paint either.

On the note of rotating the Cylinder Head.... I'd rather not be cracking open gearboxes unless I really need to upgrade or fix something.

Its not much, but I think I can craft up a G43 upper receiver with an extra AK cover I have. I'll see what I can do.

[Sgt_Tom]

For bondo work you could just open a few windows up.

I am not sure how you'll be able to do a project like this without using bondo or epoxy.

[2nd Bat]

A recommendation here is to use a stronger resin paste then bondo. The BONDO brand (and others) offer substances with far greater impact resistance then bondo which easily chips. Look for some with marine application that have fiberglass threads within. These are somewhat harder to work with and sand but hold up extremely well. Before squeazing it into the locations you wish to fill, mask off the parts you wish to be able to remove but want the filler to extend right up to and coat the masking tape in heavy coats of automotive wax or mold release agent. Then apply your dynaglass right up to the mechanical bits. Once dry and hardened you can remove the base rifle components and your new part will be perfectly shaped to accomodate it. This saves you alot of shaping and grinding. The filler can be painted to match your stock.

[Dracul]

Did a bit more thinking about the lower receiver fitting. Spot cut more, and managed to get it to fit. Everything lines up, and the magazine feeds. 



I think the MAG brand Compact M14 mags would look good if painted. I think instead of "adding" to the stock, I'm thinking about crafting some sort of housing to the M14's trigger guard assembly. I do have a lot of plastic wood pieces from my M1903A4 Conversion. Though, I'll have to really think about it. 

On the note of faux upper receiver, I think I might be able fit a Thin, Flat Nunchuk Type battery under it. So, I wouldn't have to dig out some sort of channel and battery cavity in the stock. 

[insterburger]

I think you'll be better off building out the stock. For one, it will probably work better from a practical standpoint, plus if you taper it nicely toward the forearm you can creat a bit more thickness to better resemble a G43 stock, which was noticably beefier than a 98k stock. You will want to be using a resin anyway when you get to the point of removing and filling the bolt takedown discs and the filling in the the bolt cutaway in the right side of the stock.

This is coming along wonderfully and is beginning to look quite impressive. While it wouldn't bear meticulous side by side comparison with an actual G43, it definitely catches the spirit of the gun and would be something I would be more than happy to field. It's definitely making me think about doing one of my own. Excellent work!

[Sgt_Tom]

Jul 6, 2014 13:55:37 GMT -5 insterburger said:

I think you'll be better off building out the stock. For one, it will probably work better from a practical standpoint, plus if you taper it nicely toward the forearm you can creat a bit more thickness to better resemble a G43 stock, which was noticably beefier than a 98k stock. You will want to be using a resin anyway when you get to the point of removing and filling the bolt takedown discs and the filling in the the bolt cutaway in the right side of the stock.

Yeah I think you'd be better off going this route.

Jul 6, 2014 10:06:47 GMT -5 2nd Bat said:

A recommendation here is to use a stronger resin paste then bondo. The BONDO brand (and others) offer substances with far greater impact resistance then bondo which easily chips. Look for some with marine application that have fiberglass threads within. These are somewhat harder to work with and sand but hold up extremely well. Before squeazing it into the locations you wish to fill, mask off the parts you wish to be able to remove but want the filler to extend right up to and coat the masking tape in heavy coats of automotive wax or mold release agent. Then apply your dynaglass right up to the mechanical bits. Once dry and hardened you can remove the base rifle components and your new part will be perfectly shaped to accomodate it. This saves you alot of shaping and grinding. The filler can be painted to match your stock.

I have yet to try that stuff. Bondo is a bit weak.

[2nd Bat]

The 70 round MAG short M14 mid cap mags are excellent and are about 3/8ths the length of the magazine which should be about right. The dyna glass could extend the depth of your lower stock to alighn with the trigger housing and fill in any other gaps. Somewhat like a garand the stock continued straight along the bottom to about the stock bolt and then tapered up and you could create this with dyna glass.

[Dracul]

Alright, so I figured that since I hammered a screw driver down the stock neck to make room for the motor, I figure I could do the same for the rest of the stock, just with other random pipes and rods. 

Result: I manage to create a trench for the battery line to come through the buttstock and create a big enough cavity to fit a decent sized battery and fuse assembly in it. 





