I have another reply to this thread, with regards to the barrels.
I was told by Len, when I purchased my L4, that the barrels were actually 1919 Israeli barrels, that he somehow fits inside the original parts or exterior of an L4 barrel!!? Makes it sound good, as there are many new, surplus Israeli 1919 barrels available...sometime, Len will dazzle with tales of fascination and my mind wanders. Hence not recalling every detailed word he used to describe the process.
But does that make sense? Is it possible?
There are obviously STILL set up issues with HA guns, and that is becoming more and more clear as time goes by. I recall my first HA purchase a number of years back. Never could get the problems resolved and Len had it twice for R&R. In the end, they gave me a refund.
It is troubling to me that he seems to be building "models" of guns and not so much, actual operating guns. I know I am being a bit harsh, but he sells them as FIREARMS...they should run.
BTW, NOBODY is going to like this solution, but I found, with HA MkI, that it WILL reliably run PPU and Wolff .303 if I spray oil the cartridges first. Not a great solution, but allows me to save the military grade ammo, that does run reliably in the .303 (MEN & British mil spec). A different story for a different day. I have not had case separation issues with the HA MkI, unless running PPU or Wolff.
My L4 problems boiled down to too much spring pressure, inducing short stroking and jammed cartridges on feeding. That was resolved by clipping two coils from the striker spring! Thank you MilSurps Expert! Gun runs well on gas setting 3. My L4 has NOT had any case separation issues like my .303. So your issue, may not directly correspond to my issues? Different gun, different caliber??
I would say, if you chamber looks rough, I would have a tendency to want to polish in a longitudinal fashion, instead of the rotary method. Just slowly and minimally. Try to remove less metal, plus, the case is extracting along that bore axis. But I suspect you have done what polishing you were thinking about, so a late point. Not sure what tool to recommend for that? Additional or new L4 barrels are not easy to find. Hopefully, someone might do a run in the future??
Last edited by AmEngRifles; 07-29-2021 at 12:06 PM.
For me .303 surplus barrels her in the US that look fine but are "shot out" and cause the same separations that you describe, Unfortunately finding a "replacement" .308 barrel will be a challenge.
Sorry for the delayed response everyone. I just moved to a new state, started a new job, have a new kid on the way, and am still unpacking. Additionally I am trying to paint my garage (horrible idea), so that I can have a new workshop.
Basically I have been busy.
Update:
The gun fires without case head separations as of right now. This is post locking block exchange and headspacing. Hooray!
Now I have problems with stove piping though. it is picking up a new round, but getting caught on the ejecting round. So either the ejector needs replaced or the gun is overgassed and slamming forward too quickly. It appears that on 2, there isn't enough gas still and will not extract, but on 3 it will pick up a new round but slam home on the spent case.
I will try cleaning the gun and see if it needs a good cleaning, but I may have to slightly ream out the #2 hole. Unsure as of yet. Any other ideas are appreciated at this point. I do not have the gun in front of me and I'm trying to type this fast because I should be painting, so i do not know if it is bolted or milled into the magwell for the mag stop. I will update more later and will try to get you all more answers to your questions.
At 100yds it appeared to be doing a good job of accurate fire on a horrible resting platform (bucket). Now just to correct the cycling issue.
At least we are heading in the right direction.
If the headspace is not correct nothing else matters at this point. Replace the barrel or locking shoulder until its correct on gauges then move forward.
If the headspace is not correct nothing else matters at this point. Replace the barrel or locking shoulder until its correct on gauges then move forward.
Yes, I headspaced the gun using a new locking block. This is why the gun fires without case head separations. I am now working on the cycling issue. I will continue to update when I can get to it again. Any other suggestions or thought son what may be causing the cycling issue would be greatly appreciated. For everyone's information it occasionally functions correctly. However, it is more likely fail still thank work.
Make sure the bolt and slide move smoothly , no drag or sticking.
Check your gas piston diameter and gas cylinder for any excessive clearance.
Are the correct springs in the gun ?
I don't recall any hiccups in the action. slides smoothly enough that I have dumped it all out the back end a couple times while disassembling, etc. It has all the springs that came with it in the gun without any alteration. From what I have seen they are correct and without alterations to them. The gun fires and will eject, but often stovepipes as of now. If you have correct spec numbers for the piston diameter etc, I would appreciate those. Otherwise I will try to find them. I have calipers and can take the measurements when I get those.
As near as I can work out, ALL L4 barrels, from the A4 onward, were fully internally chrome lined. (HARD crome, straight onto the steel substrate of the bore; NO preliminary copper plating as seen in "decorative" chroming).
Quick test: A dab of "cold-blue" applied to a bore or chamber with a simple "Q" tip / ear-bud, will provide an answer. If the tested area does NOT go "blue", it is probably a chromed (or stainless steel) surface.
Post plating, chambers can have a distinctive surface "texture". This can be moderated by EXTREMELY judicious polishing. "Super-slick" chambers are a REALLY bad thing.
My guess is that an L4A4 barrel that leaves circumferential scoring on the fired brass is less than Kosher. Ditto, one that does not have hard-chrome lining.
Sorry to keep you all in suspense (or lack therof).
I measured the OD of the piston head and it is 0.625, so should be in spec. I measured the front of the piston, behind it seems slightly larger at about 0.628.
I attached a photo of the piston on the op-rod. It isn't screwed in all the way and has a slight wobble to it. I assume this is correct because there is a pin going through it and I would guess that the pin is only in a certain spot. Please correct me if this is wrong.
I don't have cold blue at present time, but could check it in the future. For know though, I'm still on the hunt for the reason why this thing is having cycling issues. I haven't had it out in a while and will try to go to an indoor range here in early February. Following the move I no longer have a go to range, which has been making things difficult. I found a place in town which should work. However my time may soon be occupied since my wife could have our second child at any moment and I may lose chances to get this figured out.
Since it has been a while as a reminder, the problem now isn't the cases rupturing. That seems to be fixed following headspacing. The issue is either short stroking with occasional stovepipes (underpipes?), vs overgassing and the same issue. On 2, it won't cycle and pick up a round, on 3 it is jamming. Since it is having an occasional stovepipe, I assume it is overgassed on 3. I have calipers, but not sure how accurately I can measure the ID of the gas ports. If you have measurements to compare I could check those. Seeing as this is an HA gun, it sounds like they are usually reamed/drilled out a little already.
As always, I appreciate all of your help and will hopefully have this thing working again in the near future.