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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 16, 2022 20:14:22 GMT -5
Given that I still have some Garand gas assemblies and several M14 springer spare magazines donated by Volks. I ordered a CYMA/ UKARMS full sized M14 springer. It ended up being $88.00 with shipping and TAXEs (which Ebay now adds). It had silly hokey scooes flashlights, red dots and rails. The hope is that they will be easily removed. The add says they shoot 400 FPS (w .12 gram) so the hope is it will shoot around 330 or so with .20 gram. Truth is the springers typically vary some what from gun to gun. I will slightly shorten the M14 stock removing the M14 gas assembly and muzzle flash hider. I will add some thickness to the lower stock. Install (or fabricate) a Garand upper and lower handguard and attach an inert Garand gas assembly with front sight as locking lugs. I will probable add a real metal butt plate (since I have some) and will shorten the magazines. My guess is once done they'll hold about 25 rounds and will protrude about 3/4 inches below the stock. Ideally they fit in the Garand belt pouches but we'll see? If it works out I'll use up my remaining parts and build a couple more. Unlike the smaller GO3 socum M14s these have available spare magazines and probably will shoot quite a bit harder?
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 17, 2022 18:02:02 GMT -5
This should be a better base rifle and an easier candidtae for conversion. The barrel length is about right so I wont have to add a barrel extension or lengthen the butt stock like I had to on the last batcb of M14s I converted. While these are about $25.00 more expensive than the Model M305 3/4 scale M14s I used last go around. The added power, reduced modification time, more accurate size and availability of inexpensive spare magazines should make it worth it. Though certainly not as skirmishable as the AEG semi automatic conversions I made a bazillion of these will be considerably less costly to produce and far less problematic as loaner/ rental guns. I also have experienced that the more semi auto and "cock each time" guns in a game the funner the game play is. There is less random, unaimed shots, more manuevering with less stalemates and more team work. There are also fewer guns that "go down". I would love someday to host a large all springer game.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 18, 2022 1:29:51 GMT -5
Incidently my Avatar picture shows one of the 2 earlier springer Garands I made out of the undersize M14 springers. They look fine until you lay beside an original Garand where their smaller scale makes them look tiny.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 19, 2022 20:58:01 GMT -5
So the UKARMs full sized springer arrived (2 days ahead of prediction) and like an 8 year old I hurriedly unboxed it. It came in two main components. The Receiver group, barrel assembly trigger group and then the lower stock. In addition it came with an elaborate rail assembly hokey scope, flashlight and red dot lazer and magazine, speed loader unjammig rod and small bag of completely worthless .12 gram BBs. It did have a seperate mag release assembly that snaps into place and with a tiny screw holds the upper complete assembly and stock together. Amazingly the two once in place felt very solid and secure. The package even included a tuny phillips head screw driver.
I was delighted that the rails and do dads were not attached upon receiot as they thus dont have to be removed. The magazine in full size holds 37 rounds and is slightly oversized when compared to an actual M14 magazine. It is identical to the four spare magazines Volts sent me a year ago. I have modified them previously for use in my M14 to M1 Garand AEG conversions. I cut them way down keeping the curved shape of the inner sleave as the only part that protrudes. To work in the AEGs a small ABS tab has to be glued in place and shaped to provide a snug fit and consistent feeds in the AEG Garands. That won't be necessary when I convert some to this M14 Springer project.
A couple early observations. The scale is indeed one to one which make for a better conversion than the somewhat undersized base M14s I used last time. The stock does simulate the M14 fiberglass stock so the patterned grip patterns will have to be ground down and filled. No big deal as the hokey screw holes in the two part stock needed filling anyway and to fill and enlarge the stock through the mag well area and provide a bulkier "Garand like" lower stock resin paste was going to be applied anyway.
The only rail system that will have to be cut off is a four inch small rail in front of the upper sling hardware short of the M14 gas Assembly which will also be ground down. It will be covered by the upper (large) Garand handguard which I will fabricate mostly with scrap wood. The M14 flash hider looks like it will need to be cut off although there might be a retention pin alone that is holding it. (I hope!)
