Got Me A FAL

[Punch The Clown]

I always wanted to put one together. Anyway, I bought a Sarco Argentine kit and a Coonan receiver and went to town. Should test fire it this week. The Sarco parts kit was a little pricey but the parts are all new. The receiver needed a little fitting. The whole FAL thing is a little different than the Garand thing. They are finished in several ways depending on when they were made and who made them. Some are parked, some are paint, and some are paint over park. Unlike Garands it is best to finish the barreled receiver as a unit as marring the finish during assembly is almost unavoidable. Anyway, I'm into this project for way too much money as I bought a barrel vise and receiver wrench and all the special gages and tools to do the FAL but it does look bad to the bone. The Argentine muzzle devices are not available-for some reason the govt. decided they were too evil to allow into the country so our buddy Tim machined me up a look-a-like one from an Imbel device. Came out excellent. Tim also parked the barreled receiver. Stu

[Orlando]

I have always wanted one but never knew enough about them to build one. Whats up with when they talK about inch and metric FAL?? Please post in detail once you get her done

[Punch The Clown]

Orlando, for the most part inch and metric parts are interchangeable. Inch guns are less plentiful so parts are harder to come by. These FAL dudes are the same as us. Some build shooters, some try to build "correct" rifles, and some do both. Unfortunately the FAL parts prices have gone through the roof since the Bush-that's right believe it or not-administration banned the importation of parts kits. I would love to hang this one on obama but I can't.

[Orlando]

So if I would find a used one what do I need to look out for??

[timshufflin]

I think a nice step by step would be to;
1. Tell how you got your parts kit and price
2. Tell the condition of the kit
3. Tell where you got your receiver and price
4. Tell the overall condition of the receiver
5. Tell how the parts go together with photos and such
blah blah blah

[Schriv]

FAL's are like crack. Almost as bad as Garands.
There are so many variations that you could be building them for years and not have one of each. At one time, I had 10 different models in both inch and metric. One of them a clone of the Indian SLR which uses both inch and metric parts.
Before you buy a parts kit, take a look at the styles of receivers available. If you are building a shooter, you probably won't care about making it look correct. But if you are wanting to clone the original, doing your homework will save you a lot of money.
In the metrics, DSA makes type one, type two and type three receivers. They used to make an Israeli model. It has some unique features that require an Izzy parts kits.
The type three is the most common metric receiver, but the most plain looking. It is slab sided and doesn't have the stylish lightning cuts and radiused edges that the type ones and two's did. Most metric FAL's built after the 1960's use a type three receiver.All of the Argentine and Brazilian kits should be built on one.
Entreprise and DSA make inch pattern receivers in the Australian pattern, and DSA has been talking about a true British SLR/L1a1 rceiver for a while now. The two are different but interchangeable.
Aussie and British kits have pretty much dried up, but they can still be found if you look hard.

[Cal30M1]

Ummmmmm.

Pictures or it never happened!

[cuppednlocked]

I think FAL series rifles are sexy! I should never have sold my STG!!!

[Punch The Clown]

Schriv, I considered that. I built an Argentine with a Type 3 receiver. My next is going to be an inch gun I think. Problem is all the inch stuff I find is part Enfield, part BSA. I don't think I'll be able to build a correct inch rifle. At least, not easily.

[Schriv]

OK, here are the pics I have of the FALs that I still own, or owned in the time since I have had a digital camera.I started putting them together in 1995 when receivers were stupid expensive and rare as rocking horse shit, but parts kits were less than $200 WITH the barrel.

Aussie L1a1 kit built up to look like a British SLR. Sold along with the SUIT scope. DUMB MOVE ON MY PART.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Airsoft/IMG_0948.jpg

British SLR kit built up an an Armscorp inch pattern receiver. Sold but I kept the SUIT from this one to put on my airsoft L1A1. :0

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/SLRwithSUIT.jpg

A T48 clone that I built from a metric kit on an Entreprise Type 1 metric receiver, Canadian (inch) top cover, British Inch pattern lower, modified metric HG's and Indian buttstock. A true mutt, just like the HRA made T48's. Sold.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/MetricFAL.jpg

Here are two that I still have. STG-58 at the top, Ausralian L1A1 at the bottom. My STG-58 was built from an un-issued kit, un-issued Austrian wood on a DSA type 1 receiver.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/STG-58andL1a1.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/AussieL1a1.jpg

Here is my 50.63 (Para) clone. I used an STG-58 kit on an Armscorp type 3 receiver (metric) and DSA made para folding stock kit, DSA para sights and folding charging handle. It has a set of Aussie laminated grips on it in this pic, but has been wearing an original set of Belgian 50.63 handguards for the last 5 years. I used to shoot this one in bowling pin matches. :)

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/ParaFAL.jpg

I had three variations of Israeli FALs, but all of them were built and sold before I owned a digital camera. They are very unique looking guns, but Israeli kits are outlandish and rare now. An HB kit is over $1000 the last time I looked. Their barrel thread pattern and selectors are unique to themselves, so that makes finding the correct receiver a bitch now. I also built up some mutts to look like an Indian SLR and an Imbel (Brazilian) made, 1960's era gun. All of them are long gone.

[Cal30M1]

They look better with the mags poked in em! :D

Your move Punch Bowl! Shriv proved he owns some!

[Punch The Clown]

They look better with the mags poked in em! :D

Your move Punch Bowl! Shriv proved he owns some!

I got one. You'll eat your words redneck. Anyway, there seems to be a proper way to photograph an FAL. You have to have an alcoholic beverage in the pic, your feet must be in the pic, and there must be cracked concrete in the pic. This is a strictly enforced rule on the FAL Files Forum. I suppose there is symbolism involved. The cracked concrete shows you neglect home maintenance in favor of playing with firearms. I approve. The alcoholic beverage just makes a statement that booze and firearms do mix. The bare feet in the photo shows you're not some namby pamby artistic type. That's my interpertation anyway. Punch.

[Cal30M1]

So your sayin Schriv is an namby pamby artsy fartsy type?

Nice knowin ya Clown! Get him Schriv!

[Schriv]

Hmmmm....I haven't logged onto the FALfile.com site in quite a while. I'm Falcoholic #408. :)
I had an insane amount of posts on the predecesor to the current site, but don't have the time or interest to live out my life on the internet anymore.
Real world 'issues' pulled me away from guns for a while, and I have gone through a Mauser phase and now a Garand phase since my FAL days. I'll be wrenching Garand #14 together this coming week, and I'm already looking for the next fun thing to build.
As for Artsy fartsy...not even close. I married well, and make a lot of play money with my job, but I can't stand contemporary art, fine wine, Perrier, French films, save the world causes or Volvo's. I'll leave that stuff to the guys that don't care for the company of women or anyone living in California that doesn't own a high powered rifle.

[dfonten44]

Hmmmm....I haven't logged onto the FALfile.com site in quite a while. I'm Falcoholic #408. :)
I had an insane amount of posts on the predecesor to the current site, but don't have the time or interest to live out my life on the internet anymore.
Real world 'issues' pulled me away from guns for a while, and I have gone through a Mauser phase and now a Garand phase since my FAL days. I'll be wrenching Garand #14 together this coming week, and I'm already looking for the next fun thing to build.
As for Artsy fartsy...not even close. I married well, and make a lot of play money with my job, but I can't stand contemporary art, fine wine, Perrier, French films, save the world causes or Volvo's. I'll leave that stuff to the guys that don't care for the company of women or anyone living in California that doesn't own a high powered rifle.


Well said! B

[Punch The Clown]

Anyone for a half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon?

[timshufflin]

Anyone for a half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon?

me me me me me me me