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Belts, belts, belts. Seems theyre not all created equally.

Awhile back I got a pretty smoking deal on MG3 belts and I bought about 50 and split them with my shooting buddy - also know as Kato the cattleman. The belts were new and pristine. Since I mostly shoot 308 (I hate cleaning) Also I like be ready for the Zombie invasion and have lots of ammo linked at any given time.\

Well the Damn things run like crap with my MG-1 topcover. I can get 5-10 rounds fired before Im cranking the handle back. yes, they are well oiled. SO I get to looking at my top cover guts and I have a mismash of 8mm parts, some new some used, WWII and post war.

Alright I say and I replace all the guts with new ones (or NOS if you prefer). I works better now, but not perfect.

So I dig out the wwii belts and it sings for 200 rounds. Then I try some either late war or post war belts (no markings but square tab and no little finger/leg - so Im not sure). These function somewhere in the middle between the MG3 belts and WWII marked ('37, '39, '40 dates).

Now shouldnt the MG-1 feedtray and topcover work with any belt?

It confuses me.

and I dont want to have to unload a bunch of belts by hand nor do I need my limited space occupied with crap that wont work. I dont have an MG3 topcover and Robert is out of them so I cant try that. Finicky guns piss me off. I understand some guns shoot better (ie. more accurately with component X) but reliability is very important to me.

Oh yeah and I lost one of my grip screw retaining nuts - anybody got an extra they want to sell me?

Your thoughts/experiences/suggestions

GSD,

As good old Bill Clinton said, "I feel your pain", LOL!

Seriously, I have the same problem with Belts on my MG42. The post war belts just DON'T run as well as the WWII German Belts! With .308 rounds, they run better than with 8mm, but just not as good. I can run WWII Belts and never have a problem. I have about 50 Belts, and 35-40 are like new WWII Belts, the remainder are Post War. I understand your frustration, my gun is the same as yours.

Luckily, when weaponeer had the group buy on Belts, I got 70% WWII German Belts and was I glad to see that. Now I should have enough good Belts to last me my lifetime.

maybe they need to break in ?

GSD,
I stick with DM-1 belts. They seem to work without a hitch. I can run small or large strings. I shoot .308, IO kit, cof top cover.
Good luck

The 'newer' belts seem to be the ones that give me trouble. Ive noticed the looser the belt holds the rounds the better it works. Inmthinking that I may 'massage' the 'tail' of the link to decrease its tension and see if that helps...

Weasel - youre a lucky man the DM-1 belts are what mine hates the most.

GSD,
Do you want to sell the DM-1 belts? I wonder if the topcovers on some guns have mixed feed pals??? I only have the one gun up and running now. I also use a home made heavy bolt. I don't know if it makes any difference. I wish I had a answer for your feed problem. Strange... I hear gun shots in the wood next to me, its 6:30 at night, and lite rain. The locals must be hungry, deer season is over!
LOL
Weasel

With 8mm belts, .308 is a tighter fit. It's the insides of the links that are supposed to be lubed, not the whole belt. Check your recoil spring for proper length, or try another one. A weak recoil spring may not have enough ass to strip the cartridge from the belt. Lubricate the rails. A little lithium grease (car chassis grease) works great for that. Make sure the top cover parts move freely. Try removing the feed lever spring to reduce the force needed to work the action. Make sure the feed pawls move freely both ways. Try different ammo. It may be you have a weak batch that isn't giving enough power to operate things. Check to be sure that your recoil booster nozzle has the correct hole size for the ammo you're using. It makes a difference in the amount of power given to the gun. It's called a recoil booster for that reason. A hole size that's too big doesn't give enough recoil to operate the bolt properly.

If you're right on the edge of having enough power to run things, a combination of a few of these things may make the difference.

Jbaum,

Good suggestions. Ive played with the recoil springs and finally settled on a very tired/weak WWII cut down and one of Brian's SA springs. Both work equally well. I did take all the parts out of a new MG1 topcover that worked and but them in the one I refinished (matching is important - lol). The feed leaver spring is hard as hell so I may try swapping it out with a weaker one. I also took a few belts and torqued the tails of the links to provide less tension.

As far as lube goes I had been using a spray on teflon/silcon combo, but I went with grease for these belts - I used the brush and my belt loader to get the links lubed up.

Booster/buffer size is correct for 308, so Im ok there. My rails have a very light coating of grease, I would use more on a non KG coated gun, but the KG is self lubricating. I may try to sand some of the KG off to induce a bit more slop to make room fo crude as it gets dirty.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to try out some of these changes and report back. My buddies have to quit coming up with welding projects for me - I did 22 target stands/holders yesterday for 'my good buddies'.

What do you think about annealing belts to open them up/decrease tension? Some of the DM1 belts I have are TIGHT>

unless you have access to a computer controlled furnace I'd shy away from trying to anneal a belt.


Has anyone tried a 'dry' bicycle chain lube on belts or links? The ones I have in mind are waxy in consistency, providing lubricating properties while still shedding dirt and shouldn't risk degrading ammo like an oil based lubricant would.

I use a Teflon Dry Lube on my belts, it is sold at Menards in my area, seems to help everything slide. FWIW. Harry

In the original manuals it suggest dipping the belts in melted paraffin.... It doesn't take much to lube them, but if the belts are really tight, I'd suggest trying different belts. The 8mm cartridge fits a little looser than the .308. Pic the loosest belt you have and see if it helps, then you'll know if that's part of the problem.

Is this a semi MG42 or the real deal? If it's a semi, who made it?