It was dark when the toy arrived so other thanin the garage I havent fired it. Based on shots in the garage it shoots hard. The hop up design is identical to the M14 AEG layout. There is a spin wheel in the roof of the mag well. The safety is functional and is at the front of the trigger ring.
As it arrived the stock and rifle are quite off balance with obviously lots of weights back in the butt stock. I will add significant weight in the upper stock areas along with the inert Garand gas assembly so it will not be so lopsided. I am excited to get started on the project and will keep everyone posted on my progress and the end result. If it all works out as I anticipate I will build a few more to use as loaners and perhaps sell the undersized ones?
I have read very positive reviews on these Full sized M14 springers over the years and thought that was what I was buying with the last three I bought as a batch.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 20, 2022 20:23:44 GMT -5
Day one with the modification. I fired the gun outdoors to guage the range and hop up. My inside the garage instinct was correct the gun shoots hard and hop up while not super precise works fine up to .28 BBs. I suspect .25 will be my round of choice for this guy. Power and range is somewhat greater than my favorite little springer carbines. Probably due to a little longer barrel length. (roughly 4 inches longer)
Satisfied that it performs acceptably i began the conversion process. Once commenced of course there's no turning back. I began by removing the M14 flash hider/ front site assembly. There is a detent pin that had to be knocked out using a tiny nail and hammer. Once removed it slides off with a little force. I suspect it had a little glue as well. The outer barrel surprised me as it is metal. The gas assembly is ABS however. I next used my dremel to quickly cut off the ABS non functional M14 selector switch, fake bolt release and stripper clip guide (Which I always found archaic on the M14.). Next I cut down the end of the lower stock a little in front of tbe sling hardware. I also cut off the tip of the upper hand guard. The present state looks awful. Hence there is no turning back at this point. Unlike the AEGs where the gas assembly slides off and exposes a plain outer barrel onto which you can slide on an actual Garand upper handguard. On these springers the thin lower handguard/ heatshield is not a seperate part. This means I'll be fabricating the handguards not using actual components. This will take more work but will save that expense. I want to be in these flr less than $125.00 in materials. Bondo glass requires about $7.00 worth. I will just shape with bondo glass and cover with Walnut laminate which I have on hand. I did that with my recent conversions and the reproduction handguards looked quite good. The left over gas assemblies were demilled/ non functional and cost me $10.00 plus $5.00 for a front sight. I expect the project will require about 12 to 15 hours spread out over a week. I will go through sand paper, dremel bits and stains.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 21, 2022 15:57:27 GMT -5
More dremel work cutting away the uneccessary components and I bondo'd in some scraps of wood to rough out the new shape to the M14 stock. Essentially beefing up the area around the mag well and tapering more thickness added to the newly shortened M14 stock. As I have done in the past I inserted some small screws into the M14 plastic stock which will serve as anchor points and will reinforce the dyna glass. This step is probably not neccessary with the marine fiberglass bondo which has proven very durable.but is absolutely essential with normal bondo. Normal bondo is easier to apply and much easier to sand. Dyna glass is a bit trickier to work with but is much much stronger. Both require multiple applications with sanding in between. Most surfaces require 3 to five layers before the finish is acceptable.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 23, 2022 17:45:18 GMT -5
I took pictures of the initial cuts and installed a replacement tightbore inner barrel.. With that and a little oil i chrono'd the gun at a somewhat consistent 330 FPS with .25 gram BBs. Better performance than I had expected. The demilled M1 Garand assemblies I have had the M1 Garand barrel cut down about mid length of the gas assembly and were welded in place. To insure proper alighnment (which has to be perfect) with the replacement inner barrel I neede a bit of that inner barrel to protrude and be able to inset firmly in the.30 cal barrel. My new tightbore barrels outer size was a tiny bit too large. Using a small grinding wheel on my dremel I carefully shaved just enough of about 1/3rd of an inch of the barrel tip so it would slide right in. Once firmly attached and precisely aligned it will not obstruct or deflect outgoing BBs but with casual testing it is obvious that this will be critical final step in the build. If anyone wants process step pictures chronicaling this build just PM me with your email. I still havent fighred out other thanthe avatar how to post pictures.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 23, 2022 19:33:29 GMT -5
Incidently a couple more pleasant suprises on these Springer M14s the rear sight adjusts for windage and elevation and the mag release and reload is a bit awkward initially but with practice is quite seamless. Spare magazines run about $7.00 each. One of my main issues with the earlier undersized M14s was I couldnt source spare magazines for them anywhere.