Sorry for the second shot being out of focus, my camera doesn't like to use its auto focus from time to time.

[shiftysgarand]

Looking good!

[insterburger]

The nice thing is that having the battery at the very end of the buttstock will add apparent weight to the gun.

Having to unscrew the buttplate every time you change batteries isn't the worst thing ever, although thinking about it already has my mind at work trying to dream up a quick-release for it.

Excellent work, keep us posted!

[Dracul]

Surprisingly, I have had worse cases of trying to open battery compartments (the SCAR I once had was absolutely terrible in this regard). Two screws, while not fast, is quite simple, haha. Granted, as long the battery doesn't die during the middle of a fire fight.

[2nd Bat]

Considering your lack of appropriate tools this seems to be coming along nicely. With windows open and perhaps a fan you could mix and apply dyna glass although that process (and especially the follow up sanding) would create a real mess in an apartment. I don't see how else you'll be able to create a finished overall look.

[Dracul]

Well, I had another rush of innovation just now. I wasn't attempting to do the whole "adding to the stock to make the tapering" thing, but it ended up as such.

Basically took an AK-47 wood upper hand guard, actually a plastic one, and split down the middle and cut other pieces up and attaching the two pieces to the sides of the M14 trigger guard assembly. I know I might not be describing it well, but I'll have a pic up tomorrow after the initial JB Weld has been cured.

In the end, it will kind of look like the Garand in that area, with that sideways "L shape".

[Dracul]

Here is a picture of what I'm talking about. Its not a full seal, bit of a gap between the new "stock" and the base stock, but as long I don't submerge this in dirt, sand, snow or whatever, the gearbox and motor should be fine. 

[Dracul]

Here is a follow up to the last post, detailing the new trigger assembly by itself. 

Outside:


Inside: 



The JB Weld needs to be cleaned up and it needs a paint job, but I will worry about that later. Note I'm going to have to fill in the bolt area with something, and add a strip of plastic to inside of the right wing, since there is a good few millimeter gap on that side for some reason. 

My next step is to start filing up other sorts of gaps on the top part of the stock. 

Side note, since this is a M14 base, those small M500 mags work on this perfectly. So, it is pretty conceivable and practical to have the proper load out of the dual G43 mag pouch and a set of Kar98 pouches (since I think I fit at least 2 in each cell). 

[2nd Bat]

I would think the somewhat longer and larger capacity 870 shotgun mags would work even better? Especially with a little cosmetic work?

[Dracul]

Those might work, but I don't have any of those laying around to try them out. Has anyone done that with these 870 mags?

This and soon more M500 mags are just being stop gaps for now (and eventually used for my eventual Garand).

[2nd Bat]

I cant think of any reason (given the same modifications as the short ones) why the longer, higher capacity shotty mags wouldn't fit and feed. The added capacity and more appropriate length would be nice. They also tend to be more available and cheaper! I will be interested to see how you blend in that additional stock piece that houses your trigger assembly.

[Dracul]

So they are the same dimensions as the M500 mags then? At least the top part that goes into the mag of course, haha.

I just rather be sure before I drop money on something and find out they don't work.

[2nd Bat]

The design is of course identical except that they are longer which of course in this case is just what you need. The MAG short 70 round M14 magazine would be a better choice but of course they are quite a bit more expensive.

[Dracul]

Alright, sweet. Sounds like I have a decent priced stop gap to look then. Thank you!

UPDATE: I just ordered some from Airsoft Megastore. Hopefully they get here soon, real tempted to try these out. 

[2nd Bat]

As with the short shotty mags you need to eliminate the oval lip at the top of the feed hole, add a small front spacer tab and cut a groove in the rear to alighn with your mag release. Same process as with the short ones.

[Dracul]

I got them in, and the problem with that, is the 870 mags are double stacked with out a hole or a tube section to make single, and I fear if I cut off the top lip, there will be nothing to hold the BBs in place. As there isn't a spring loaded tab that keeps the BBs down when the mag is out of the gun (and that means I can't manually remove the BBs quickly).
.
 On the left is the modded M500 shotgun mag, works perfectly with the M14 mag well. Middle is the 870 mag. The right is an M500 mag (forgot to take it out of the pic).