Category Archives: Gunsmithing

Posts that touch on gunsmithing topics such as improving function, finishes, changing parts, and anything else that alters a weapon

Glock, Glocks, Gunsmithing, Polymer80, Shooting in General, Uncategorized

Glock Truglo Tritium and Fiber Optic Sights Are Amazing Improvements!

A fellow emailed me wanting to upgrade his from the generic OEM Glock sights that I don’t think really excite anyone to something that would be more visible in general and also work in the dark. My answer was immediate – go with the TRUGLO TFX Pro Tritium and Fiber Optic Xtreme sights.

The featured photo above shows how bright they are on my G17 slide on it. I bought these sights by the way – so you are getting my honest opinion.

Folks, these are my hands down favorite sights for a number of reasons:

  • They are CNC machined from steel and have a durable black nitride finish — they are not soft plastic.
  • They do not need batteries – the lit dots are via fiber optics when there is light and sealed tritium when it is dark so you are covered regardless of the light available. The tritium ought to fluoresce (emit light) for about 10-20 years and I’ll worry about replacing them then.
  • I really like the three green dot configuration – two on the rear sight and one on the front. The front also has an orange ring that you can see when there is light but is green when operating off the tritium only.
  • The rear sight goes into the slide’s groove very easily and is then secured with a set screw. Some sights can be a bear to install but not these.
  • The rear sight is big enough that it can help you rack the slide one handed in a one-handed emergency.
  • They have a 12 year warranty.
  • They are assembled in the USA – the tritium capsules are made in Switzerland.

What Glock models are supported?

Because these are so popular TRUGLO is making a variety of models to support the different Glock configurations that are out there. I assembled the following table and you can also check their webpage if you want:

TG13GL1PCGlock® 17 / 17L, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 45 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG13GL2PCGlock® 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, and 41 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG13GLAPC
(TFX front, Adjustable Rear)		Glock® 17 / 17L, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 45 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG13GL3PCGlock® 42, 43, 43x, 48; Honor Defense® (all models)
Source: https://truglo.com/spare-quiver-mount-spare-quiver-mount

Personally, I use the TG13GL1PC on a G17 and G34. I bought both off sight sets off Amazon – click here to see the large selection there.

This gives you a better view of the sights overall. This is the TFX Pro TG13GL1PC with the fixed rear sight. I really like the sight picture these give day or night.
Here’s the rear sight and you can just barely see the set screw that secures the sight between the two “ears”. The slot at the top of each fiber optic is where it collects light to illuminate the dot. If there isn’t any light then that is where the tritium capsules take over.
Here’s the front sight. The orange ring is nice during the day and you only see the green tritium dot in the dark.
Well, trying to take a photo in the dark of three green dots with a cell phone camera was an experience. I went in a basement room and shut the door to cut off light. It’s fuzzy but you get the idea – all three dots are nicely lit in any lighting condition.

Do they have lower cost models also?

Yes, they do. The Tritium series just has the tritium for illumination in the dark and show as bright white dots during the day.

TG231G1Glock® 17 / 17L, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 38, and 39 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG231G2Glock® 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, and 41(Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG231G1AGlock® 42, 43
Source: https://truglo.com/catalog/product/view/id/2068/s/tritium-tritium/category/19/

They also make a Tritium Pro series that builds on the Tritium base model and adds an orange ring to the front sight plus the back sight is bigger and that makes it easier if you need to rack the slide with one hand.

TG231G1WGlock® 17 / 17L, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 38, and 39 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG231G2WGlock® 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, and 41(Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG231G1AWGlock® 42, 43
TG231G1MWGlock® MOS 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 38 and 39
TG231G2MWGlock® MOS 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40 and 41
Source: https://truglo.com/catalog/product/view/id/2069/s/tritium-pro-tritium-pro/category/19/

Do they support other brands and models of pistols?

Definitely. These are very popular lights given their great combination of quality at a fair price. I tend to see the best prices on Amazon – click here to see them.