With the tighbore barrel this shoots decidedly harder and straighter than the CYMA spring carbines. The cocking effort is a little harder however. Give the choice between this an a boltie i would find this to be more competitive for skirmishing.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 24, 2022 0:39:47 GMT -5
In response to a couple PMs about this thread. The tightbore barrel had no impact on the effort required to cocking the rifle. That was just a general comment about this item. My comment about it being more skirmishable is subjective. A BAR 10 conversion would shoot harder and with greater range. (They typically shoot about 80 FPS harder) but these are easier and quicker to cock with the muzzle pointed down range and the magazines are easier to change. If your style of play is long range sniping. The upgraded or conversion bolt actions would be superior. In a normal airsoft even where most everyone has AEGs with high cap mags and full auto you would not be competitive but you could be in the game.
Due to a significant drop in temperatures I will have to halt my resin paste process until it warms up. Hopefully what I slopped on today will cure okay?
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 25, 2022 1:42:37 GMT -5
It cured fine. Once firm, I moved the rifle into the mud room and let solidify over night. I did some very rough shaping with a rasp and applied another coat. At this point the effort is simply to shape the augmented lower stock and build up around the mag well. Next I'll do a thin film throughout the stock. Then the lower (thin handguard) and the last resin paste will be for the larger upper Garand stock.
Once a general shape is roughed out I'll do the multi layered pasting and sanding, pasting and sanding and fine detail sculpting.
With the cold spell this will take way longer than I had planned. The goal is for it to be my favorite springer and backyard plinker.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 28, 2022 20:18:40 GMT -5
The temperature climbed to above 45 degrees so I did a few more layers of dyno glass resin and let it harden in the mudroom. The fumes from the dynamglass cant be healthy. I wear and aspirator while working with it and while hardening in the mudroom I have it closed off with the fan going. It looks gawd awful at this phase but the shape is begining to look quite Garand like. I have begun the process of shaping the handguards. Which at this point are thin strips of wood bondo'd directly to the unremovable M14 hand guard and cut thinner M14 gas assembly. Once shaped and sanded they will look appropriate and will be rock solid. The base M14 springer weighed about 5 pounds when I am done this rifle will probably be around 7 1/2 to 8 pounds.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 30, 2022 20:07:19 GMT -5
Shape sanding is a ton of work and quite messy. I do it outside on my back deck and again use my respirator. I have one of those little sanders that looks like a midget iron. I use a progression of tinier and tinier grit. No matter how smoothly you think you apllied your coats you always discover air gaps that have to be filled and resanded but with each layer the process gets quicker and easier and following the first big sanding Its typically all downhill from there. I am finally at that point. From here forward its still time consuming but much more enjoyable as it now looks and feels pretty correct. The balance on this is really going to be nice.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Jan 31, 2022 20:29:43 GMT -5
The final shaping and sanding is done. Tape was removed from the moving bits and functionality was checked (all good). Detailing with my dremel help sculpt it to my satisfaction. I will next tape off the " metal bits" which are mostly ABS on this replica then grit sand the stock and handguards and paint the "wood" areas in a yellow ochre acrylic finish. Then ideally I will find some Walnut spray finish at the Hobby Lobby and spray that over the Ochre. It creates a very convincing faux wood which I then cover in a protective dull coat. I will then set about modifying some shortened mags for it. I am hoping to be done this week?
