A different kind of safety

[pathfinder]

I came up with this because I wanted a solid safety that I could lean on and not break. I started with Pirate"s later FAL grip mod. This is not a how to but rather a how I did. I made a "u" shaped piece of steel that was as wide as the outside of the FAL box and matched the inside measurement of a standard grip. This I tigged into place behind the box to give the original safety something to stop against.

In this picture seen from above, the long shiney area is where I took a round file and made a relief for the hammer spring. The safety is in the "off" position and the semi-circular piece is the end of the switch riding in the stock safety.

Here you can see the shape of the switch and how it allows the back of the trigger to rise {off position}.

And here is on safe. The top of the switch is fully supported by the mount when installed so even if you have the grip of a gorrilla, nothing moves.

The parts are shown here in their proper orientation. I just used two 1/8" drill bits for pins. The bottom could have been made flat and just used a washer to make the stand-off but this way there is one less peice to lose. The angle cut is what goes over the trigger to keep it from moving when the safety is on.

This shows the parts together and how the pivot pin is captured in the FAL box into a blind hole to increase strenght. All pins protrude past the outside of the box and are retained in divots drilled into the grip panels to increase bearing surface and reduce the chance of one coming out. The mounting block overhang is the new trigger overtravel stop and could be drilled and tapped if someone wanted to use a setscrew for an adjustable version.I hope that this helps someone solve any problems if they also like to think outside the box.

[Lima]

Very cool, nice work.

Have people had issue with the long bar attached to the end of the trigger style safety breaking or was there another kind of safety that has breakage issues?

[pathfinder]

The long rod on the end of the trigger can be fragile. Also with the welded in trigger stop there would have been no way to remove the trigger. This way all of the internals can be changed for repair without grinding and welding.

[Lima]

Interesting, I had not thought of that.

I think I avoided those issues with my FAL lower design. The extended trigger rod is 4mm drill rod with a slot milled to allow for better welding contact and all of the bits can be removed in the FAL FCG cage that includes the built in trigger rear stop that limits the travel of the safety bar upwards.