Buffer cam pieces, clean up or buy new?

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ScottishTerrier
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Buffer cam pieces, clean up or buy new?

Post by ScottishTerrier »

Hi builders. In my kit, my upper and lower buffer cam piece are a mess, rivets in them and such. Did you clean yours up for your build or buy new? I noticed apex has new clean ones for sale on their site.

If you cleaned yours up, how did you go about it?
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www.Prussia.us
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Re: Buffer cam pieces, clean up or buy new?

Post by www.Prussia.us »

First congrats on your journey to rebuilding the iconic Mg42/M53.

Second w/o pictures to see how badly yours are damaged it is hard to tell what you are up against;

Though the vast majority of de-milled M53kits now just give you the buffer tabs attached to a small piece of receiver, then you merely drill the rivets out-(as I am sure you know) and assess the damage, sounds like you may have a kit like the ones Mg43.com use to sell, or some of the older Mg42 4-cut receivers, where sometimes the last cut went right through the buffer tab, then the answer is, IT DEPENDS.

Usually when doing a build most people are trying to save some money, I get that, but you do not want to try to salvage a piece that will cause endless headaches when you are in the final stretch. That said, a true craftsman can fix anything, maybe you are in that category, if like most of us and you are a weekend warrior, then the question is, can you can make that piece come back to spec. In theory if you have a good jig, and you re-weld it true, and there is not weld oozing out of the channel for the buffer tabs on the buffer to rotate, it should work. I would posit so long as the corners on the tab are still true, and again the receiver is welded to spec, I have seen plenty of tabs cut in half salvaged, even the recoil plate can be salvaged many times on those old 4-cuts.

Good luck!
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Re: Buffer cam pieces, clean up or buy new?

Post by along »

Hi guys,

so I am fitting my buffer tabs now and have the same question.

Does the top buffer tab look set inside the buffer deep enough?

I don't think the bottom is.

Thanks
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anjongni
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Re: Buffer cam pieces, clean up or buy new?

Post by anjongni »

The overall length of the buffer tabs isn't critical, it's "the distance from the rear of the receiver to the foreward edge of the tab" that is important. Nobody want a floppy buffer/stock back there.
You weld them in "a little deep" (too far foreward), then machine off metal a little at a time from INSIDE, the front edge, until your buffer just barely twists into place with a little help. It will loosen up in no time.
Best of luck....Phil
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