Bipods

[Peter Laidler]

Here's one of those little tips to make bipods function a bit better and correctly. You know the sort of thing...., not written down anywhere but practiced by generations and passed down from father to son...

Mk1 bipods with rearwards AND INWARDS folding legs. I'll be using the Skennerton SAIS book, page 25 and 5 to illustrate what I mean.
Item 15, SPRING, bipod and item 11, SCREW bracket, bipod are the parts that allow the bipod legs to squeeze in and out on an axis. The spring is housed in a cupped shape STOP, leg, bipod, item 16 and a similar plain recess on the right leg. This STOP will rotate back and forth inside the recess at the top of the left bipod leg. Rotate it forwards and this action prevents the bipod legs from closing up and the gun collapsing when you put it down a bit hard! Just when you DON'T want it to collapse!!!!!

There's every chance that your STOP won't rotate simply because it's a tight fit in the recess and they rust in place. And because every UEI or PRE examiner knows this, this is one of the very first things he looks for when he's going to do his annual examination of your units weapons. So here's what you do........

Open the bipod legs and remove thhe hings screw, item 11. Separate the bipod legs under control of the SPRING item 15. Remove the STOP, item 16 and clean the parts (if your stop is knackered or rusted out just clean it down and have it phosphated or get a new one but don't paint it. Now file a flat across the outside opposite sides of the cup part.

When you assemble the now clean and degreased shining and serviceable bipod legs, slop a bit of graphite grease into the recess of BOTH legs and insert the STOP into the left leg recess. Rotate it to and fro until it's free to rotate smoothly. You'll see that now, the grease has packed its way into the flats that you have just filed and as you rotate the STOP, the grease is there too, doing what it does!

There a simple unwritten crib used for generations. Bipod problem solved in an hour. Go to the top of the class.

At our big workshops where we had hundreds of these going through every day, we had a carpenters G cramp with specially made/shaped wood blocks fitted to the jaws to squeeze-up the spring during reassembly. But for the odd one, just use your hands or a workshop vice

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