Conclusion

I find these sights to be an incredible improvement over the plain Glock sights – they are easy to see and aid with rapid aiming. I really do like these sights and use them personally. I strongly recommend them.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

DIY - Do It Yourself, General, Gunsmithing, Tools

Do You Need New Mini Mill Way Covers? Here’s a Very Cost Effective Solution

I have a Harbor Freight 44991 mini mill that I bought it in 2006 if I recall right – it’s been so long that I don’t actually remember at this point. It’s served me well but like anything, stuff happens with age. In this case, the mini mill way covers were breaking down due to oxidation and repeated flexing.

I’ve replaced the way covers a few times over the years but this time had a challenge finding any in stock. In general, my goto spot for mini mill parts is LittleMachineShop.com and I recommend them to anyone with a mini mill or lathe. They’ve been out of stock for a while now and I wanted a solution sooner instead of later. I was adjusting my mill, cleaning it up in general and wanted to get the covers on so the ways would stay clean.

If you are new to machining, way covers aren’t just cosmetic. They keep debris off the ways (the machined surfaces that move on the X-Y table). If you don’t keep the ways clean you run the risk of something getting under the table and throwing it off or even just making cranking the handles harder.

So, I needed to find another source but where? I had to figure out an alternative. Way covers have a diameter and length – how hard can it be if I searched using the measures and adapted whatever I found? The answer is that making your own is surprisingly easy. The way covers for the 44991 mini mill, and the two dozen or so brands that are actually the same machine made by Sieg in Shanghai, are 200mm wide and that’s the key – looking for millimeters vs. inches.

My initial mistake was to try and find a cover with a width between 7.75 and 8 inches. Then it dawned on me that the machine’s parts are actually metric and the width was 200mm. I figured if I could find a long enough length I would just cut it down and that strategy worked. By the way, that’s a 12″ IGaging Absolute Origin caliper. It’s a rare job where I need to measure something bigger than my 6″ Mitutoyo caliper can handle. For those rare occasions, the IGaging caliper has been good enough for me.

Armed with that, I immediately found way covers on Amazon. They are really long but you can cut them down with a plain sharp knife and straight edge no problem. Click here for the listing. At the time of purchase, they had one review. I was in a rush and figured I would gamble $10.19 not including a 5% off coupon. It was shipped from China and took about two weeks to arrive.

Guess what? They are actually really decent. Instead of rubber, these way covers are some kind of rubberised fabric. I’m not even sure rubber is the correct term and cutting them down to fit is fast and easy with plenty left over for a few more replacements (I stored the remainder in a heavy ziploc industrial bag and actually purged it with nitrogen. Yeah, I work with plastics so I have access to that stuff. Just sealing it in a good ziploc-type bag and keeping it safe would probably work too.

Let’s Step Through The Process

I did my covers one at a time starting with the front. The cover is held in place by a bracket on each end. Each bracket is held in place by two Phillips round head screws. Remove the brackets and the covers. Note the front cover has two sizes of screws when you go to reassemble it.

Each way cover is held in place by a metal strip and two Phillips round head metric screws. Note, on the front way the front and back screws are two different sizes so pay attention what goes where (the larger diameter screws are to the back if I recall correctly). This is either my second or third set of rubber way covers. They slowly break down with time and use.

With the cover off, I cleaned and lubed the ways and also the threaded rod. I then moved on to make the cover.

I removed the front cover and took the time to clean and lube the ways and threaded rod.
The old way cover is to the right. The 200mm x 1500mm new way cover is to the left. It turns out the folds are 1.5cm on both so I just counted the peaks and made my cut. If the fold height didn’t match then I would have fit it based on the smoothed out length.
I cut the length of new cover I needed and then used the old brackets to mark the hole locations.
I marked the holes and then used a revolving hole punch plier to approximate the openings. I actually own a hole punch set but I don’t know where I put it – that would have been more elegant than my nibbling around the circle with the pliers but I got the job done.

I then did the same for the back and installed the way covers on the mini mill. The next time I do them, I may glue a plastic strip on each end to make it a tad more secure at each end but what I have is working great.

Looks much, much better and the ways are once again protected. It’s a tad floppy at the ends and next time I will add either a small steel or plastic strip the full width of the cover, scuff both sides for a good grip and join them with Starbond black super glue. The cover is perfectly serviceable as-is for now but am keeping that in mind for the future. By the way, that is a Dayton CNC 12″ workholding plate. I have two of them and they’re great. Here’s the link and the wait time is about 2-4 weeks. The positioning strips are from a vendor called Bulk Man 3D on AliExpress. All the holes and fasteners are 1/4-20 and the metric strips can accomodate 1/4-20 socket head screws in case you are wondering.
I’m not sure what this material is but have a suspicion it will hold up better than the rubber. Time, use and exposure to lubricants will tell though. I’ve only had them on for over a week but cutting oil and penetrating oil don’t appear to have affected the material thus far.

