Bolt hold open device

[Pirate]

One of the things this gun needs is a bolt hold open device. My thoughts on this so far
is simply to add a wedge to the rear of the receiver and reshape the nose of the part
that locks the retracting handle forward. it would lock at the back of the wedge and
release by pulling back on the handle.
Anyone have any ideas?
They should be:
simple
within the realm of the home builder
reliable and strong

lets have some input

[Karbinator]

I'm don't know if this is the same as what you're saying, but I welded a tip
of metal on the ratchet plate just in front of the
first rivet opening. It's ramped on the front side, so I can drag the cocking lever
over it smoothly. The rear profile is a bit steep to keep it in check until you drop the
cocking arm down (lever rises). Is this what you're talking about?

[Pirate]

I'm don't know if this is the same as what you're saying, but I welded a tip
of metal on the ratchet plate just in front of the
first rivet opening. It's ramped on the front side, so I can drag the cocking lever
over it smoothly. The rear profile is a bit steep to keep it in check until you drop the
cocking arm down (lever rises). Is this what you're talking about?

EXACTLY!! does it work good?

[TOM R]

I was thinkin drill a hole on the bottom next to the cockin arm track then insatall a srew , bolt , whatever with a coil spring on it to hold the screw out of the rec., you want to hold the bolt open just pull back cockin handleand push button and hold button then slide the cockin handle forward till it touches, want to release, just pull back cockin handle and the button releases itself cause it is spring loaded

[Karbinator]

I wasn't sure if you meant something like what tom said...more detailed, and seperate from
cocking assemb. It does work good. I thought it was exactly what had been torched off the
original ratchet plate. I have some BRP ratchet plate that have a tab you can bend outward
that serves as the same function (I think that's what it's for). The only 'creepy' thing about
it, is the cocking arm will be in the BACK position when lever is lodged against the stop....if you so much
as touch the cocking arm, it will fly forward. I guess if you build up enough weld, you could file out
the back stop area, so the lever would need to be pulled rearward for it to truely clear the ramp weld.

[Pirate]

Karbinator, I noticed on one of my receivers there was a part of a tab at the back of the
ratchet plate, wasn't sure what it was for, didn't see it on the photo of the BRP plates.
I was thinking of welding / reshaping the front of the hold closed latch for better engagement.
At the moment I don't have a spring in my retracting handle and wasn't sure if this would
work. As soon as I get a spring I will try the ramp idea. it doesn't need parts and seems like
a good solution. Thanks!!

[TOM R]

there must be somthin we are overlookin, thats original as there is no way they field stripped the gun to change the barrel

[fxo]

Right! The gun fires from open-bolt. Bolt is cocked, safety is placed on, ammo is removed from the feed tray and the barrel is changed!

[TOM R]

ahh I see

[blackreichswehr]

some may not like altering the original design to any weapon , but it was done all the time on the german battle fronts, simple innovations. i build my projects because i can add my own ideals, to me thats what its all about. as far a bolt hold open i had 3 different ideals. i desided on one, the simplest - thinking to myself being in the heat of things and needing to swap out a barrel fast and get back to business. the bolt feed lug can be captured through the side of the top cover by drilling two holes the outside dia. of the lug and made a simple u shaped pin to insert through the holes. pull the charging handle back pushing the pin inward and capturing the lug as it passes. i attached a length of chain to it and the Laffette so its always there.

[bolex]

This is the latest bolt open design I am using. I added a dovetail cut for the latch to catch on. This increases the effort required to release the bolt by pushing the handle forward and prevents accidental release. Also added a tab over the rivet to increase the lock area. Still need to harden the dovetail edge to keep it from wearing.

[Bil]

Thanks for the pics and ideas-it is interesting to see the early part of the thread,and how much has been learned since then!! ---bil

[bolex]

I posted the previous version of this earlier and got feedback about in being too easy to bump.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5829

This latest version requires more force to unlock the bolt, and less likely to close it without meaning to.

[xano]

Im not sure what is meant by bolt hold open device. My bolt stays open when I pull the charging handle back to the bumper, as long as the handle is pulled out. This cams the front of the charging handle bar outward and catches the side of the reciever which is reinforced by the ratchet plate or an additional piece of steel depending on how you built your reciever. When I slap the handle forward the bolt and charging handle fly forward stripping a bullet from the belt and locking into the barrel.

[Bil]

I don't know how to do the link thing,so will post here.S0meone asked about this today-check it out. ---bil

[hcpookie]

What happened to the pics of FJRUPLE's BHO? It was a spring-loaded peg in a tube that was welded on the handle perpendicular to the receiver, and a matching hole was drilled into the ratchet plate. Pull handle back, push peg into the hole and you were set:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3372

[fjruple]

hcpookie--

The photos were reposted at the end of the original stickie after they disappeared into cyper space.

--fjruple

PS-- No hole is required in the ratchet plate for the holding device. The only problem you may encounter is building up the ratchet plate at the end if it had been damaged during the demil process.

[hcpookie]

Ah thanks! That's what I get for surfing the web from my laptop's modem