FAL kit from Dan's.

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jagdpanzer347

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Received my Imbel FAL kit from dansammo yesterday. This is my first rifle kit purchase and I am quite pleased. The finish shows quite a bit of wear, but the bore has been cleaned and is very nice. I will try to acquire a couple more as finances allow. 149.00 delivered is a good deal, IMO.

-jagd
 
Kits are drying up a bit, but receivers have dried up. Try to find receivers before buying bunch of kits. Whats a kit without a receiver? Nothing useful for sure. Be practical is what I am trying to say. good luck on your first build!!
 
Recievers should be comming soon. DSA is just starting to fill their backlog and if you check the FALFiles.org, it seems like everyone and their dog is starting to make recievers. The market should be quite open by this fall. I would suggest taking advantage of the $149 kits now, because who knows what will be available in a few months. Kit prices aren't likely to get much lower than $149 (mabey as low as $99 but don't hold your breath.)

If you check the FALFiles, there are rumors as to what/when the next batch of kits will be, but it is still very hush, hush.

I've go my R1 kit and now I'm just waiting for DSA to ship my reciever.:cool:
 
Yeah, at the worst I have a complete parts kit for a metric FAL. Hopefully all of the promised receivers will materialize and be quality pieces. It would be nice if there were some in the two hundred dollar range. How much did receivers go for "back in the day"? Especially the Imbels?

-jagd
 
November 22, 2000

We have Imbels available for immediate delivery. These units are metric and come with the ejector block and parkerized finish. Dealer price is $259.00 plus $8.00 shipping each.
Click to expand...

There ya go - nowadays an Imbel is going typically for $450 due to the existing shortage and high demand.
 
$450 ?

Wow.
When I built my FAL Imbel receivers were going for like $199. I didn't use an Imbel, I used a DSA but still.
I went ahead and ordered the parts kit. I need another FAL like I need two head, but what the hell ?
 
Yeah - I got a kit a few months back. I'm waiting for a DSA receiver at the moment, but I'd rather wait for it than be held-up by some of the footpads wanting $450 for an Imbel and $400 for an :barf: Entreprise.
 
When you build on a parts kit, do you have to scrap a bunch of parts in trade for "required" US made parts? If so, what do you use from the parts kit (or alternatively, what do you scap?)

Thanks!
 
Rino451,

The ATF has decided that the FAL consists of 17 parts, no more than 10 of those parts can be imported. That means you need at least 7 of the 17 "official" parts to be made in the US. In the FAQ section of FALFiles.org there is a very good explaination of what parts qualify and a list of what parts are made by US manufactures.

As an example, in the FAL I am building I am using:
1 Receiver
2 Charging Handle
3 Hammer
4 Trigger
5 Sear
6 Pistol Grip
7 Gas Piston

Some other parts are:
Handgaurds
Buttstock
Mag floorplate
Mag Body
Mag Follower
Lower receiver
Barrel

There might be a few others, but these are the most common US made parts.

Edit: You don't have to scrap the parts that you replace. Keep them as spares, sell them, or use them in another build. If you use them as spares, just be sure to have enough US parts on the rifle or the ATF men will throw a hissy fit.
 
How much did receivers go for "back in the day"? Especially the Imbels?
Click to expand...

How far back in the day? $189 within the last couple of years. If memory serves, $129 is the lowest I ever saw them.
 
Even if the receiver is $500 you are still getting a steal. The parts kit is $149. Let's say you spend another $150 on compliance parts and shipping. That's what, $800 ?
DSA is selling thier FALs for over a grand.
 
How difficult is it to build an FAL? To my understanding, a few specialized tools are required. Would it be best to try to find someone who has built one before? I have wanted an FAL for a while and I feel it would be an excellent learning experience, but am not sure where to start. Any insight/advice/offers to walk through the process would be greatly appreciated.
 
Building a FAL

It is very easy to build a FAL with one POSSIBLE exception.
Headspacing it.
If you put yours together and it headspaces then great.
If it doesn't you have two options: One is to locate the correct locking shoulder and install it on your rifle. Option 2 is to machine the barrel just like you were headspacing any other rifle.
So, you do need to buy or borrow a few specialized tools.