Summary

The new way covers are working great. You can make your own and have plenty left over for the next time plus it is cheaper regardless. I have no problem recommending you buy this way cover and cut it to fit. I do suspect it will hold up better than rubber given it is fabric reinforced and not just plain rubber and we’ll see if that proves to be true.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Gunsmithing, Roller Locks - HK, Shooting in General

Reviving Old Black Plastic HK Grips – Or Just About Any Other Faded Plastic

Do you have an old HK grip, or any other plastic item, you want to rejuvenate? Or maybe you bought one of the contract grips, washed it and now it’s a dull grey and all of the scratches stand out and you want to make it look better?  It’s easier than you might think.

Clean the grip

I recently boought a bunch of the the surplus HK33 “contract grips” that were made by SME Arms and Ordnance manufacturer, Malaysia under license from HK and most of them really needed cleaning – everything from cosmoline to brown masking tape with numbers were on them.

The first thing is to really clean the grip.  I use a Vevor 30L ultrasonic cleaner [click here for a review I did on mine] with Simple Green HD and water in it but you can use any warm-to-hot soapy water and something to scrub with to clean it up.  Use compressed air to blow it dry real quick before any exposed steel surfaces rust.

These HK33 grips are a mess. Most are beaten up to some extent. Many were covered in cosmoline – that grip on the top that is shiny is coated in it. Some even had old dry masking tape wrapped around the actual hand-grip portion.

For cleaning, I use an ultrasonic cleaner. I have a 30 Liter Vevor and it’s great. Vevor offer all kinds of sizes – if you are interested, click here for a blog post I did about mine. You can calso click here to see the current listings on Amazon.

If you aren’t interested in ultrasonic cleaners, you can also have very good luck with hot soapy water. I used to recommend brake cleaner but that has really lost its cleaning power as various regulations have really reduced its strength.

This is a 30 liter Vevor ultrasonic cleaner filled with Simple Green Pro HD heated to 158F (70C). It gets rid of pretty much everything in 15 minutes including most if not all of the paint in the lettering.

Dealing with scratches and small nicks

Major repairs can be a challenge. Filling them with black epoxy or black super glue creates visible repairs. Black super glue to close a clean crack works surprisingly well. Starbond makes a black super glue that is superb at closing cracks plus bonding clean surfaces together in general – click here to see it at Amazon

For minor scrapes and scratches, the best approach I have found is to use 0000 (sometimes called “quadruple ought” or super fine) steel wool and vigorously rub down surfaces to get rid of scratches and any plastic sticking up from getting nicked. The benefit I have found with it vs. sandpaper is that it doesn’t destroy the surface finish as easily.

This is an actual HK German SEF grip converted for use on an MP5K. I used 0000 steel wool to knock over any sticking out plastic and reduce minor scratches. I find careful use of steel wool helps me improve the surface some without destroying the pebbled finish on the plastic.

Restoring the black color

Black plastic fades as the surface layer loses its oil/moisturizers.  The trick to try and replace those lost chemicals and bring the color back.

Black plastic that has been ultrasonically cleaned is greyish and you can see all of the scratches. If you don’t know it’s coming you can have a “what just happened” moment.

The treatment I use is made by Car Guys and is called “Plastic Restorer”.  Again, make sure the grip is clean and then rub this stuff in.  I use nitrile gloves and work it in.  You want a thin film there.  I let the stuff sit overnight and buff it off with a shop towel the next day.  It does a nice job and will last for sometime.  I’m not exactly sure how long – I’ve been using it for almost six months and nothing has faded yet.