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 1, 2022 18:52:56 GMT -5
I post these build reports to inspire/ assist anyone taking on this project or others like it. There is nothing like building your own custom rifle and while the end result no doubt doesnt really justify the time and effort required. (It is after all based on an inexpensive springer.).
One cautionary note when you're working with resin pasts is to be mindful that as it drys it will seep and settle a bit. Always mask off all moving parts or holes where the resin paste might block functioning parts once dry. In my case I got a little lax with one of the final applications of resin paste. I had cut away the fake stripper clip guide on the base M14 that sits just at the rear of the bolt top immediately in front of the rear sight. This cut away created a hole leading down into the inner workings of the gun. I laid a strip of masking tape then applied the resin paste to allow me to cover the hole and also sculpt and shape the Garand like continuation just in front of the rear sight. As it hardened in settled slightly down into the hole blocking the bolt from sliding back and cocking the gun. Oops! As it turns out thanks to a thin blade on my dremel it was an easy fix without completely destroying my efforts. In this build I was very careful around the charging handle and slide channel but didnt even think about the top of the bolt. Lesson learned and warning/ reminder for others. I also had to shave away some of the resin paste that had slightly narrowed the mag well widrh. Be sure you tape off the adjustable hop up and feed nozzle so dust or other materials wont enter the gun.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 2, 2022 13:53:00 GMT -5
Once I applied the ochre paint I gave the gun another once over and decided to patch several flaws that were more apparent with the color added. This extra step will set me back a little but in the long run will prove worthwhile as its the minute extra details that always take these projects to the level I like. I am by no means a perfectionist. If I were these many projects I take on would frankly never get done. My 35 year old son who has been my harshest critic since he was about 7 and helped me find the motivation to try stuff always said about my efforts. " They are far from perfect but perfect from afar.". I think the distances at which I can be happy with my builds has drawn closer. My 20 foot rule has closed to about a 3 feet rule. My costumes are still 30 feet!
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 3, 2022 19:29:27 GMT -5
The last thin application hiding resin paste gaps was applied yesterday and sanded out today. I did some additional detail work and reapplied the yellow ochre acrylic paint where I had added patches. I did find the faux wood overspray paint in Walnut. Once the acrylic dries I will apply it and know it will produce fabulous results. Its called Colortool spray Walnut Wood Tone and its from Design Master. A $10.00 can is enough for about 5 or 6 rifles. The result is a bit glossy for a military rifle finish so i apply a dull coat as well. The final step will be permanently attaching the Garand Gas Assembly which has to be very precise. The alignment of the M14inner barrel into the 30 cal Garand barrel tip cannot have any gap and has to be lazer perfect to allow the BBs to fly out perfectly. I inset a 6mm rod as I do this to facilitate this. (Actually a tapered rat tailed file) Also take care to insure your front site is absolutely straight up. I am getting close and anxious to play with the end result. I went back and revisted the lengthy thread on m14 to M1 conversion mags. At the very end of the thread I had discovered these M14 plastic springer magazines and reminded myself how to do them since it has been several years since I did them.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 5, 2022 14:07:21 GMT -5
The project is for all intents and purposes complete. I will be doing up these four M14 magazines to fit in the rifle in addition to the one I did. I discovered that the depth of the magwell is greater in these springers than in the AEGs which explains why these Springer M14 mags were longer. The good news is I can cut these down a little less than those I modified for AEGs and hence will have perhaps 4 or 5 more ready rounds? A couple other final touches will be a stacking swivel and I will add a sling. One concern about the added weight, I am a little concerned about the strength of the sling hardware? The stain and faux wood overspray came out fabulous and I painted the butt plate and other "metal" bits with my usually artificial patina. I am very pleased with the end result. If anyone would like to see final pictures just PM me with your direct e-mail. Evike shows the base rifle I used as out of stock but had them priced at only $45.00! (free shipping on orders over $100.00). I paid $79.00 for this one! I told them to let me kniw when they got more in. (If ever?) I would do some more for use as loaner weapons and pictures.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 6, 2022 19:12:04 GMT -5
I discovered that the gas assembly was NOT attached as firmly as I expected. (I just used some resin paste down where it matched up to the upper stock. I have removed it and decided JB weld squeazed in the lenth beteen the barrel and gas tube should be rock solid as well as some JB weld at the rear ring. Overkill but what the heck. I fired it a lot today to double check function and feeding. It is generally quite impressive although about every six shots is for whatever reason not as powerful or straight shooting as all others. It might frankly be attributable to slight wobbles in the gas assembly where it mates up with the original M14 inner barrel? We'll see if my new gas assembly attachment eliminates the issue? Next build I'm going to do what I can to reduce the weight. Its right at 8 pounds (lighter by a pound and half than a real Garand) but uncomfortably heavy for an airsoft gun. I think Id like them to be around 5 1/2 to 6 pounds?
