Ak Magazine wobble -AK Xperts needed

[Timradcliffe345]

Just received a Lancaster AK and its got some mag wobble to it. The magazine will wobble almost 1/2 an inch distance wise. Ive tried about 6 different mags and all of them wobble. Is this representative of Lancaster AK's? Is there an easy fix, or do I send it back to the manufacturer? How will the manufacturer fix it? The receiver is DC Industries. Help please.

 

[nalioth]

One half inch distance . . .

... at the bottom of the arc?

... at the mag well?

"Mag wobble" is an aesthetic non-problem. So long as it doesn't 'wobble' so much that it stops the gun from firing, it's not a problem. I've only ever heard of one AK having this kind of stoppage.


Please keep in mind these weapons are designed with loose tolerances and are not precision built like AR-15s.

 

[wally]

Side to side wobble is not a big deal unless its so bad it interferes with the bolt cycling.

OTOH front to back wobble don't take much to cause feed failures.

If its side to side, shoot it and if its reliable don't worry about it. If its front to back wobble and its more that about 1mm I'd be surprised if you didn't have feed issues -- mag catch lever might be too short if this is the case.

--wally.

 

[Timradcliffe345]

1/2 inch at the bottom. Ive had Century AK's that wobble less than this.

 

[nalioth]

1/2 inch at the bottom. Ive had Century AK's that wobble less than this.

With the Nodak Spud reciever, I doubt you're gonna get much better.

Was the "Century AK" a WASR or a newer kit gun?

On the WASRs, if the monkeys don't screw up the mill, they can have some very tight mag wells. This is an anomaly produced by the single stack mag well needing to be milled open. Your Nodak Spud receiver is as close to milspec as it gets here.

 

[thebaldguy]

I have found that polymer magazines fit tight; so tight that a dremel must be carefully used to make them fit.

When possible, I have checked rifles for extreme mag wobble before purchase.

 

[briansmithwins]

If you're not happy, send it back to the vendor.

I've returned an AK (Century) for excess mag wobble. You're not going to fix the problem without lots of work.

BSW

 

[Picard]

I've seen fixes where someone put JBWeld along the sides of the magwell to keep it from wobbling. Also, if the magazine release holds the magazine tightly, it can help prevent mag wobble.

Putting some JBWeld on the receiver, right above the mag release, so that it tightens up the space between the magazine and the magazine release, can help hold the mag more securely, therefore decreasing magazine wobble.

I am currently trying this option but I think it may work.

 

[dstorm1911]

depends which receiver they used ALL of my Rommy builds on NDS-1 and NDS-3 Nodak recievers are super tight at the mag dimples and result in zero wobble in fact a couple I've hadda loosen slightly, ya can tighten them with careful use of a press or vice with padded jaws

 

[nalioth]

depends which receiver they used ALL of my Rommy builds on NDS-1 and NDS-3 Nodak recievers are super tight at the mag dimples and result in zero wobble in fact a couple I've hadda loosen slightly, ya can tighten them with careful use of a press or vice with padded jaws

Yeah, when folks start complaining about Nodak Spud receivers, ya gotta wonder. . . .

 

[dglockster]

http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/showthread.php?t=290399&highlight=WASR+dimples discusses a fix for mag wobble that appears to work.

 

[GLOCKENNBOOMER]

tag....got the same prob with a WASR UF. Also have a problem with a loose mag release that lets the mag sit too low causing a jam.

 

[nalioth]

Also have a problem with a loose mag release that lets the mag sit too low causing a jam.

Are you sure your (one) mag isn't out of spec?

One sample is not a reason to start grinding.

 

[-v-]

My mag wabbles a little forward (also about 1/2 or so) hasn't caused me an issues. As long as the wobble is from back to forward, i think it's fine, if its from forward to back, you might have issues with feeding and probably have an out-of-spec mag catch.

 

[GLOCKENNBOOMER]

Sorry I should have said MAGS.....they all do the same thing. They sit about an 1/8th of an inch too low.

 

[johnfkoehler]

mag misfeed problem fix

My WASR had misfeed and jamming problems out the ass and almost sent me into a blind rage. Took it to the gun shop where i bought it and several of the employees took a look at it and couldn't figure out what was wrong. I did have slight side to side wobble on my tapco mags, but i knew that wasn't the problem. I bought a bulgarian circle 10 waffle mag and i thought that would do the trick. that mag fit in the gun very very snug and there was absolutely no side to side wobble at all. When i tried to chamber a round though, same goddamn thing happened....misfeed/jam. i was ready to pull my hair out. I'm thinking, "yep, wasr=crap". If any of you have watched wasr vids on youtube, you'll know what i mean.

So, i did what any sensible man would do....I cracked open a couple of beers and poured a few shots of whisky and took a real close look at it. After my second shot, i had my eureka moment. i noticed that when i pulled backward on the mag, there was about a 1mm gap between the lip on the rear of the magazine and the mag release catch. So, i now knew the the mags were seated too low in the rear and thats why it kept misfeeding.

It was clear that the mag release catch was too short. So, i broke out my best friend... (next to my dog and whisky) JB weld and applied a small amount to the underside of the lip on the rear of the mag in order to lift it in the rear about 1mm. let it dry and then filed it for a precise tight fit.

Bingo. no more misfeeds or jams. Yeah, its a ghetto fix i guess, but it works solidly now. Eventually, i'll take it to a gunsmith and have em put a new mag release catch on. Below are pics of the problem and my fix.

This pic shows the mag in the gun with the gap causing the mag to seat too low:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36084017@N07/4074938553/

This pic shows my jb weld fix:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36084017@N07/4075693648/

 

[Autopistola]

My WASR also has 1/2" wobble at the bottom of the mag. I seriously considered JB welding thin steel plates in the sides of the reciever to stop it, but then after testing it I found the mags are a lot more forgiving (faster to reload) as is.