On this HK SEF grip, it’s been cleaned and I used steel wool to knock down any rough spots. Next up is applying Car Guys Plastic Restorer.
The actual cream that comes out is an odd blue grey color. I wear nitrile gloves, put the cream in my glove and then apply enough to leave a film.
It does need to have a light film – not super thick but something like this.
It has to sit to work, I try to let it sit overnight if I can. They say at least 10 minutes but I find the longer the better. You then wipe it down and remove any residue on the surface,
This is the same grip. It sat overnight and then I wiped it down the following day.
Same grip – other side.
These are four of the grey ashen grips shows above after following this process.
Same grips – the other side.

Summary

I did not know why black colored platics fade with time. Now I do and the Car Guys Plastic Restorer works on more colors than just black. Click here for it on Amazon – there’s a reason there are over 31,000 reviews and a score of 4.4. It’s that good. So, whether it’s plastic on firearms, cars or something else, this stuff might really help you bring the color back.

One perk is that it does seal and provide UV protection after it is applied. I’ve been using it for six months and nothing has faded yet but then again, no finish lasts forever so I would bet that some day I will need to touch things up.

Note: This stuff isn’t for headlights and it doesn’t fix physically damaged plastic when there is a thick crust of oxidation or scratches. It’s meant to bring the color back is all.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Gunsmithing

Want to see some wicked cerakote work done to look like bakelite?

A few weeks back I was trading emails with Brutus Manufacturing asking if my handguards could withstand 250 degrees for Cerakoting and I told him they would not begin to deflect (bend) until 263F so he went ahead and bought M72 handguard set.

I sent them a black handguard set and a few weeks later I got the first photo below in my email and it really intrigued me because guys have asked if I can replicate a bakelite look and the short answer is I can’t because of the materials I use. Seeing what they did genuinely surprised me.

I asked how they did the above because my handguard was plain black when I sent it to him. Turns out that one of their specialties is finishing various pieces such that they look like bakelite.

Here are two more pictures with the handguard on the M72B1:

Given the above , I offered to put more of his work up on my blog. I know what it feels like to have a small business and trying to get it off the ground.

This is a tiled gallery meaning you can scroll down and click on a photo to see a bigger picture of it. From there you can navigate forward and backward through the images.

Contacting Brutus Mfg

I’m impressed by what they’ve done and if you want to learn more then reach out to them directly – I’m just hosting the photos so folks can see their work.

Brutus Mfg. doesn’t have a website yet so you reach out to them via email at br*********@gm***.com or on Instagram

I hope you found this post interesting.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

AKBuilds, Blades and Edged Weapons Including Khukuris, Firearms Building and Gunsmithing, Gunsmithing, Sten, Uzi Builds

How to do Home Manganese Parkerizing

2 Comments

The Following is a Basic Do-it-yourself Manganese Parkerizing Formula

A couple of friends online, Elkaholic and Ding, got me interested in parkerizing years ago and gave me a home brew formula and process steps they use.  I have been tuning that formula for a few years and thought I would share it as I use it both for blades and firearms.  It works great as either the base for a top finish, such as Molyresin or as a finish all by itself.  You may be wondering “why not just buy a premade formula such as the great parkerizing solution from Brownell’s” – the short answer is because tinkering can be fun and more rewarding.  I like to experiment and try different things.   So, with that said, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

– 2 gallons of distilled water  (it gives more consistent results because impurities have been removed – sold at supermarkets and drug stores)
– 2 “biscuits” of clean plain 0000 steel wool (thinner steel wool dissolves faster hence the use of 0000 grade)
– 1 cup of Klean Strip brand Phosphoric Prep & Etch (or other phosphoric acid etching solution around 35-45% concentrate per the Prep & Etch MSDS sheet. Dilute the acid if higher. For example, if 100% pure then go 60 water:40 acid – you can always experiment with the ratio that works for you)
– 6 rounded tablespoons of manganese dioxide (available at pottery supply stores, Amazon or eBay)

DSC_0042

Do this outside – never in your house or shop (unless you have a great vent hood).  If you do it indoors, you will likely make stuff rust fast!

DSC_0016
DSC_0019

As you can see, I use a camp stove.  For the first couple of years I just used a Coleman stove but that was always a balancing act with my 48″ long stainless pakerizing tank that I used for barreled actions.  I found the above great Camp Chef stove at Amazon and it is fantastic but any heat source will work. I like propane because its portable and not electric (to avoid any chance of electric shock) and there are tons of propane camp stoves on Amazon.