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 6, 2022 22:18:14 GMT -5
In looking at my "final" finished pictures I noticed a couple nitpicking things. The handguards are a bit too tall. (perhaps a half inch). They shouldnt protrude much above the barrel. I also forget to put in a stock band in the thin, lower hand guard. The butt plate on the base M14 didnt have the Garand trap door but thats okay neither did the initial production Garand. To look better I am going to add a could non functional flat head screws. I am somewhat hesitant to add a sling due to the weight but Im going to anyway? Hopefully I wont regret it.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 8, 2022 13:38:02 GMT -5
So now that I am considering this project "done" ( incidently they never are). What could I still do and if or when I do another what would I do differently? To really finish this off I should apply my walnut veneer to the two handguards. I have the veneer on hand but the finish actually looks "good enough" in my opinion. I should add a simulated lower handguard clip. (Simulate the early war vented style). Add simulate site locks. Add a stacking swivel (havent found something that will work and dont want to spend $15.00 on a real one). Add two non functional screws to the butt plate (there were none on the base M14). Build more shortened clips. (I want 100 ready rounds)
What would I do different on future builds? Buy the base guns at a cheaper price. I paid 30.00 more than I have seen them listed for. Not in stock of course. I would use lighter wood or foam board to use as significant filler for the stock augmentation and hand guard. This would allow me to use less dynaglass which would reduce the time and layering I had to do and reduce the finished weight by about 1 1/2 pounds to 2 pounds. This badboy is heavy! It weighs 8 1/2 pounds (one pound less than a real Garand). That may be realistic but frankly awkward and probably too hard on the sling hardware? I just cocked and fired 100 rounds through it and since its not semi auto one arm is holding it up while the other is cocking. A hundred rounds for this old man is a workout. (I'd like to target 6 pounds?) Finally I would not put in as much height in the handguards which are about 1/3rd of an inch too tall. I love this guy however so probably will make more! I wish the chinese would simply recognize the market opportunity and would just do one up a proper WW2 M1 Garand. Imagine an M1 ground up design with plush magazines at a well under an $80.00 price point? Obviously with the full sized springer M14s that's doable. $60.00? I'd buy a dozen! How cool would that be? They could do a single slot gas lug, old style butt plate, mags that would fit in the proper pouches the rare original shaped hand guard clips, proper trigger guard and include site locks. Heck with all that and a convincing faux wood people would buy them as wall hangers!