A few years ago, I bought an STG58 parts kit and a DSA receiver. I also bought a video from the American Gunsmithing Institute. That tape told me everything I needed to know about putting together a FAL. However, about that same time I ran into a guy at the SHOT show (at The High Road get together dinner at Battista's in Las Vegas) that is a gunsmith in Colorado. He told me that he put these kits together for $80. So, I figured I needed headspace guages at a minimum, what the heck ? So, I sent it to him. He put it together and sent it back the same day.
Now, the one million dollar question, who is he ?
I don't remember. I have his card around here some place. :uhoh:
He was a friend of Steve Smith.

This is the video. I was very happy with it and bought several others: http://www.americangunsmith.com/view.php?id=38 You can even download some excerps from it and see what it is like. http://www.americangunsmith.com/video.php?type=hi&vid=AGI122FAL_Clip_Hi.swf&id=38
 
It is very easy to build a FAL with one POSSIBLE exception.
Headspacing it.
If you put yours together and it headspaces then great.
If it doesn't you have two options: One is to locate the correct locking shoulder and install it on your rifle. Option 2 is to machine the barrel just like you were headspacing any other rifle.
So, you do need to buy or borrow a few specialized tools.
Click to expand...
I don't know, headspacing the FAL isn't so bad. You just need to work out a little light math and buy the correct locking shoulder. I built two and neither used the original LS.

The hardest part for me was getting the barrels timed correctly. Well, it wasn't really hard, just tedious. And I even used a couple different alignment gauges.

As far as tools, at minimum you need a Dremel, a barrel vice, a receiver wrench, a torque wrench, headspace gauges, pin gauge(locking shoulder gauge) and did I mention a Dremel?

It would be nice if there were some in the two hundred dollar range. How much did receivers go for "back in the day"? Especially the Imbels?
Click to expand...
Man, $400 for a receiver? I paid the now defunct FAC about $200 each for my two Dan Coonans. I should have bought a few more! My Imbel parts kit was about the current price though. I think my STG kit was around $275. That was late 2002/early 2003.
 
Headspacing is by far the hardest part about building a FAL.
"Building" a FAL is basically just assembling the parts. They take it apart, you put it back together. Headspacing is the only thing that requires any extra effort.
Does that mean it is some impossible, horrible task ?
No, it is simply a comparison of the various aspects of putting the rifle together. Headspacing is the only challenging aspect. It requires specialized tools: headspace guages for one. A place to buy the correct locking shoulder for another. A pin guage makes things easier..............
 
A Fal build is not overly difficult if you know what you are doing. If you find someone who has built on before and has the tools you should be fine. Check out FAL files to find builders in your area.
 
Thanks for the info Thefabulousfink. So If I understand correctly, in your case, you bought the following american made parts:
1 Receiver
2 Charging Handle
3 Hammer
4 Trigger
5 Sear
6 Pistol Grip
7 Gas Piston

And the following are from the kit:
Handgaurds
Buttstock
Mag floorplate
Mag Body
Mag Follower
Lower receiver
Barrel

Is that correct?

Is there some magical least expensive combination ofUS and kit parts?

Thanks!
 
For purposes of illustration, my FAL part-count is as follows:

Furniture (3 parts - fore-end, stock, pistol-grip)
Gas-piston
Hammer
Charging-handle

My DSA-receiver will be the 7th part but I'll be adding US-made magazine-floorplates as well (they're cheap and I have a bakers' dozen-complex when it comes to 922r-compliance) :)
 
Just how does one tell if a part is US or not? If you threw them all in a bucket could you tell them apart?
 
"If you threw them all in a bucket could you tell them apart?"



I have either put together or paid someone to put together one FAL, two HKs, and two AKs.
That's five rifles.
I have purchased the US Compliance parts for all of them.
In my experience with five rifles, the answer is absolutely NO. Well, you could tell them apart but not as to where they were made.
Not one single part, foreign or domestic was marked in any way as to it's country of origin. And, I bought the US Compliance parts kits from several different places, made presumably by several different companies.
 
A few of the parts I used have "made in U.S." stamped on them, but like 444 said, many do not. I just saved ALL my receipts for everything used in the rifles. I suppose the ATF or somebody could hassle me about it someday, but I have the proof to back up my claim. Let 'em take me to court over it, I doubt they'd get a DA to go along with it.
 
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