Also, be sure to use stainless steel for your tanks.  I watch for sales or buy stuff off eBay.  The big cooker above is from Walmart and the rectangular pan shown below is from Amazon and is normally the water pan for buffet lines.

For tongs to move stuff around, use solid stainless.  I tried the plastic ones and they can leave a plastic residue on blasted surfaces and mess up your finish.

Just like baking, if you want more of the solution, take the recipe and multiply it by two, four or however many multiples you want. Just be sure you have a place to store it when done.  I use 5 gallon jugs and label them.

Steps to Follow

  1. Add acid to water in a stainless pan/pot and heat to 190F – don’t boil and waste it.  I use a baking thermometer clipped to the side of the pan.
  2. Spray each wool biscuit with brake cleaner to remove oils and allow each time to dry
  3. As the solution warms shred the steel wool into the liquid and add the manganese dioxide
  4. Let the mix simmer and dissolve the steel wool before adding parts
  5. I always blast my parts before I parkerize them – I’ve heard guys tell about using a wire brush on a buffer or drill press as well but I’ve not tried that.  Blasting removes the oxides and exposes the bare steel.
  6. Make sure your parts are very, very clean and degreased — only handle with rubber gloves after they are cleaned or oils from your skin can mess things up
  7. You can suspend your parts in the liquid with stainless wire.  Leave them until the fizzing stops or about 30-40 minutes.  The time varies.
    DSC_0027
  8. Rinse the parts with boiling water thoroughly to remove the acid.
  9. Spray parts with WD40 to get the water away from the steel
  10. Wipe down with oil or apply whatever secondary finish you want – don’t do both 🙂  If you are going to apply a finish on top of the parkerized surface, use acetone or brake cleaner to remove any oils and then follow their instructions.

At the bottom of the post are links to Amazon products including long parkerizing tanks.

Cleaning Up

When you are done, let your mixture cool and strain the liquid through a coffee filter into a plastic can for future use. I use a blue kerosene 5 gallon container because it is a different color from all my other 5 gallon containers plus I label it.  Point being, you do not want to get confused and pour this stuff in when you meant to use a fuel, etc.

The precipitate, the stuff on the bottom, should be scooped onto a shallow pan, allowed to dry and be disposed of as a hazardous waste.  For example, where ever your community collects old paints, batteries, etc.

Brownells Has Great Parkerizing Solutions and Kits

Brownells sells very well regarded ready-to-use formulations. I have no hesitation at all to recommend the below items to you – they are top notch.

  • Click here for their manganese parkerization supplies. Their formula meets Mil Spec STD171
  • Click here for their zinc parkerization supplies
  • If you have a lot small parts you want to park, they have a bench top kit ready to go that you can buy – click here
  • Click here for their complete parkerizing tank system. This is a complete system for gunsmiths or others who need to park everything from small parts and pistols up to firearms and swords.

In Summary

I hope this helps you out. I’ve used the above many times and the results are solid.

Updated 2/13/24 with new sources and fixed some grammar issues.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Firearms Building and Gunsmithing, Gunsmithing, Pistols

Need a compact hand stop for a Picatinny rail? Check out the Arisaka HS-P

When I built our a pistol with recoil, I worry about my hand slipping off the handguard and going in front of the muzzle. I recently bought a Stribog 10mm and that was running through my mind – so I started digging for hand stops that could mount on a picatinny rail.

I should point out I don’t like angled fore grips (AFGs) or anything that incorporates that design aspect. I like the bottom of the handguard to be flat. I also like hand stops that are small from an aesthetics perspective plus I don’t want the ATF, or whomever, arguing that I actually have a vertical grip which is illegal on a pistol.

I ran across an ad for Arisaka Defense’s HS-P handstop. It mounts on rail though I couldn’t quite figure out how from the website photos. Because I’ve had good luck with Arisaka products in the past, I gambled and ordered one. Guess what? I really like it and figured a quick post might be of interest to others.

