Fancy new FAL grip stick
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:44 pm
Even though I am not a renactor, one of my objectives in assembling my BRP MG42 receiver kit is to try and maintain the original exterior cosmetics as much as possible while remaining in legal compliance. This includes a functional ejector dust cover, functional original safety, no extra pins or attachments visible from the outside and decent looking grip stick.
All of the grip sticks I had seen previously were not up to my standards of originality because they ..
- had an ugly hook out the front through the ejector port (BRP)
- had a chunky section added to the front for FCG for s fat FAL or AR system
- were a completely non-original looking profile
- had fat chunks sticking out of the front for attachment
- non-original trigger profile
With harder hitting, silky smooth action and a thin profile, I like the FAL FCG better than the AR and thought I could make it work.
After a fair bit of study and measuring of my FAL parts and the original grip stick and concluded I could engineer a design that would make it all fit in the original grip stick with some interior and FCG modifications.
I knew the grip stick was not wide enough so the first order of business was to carefully remove the extra sheet metal on both sides that acts as a doubler. Since I did not want pins visible on the outside, I knew I would need a cage to fit inside like a CETME or G3. The cage design I came up with is open on one side to fit the hammer spring tube and is held in place with the trigger pin at the front and the safety at the rear. The front grip retainer bushing can provide some support but it really does not need it at all with the trigger pin and safety holding things together.
The safety uses the original button and is basically the same bar extension and slot design some other clever person came up with. It works very well and solidly with zero play then engaged on safe. Trigger is a welded hybrid of the original and part of the FAL trigger. Hammer was milled down thinner in a few places to fit the new cage which is .460 wide inside.
To hold the grip to the receiver at the front, a wide shelf/bushing was fabricated from a 1" square piece of 4130 and fits inside the shelled out grip stick with a hidden plug weld at the front . This shelf/bushing hugs the semi cutout in the trigger slot very firmly yet can be removed easily. It also has clearance to allow a MG3 or MG42 ejector dust cover latch to engage.
Assemble is pretty easy but a short pin is used for the trigger so that when the cage and parts are assembled in the grip stick, you push out the short pin with the longer one to secure the cage in the grip stick. The safety is installed normally with the trigger depressed. The spring assembly is installed last after the cage and safety are installed.
To make sure the grip stick can't fit FA components, I am going to make the original FA FCG pin bushing holes oversized and useless. DSA sells the USA made trigger sear hammer sets for the FAL if anyone is looking.
I have not assembled the front and rear sections but if the reach from the hammer to the firing pin is a bit too short, I can fabricate a slightly longer firing pin to make it work.
It’s taken a very large amount of time to get this thing designed and done but the next one should go quicker… Here are some pictures...
All of the grip sticks I had seen previously were not up to my standards of originality because they ..
- had an ugly hook out the front through the ejector port (BRP)
- had a chunky section added to the front for FCG for s fat FAL or AR system
- were a completely non-original looking profile
- had fat chunks sticking out of the front for attachment
- non-original trigger profile
With harder hitting, silky smooth action and a thin profile, I like the FAL FCG better than the AR and thought I could make it work.
After a fair bit of study and measuring of my FAL parts and the original grip stick and concluded I could engineer a design that would make it all fit in the original grip stick with some interior and FCG modifications.
I knew the grip stick was not wide enough so the first order of business was to carefully remove the extra sheet metal on both sides that acts as a doubler. Since I did not want pins visible on the outside, I knew I would need a cage to fit inside like a CETME or G3. The cage design I came up with is open on one side to fit the hammer spring tube and is held in place with the trigger pin at the front and the safety at the rear. The front grip retainer bushing can provide some support but it really does not need it at all with the trigger pin and safety holding things together.
The safety uses the original button and is basically the same bar extension and slot design some other clever person came up with. It works very well and solidly with zero play then engaged on safe. Trigger is a welded hybrid of the original and part of the FAL trigger. Hammer was milled down thinner in a few places to fit the new cage which is .460 wide inside.
To hold the grip to the receiver at the front, a wide shelf/bushing was fabricated from a 1" square piece of 4130 and fits inside the shelled out grip stick with a hidden plug weld at the front . This shelf/bushing hugs the semi cutout in the trigger slot very firmly yet can be removed easily. It also has clearance to allow a MG3 or MG42 ejector dust cover latch to engage.
Assemble is pretty easy but a short pin is used for the trigger so that when the cage and parts are assembled in the grip stick, you push out the short pin with the longer one to secure the cage in the grip stick. The safety is installed normally with the trigger depressed. The spring assembly is installed last after the cage and safety are installed.
To make sure the grip stick can't fit FA components, I am going to make the original FA FCG pin bushing holes oversized and useless. DSA sells the USA made trigger sear hammer sets for the FAL if anyone is looking.
I have not assembled the front and rear sections but if the reach from the hammer to the firing pin is a bit too short, I can fabricate a slightly longer firing pin to make it work.
It’s taken a very large amount of time to get this thing designed and done but the next one should go quicker… Here are some pictures...