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 9, 2022 21:50:16 GMT -5
I shortened my four M14 mags and adapted 2 already shortened mags that I had done up for my AEGs by shaving off the tabs I had attached to the front and rear so they would work in the AEGs. For the four mags I did today I increased their length by 20mms which visually is not much more distracting than the original ones I did. With the added lenth they add 6 rounds of capacity. Even with the typical BB drop they load 20 to 22 rounds. I find this fully acceptable. I also discovered (to add to an earlier point) when you feel youre dry firing tilt the gun slightly upside down as you cock the weapon and you can bring it back upright, fire, repeat the process for 2 more shots and they reload. Its less hokey than firing upside down. If it was an actual skirmish I'd turn the weapon upside down for my initial "line of departure" load and drop 3 or 4 Bbs downin the feed then insert the loaded mag while the gun is upside down. This would give you 23 to 26 regular shots fron your initial magazine. The protruding round shape at the base of the clip gives you something to pinch making reloads much easier than a fully flush clip. With the four new magazines I shortened today added to the two I altered it gives me 120 plus ready rounds which together with a speed loaders is quite skirmishable.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 11, 2022 16:13:02 GMT -5
Armed with the desire to improve on my initial conversion build I ordered two more of the full length UKARMs M14s and another of the Desert Eagle 3/4 scale M14s. This took advanatage of a large enough order to get free shipping. I ordered from Airsoft GI whom I've never used before but their prices were well below anyone else who showed these items in stock. I think based on lessons learned I can shorten the build times and especially taking advantage of doing several at a time. I have some large WW2 events coming up and want the armory large enough to support my plans.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 16, 2022 21:06:37 GMT -5
I received some PMs asking what I paid for the full length UKARMS m14 springer at Airsoft GI and the answer is: $53.49 ea. (I bought 2). And I paid $30.40 for another of the smaller DE M14. Since my order was over $100.00 shipping was free. Essencially I could have bought one of each for what I paid for a single UKARMs M14 through EBAY using their cheapest available price af $88.00 delivered.
It was a nice day so I did quite a bit of backyard plinking with a wide assortment of springers. The VSR10s converted to a Kar 98 are the hardest shooters with the longest range. The Kar 98 commercial offering from S&T was the Next hardest shooting and most accurate. The little springers and UKARMs full size M14s are next with very similar performance. Last place is the 3/4 scale Garand made from the DE M14. If I had to pick my favorite and the one I would most likely use in a skirmish game. If the battle had wide open areas I'd choose the VSR conversions. For a wooded area or terrain where tbe battle engagements would be typically less than 120 feet I'd go with these amazing little springers. Any of them including the 3/4 scale Garands could get some eliminations if you used teamwork and sound tactics (And your opponents were good about ca!ling hits!)
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 20, 2022 19:54:20 GMT -5
I spent the day converting some more magazines. I shortened two more of the carbine banana mags and four more of the plastic M14 springer mags in anticipation of receiving and converting more of these full sized springer M14s. I want to be able to issue at least three spare 22-24 round clips with each Garand. The ones I alterred today are slightly longer and will feed 5 to 6 more rounds but will protrude a bit further below the gun. I took the sections I cut away from the center section and created snap in plugs that will fill the mag well with a flatbase that will look right on the Garands between tactical phases. Because the M14 mag well area is longer than the base plate on a Garand it won't be ideal but better than a hole. I also did some plinking with the super heavy full sized springer and the DE M14 based gun. My targets from 60feet were plastic sanitary wipe canisters. Hits were very consistent. The carbine springers and big Garand knocked them around pretty good but the little DE also made a satifying thwack. About every 20 shots were strangely erratic in both guns which I suspect is a BB issue. Moving forward I am going take greater care to test with consistent BBs. Unless facing high cap BB hosers with AEGs these are absolutely skirmishable..
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 20, 2022 23:15:10 GMT -5
I definitely need to reduce the weight in the full sized springer M1s. At 8 1/2 pounds this springer Garand is a brute! Shooting 200 rounds through it is a workout! The little DE at 4 1/2 seems perfect. If it were semi auto the weight would not be so problematic but remember with one hand in the neck of the rifle and the other one cocking 8 1/2 pounds get heavy in a hurry.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Feb 27, 2022 18:46:28 GMT -5
I just received more of these full sized UKARMs M14 springers a couple were a slightly different variant (somewhat shorter barrel but not the stubby SOCOM). For some reason as I test fired them in the daylight they are noticeably harder shooters than the full length? I'm even more impressed. I will figure out how to make the shorter barrel work. Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll have 3 or 4 more Garands. I am going to strive to keep the weight at around 5 pounds instead of my prototype at 8 1/2 pounds. I have some thoughts about how to do that.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Mar 1, 2022 22:37:13 GMT -5
I wish what I had received were the full length M14 version. The somewhat shorter M14 will have to have the barrel extended and that requires precision and effort. The abbreviated steps completing these conversions definitely will shortcut the process and allow me to keep the weight down. Prior to taking the irreversable steps I need to insure that my barrel extensions do not have a negative impacf on accuracy or range. I fear that I might have to compromise the precise 1:1 length and create a version somewhere between the smaller Garands I made using the DE M14s and the full size M14. An actual M1 is 44" long. I am going to strive for that but I may have to hold them to 40". Visually that should still look okay. The weight goal of 5 1/2 pounds should be doable.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Mar 4, 2022 0:07:54 GMT -5
Efforts to extend the barrels to create a full 44 inch rifle unfortunately through off accuracy no matter what I tried. The longest I'm able to extend the barrel from the existing barrel is about 5 inches. That works fine with the full length M14 springers but not with the version Airsoft GI mistakenly shipped me. I'm not going to let it get me down as these will.look fine and will shoot great. Perfection is the enemy of production. Should I decide to build any more beyond these 3, I will insist on the full length base rifles which currently seem to be sold out every where. To make this shorter overall version length look right I will shorten the lower stock length a bit, Build a slightly shorter upper and lower hand guard and a slightly shorter gas assembly. In the absence of being side by side with a true one -to -one build, I am confident they will look fine. in fact given that the M14 receiver group is undersized relative to the M1 Garand , overall proportions will probably look better? I will save my two remaining complete gas assembly for some future project? Another thought I have is to take an actual Garand stock and adapt it with extensive inletting and marry it to one of these Springers. I bought a bunch of gorgeius Walnut stocks that had 2 inches removed from the tip rendering them worthless as collectibles but perfect for projects like this. My plan is to cut them into to two side by side halves which will make the inletting much much easier. Once modified I'll glue the two halves together.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Mar 6, 2022 0:43:40 GMT -5
I rethought how I was attempting marry the barrel extentions to keep things ribbon straight and thoroughly tested my solution before permanently sealing the connection. The inner barrel was recessed slightly in the stubby real metal outer barrel. I dremeled about an inch off the muzzle exposing about 1/3rd of an inch of the actual inner barrel. I snugged them tightly by creating a gasket wedged between them using a rubber band jammed down in. A technique I use with the little carbines. I then a little off the outer surface of the inner barrel while using a wedge pointed dremel to enlargen the inner surface of the barrel extension so the two marry up. I have a 6mm rod that I ram down in to insure all is ribbon straight. I taped the outside. Test fired them all and then bondo'd the initial steps for creating my upper handguad around the connections for all three of my lastest conversions. Two will be full 1:1 to match the full sized one I already did and one will be slightly shorter in sync with my initial springer Garand conversions.
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Post by 2ndbat2 on Mar 6, 2022 22:14:36 GMT -5
I am pleased to report I made great progress on my 3 latest conversions. Using lessons learned from my earlier prototypes, I expect I'll finish these 3 in the timeframe required to complete my first. Its also obvious that I will be able to keep the weight down which was also a goal. Though very similar each is somewhat unique from the other as I am using an assortment of on hand materials. The hardest and most time consuming part is fabricating and shaping the upper (larger) Garand handguard. I essentiall create a bondo'd wood box around the barrel extension outer barrel and then dremel and shape the oblong shape. Because I will be coating them in a thin walnut veneer along with the thin (lower) handguard a single fairly rough shape will be adequate which will probably eliminate the need for the two final coats and sanding. To attempt adapting one of the actual stocks I need to access a band saw that can make a precise centered cut.
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