So the HS-P is CNC machined from 6061-T651 aluminum and MIL-A-8625 Type III hard coat anodized.
The secret sauce that makes this so cool is that grey aluminum recoil lug. There is a screw attached that you can’t see that raises or lowers it into whatever Picatinny rail slot you want locking it in place. Simple and slick!
The front has slots cut into it. I suppose that could help if you want to use it on a barrier.
On the bottom is the hole for the screw. Use a 7/64″ allen key to tighten (push the lug up) or loosen (lower the lug down). Torque is 15 in/lbs – please note that is inch/pounds and not foot/pounds.
In this photo, you can see the retracted recoil lug. I then just slid the HS-P onto the handguard’s rail to where I wanted it.
I slid the HS-P on and then used my closes allen set with a 7/64 key to raise the lug into position. I brought it up firm but not crazy tight – I didn’t have a long enough key for my torquing screw driver handy (meaning it is “temporary misplaced”) so I opted for ballpark tight. They don’t include a 7/74″ allen key by the way. It doesn’t bother me because I have a bunch. Also, often times the “free” keys that come with something aren’t very good – I’ve torn things up many times in the past trying to use marvel mystery metal included keys so I don’t do it any longer.
The HS-P is rock solid.

Summary

It you are looking for a solid small hand stop that mounts on a rail, the Arisaka HS-P is great. I have no reservations recommending it.

Yes, I actually bought this. I was not paid to write this.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Gunsmithing

Timney Trigger Pack Failed in My Tavor X95 – I Switched to the Geissele Super Sabra

Back in August 2021, I bought a Tavor X95 and everybody told me to switch the stock trigger cartridge. I did some research and at that time people were recommending Timney or Geissele. My first choice was honestly Geissele because I really like their AR triggers but I couldn’t find them. Timney was the same way so I ordered both – I ordered the Timney on 8/17/21 direct from them and they shipped on 10/6/21. I also backordered a Geissele Super Sabra 05-267 with the thought that I could write a blog post at some point and compare them. The Timney arrived first and that’s what I installed and used up until yesterday. Let me explain.

I took my daughter’s fiancé, Kris, visiting from out of town to our local Berrien County Sportsman’s Club range for a few hours of shooting. The Timney trigger pack was in the Tavor and has been since I bought the Tavor. It has maybe 300-400 rounds through it – I’ve not shot it since I posted about taking it to the range last fall and the great time we had. At any rate, we shot a number of pistols and then it was rifle time – I told Kris that the Tavor is my favorite rifle right now and we start shooting.

I shot about 5 rounds to show the controls and make sure everything was good. I then handed it to Kris who then shot a few rounds and then things got weird. He pulled the trigger and nothing happened. I took the Tavor from him, and explained how to safely handle misfires and ejected the round. There was a barely noticeable dent on the primer. “Huh” I thought – must be a flaky hard primer. I loaded it again and tried – same thing. I took the round to the range’s misfire tube and dropped it down the pipe.

This is Kris wondering why it didn’t just fire.

I cycled the Tavor empty, it seemed okay, I then inserted a mag and made sure it was fully seated, handed the X95 to Kris who then charged it, we made sure the bolt was all the way home and he pulled the trigger. Nothing. Okay … something weird was happening. I took the X95 and ejected the round – same thing – a very light dent on the primer. At this point I was beginning to suspect something was wrong with the Tavor – we were shooting Winchester bulk M855 that normally I don’t have any problems with and absolutely never twice in a row.

I had Kris try again and this time I heard something. He would pull the trigger and nothing would happen but when he released trigger there was a delay followed by a click and then if he tried again it would fire. Okay …. something funky was going on inside the Tavor.

I removed all of the ammo and I could replicate it. Something was going on with either the rod that transfers the trigger pull back to the “trigger pack” or “sear mechanism assembly” – what IWI calls the trigger pack – or the trigger pack itself. It was time to pack the rifle up and we moved to an AR I brought that ran just fine.

Taking the X95 Apart

I have a love hate relationship with aftermarket parts. Most of the time when I take and replace a stock part with an aftermarket and something goes wrong, it’s the fault of the aftermarket part. To make a long story short, the problem at the range was caused by the Timney trigger pack.

On a Tavor, the trigger pack normally pulls out very easily once you pull out the two retaining pins. Not this time. It did NOT want to come out. I had to pull pretty forcefully to get it out and the culprit was a big silver dowel/axle pin located in the top front of the pack. Both it and a smaller one in the middle were way out towards the right side. Why? No idea. I tapped both the pins back in with a nylon head soft blow hammer in my Weaver gunsmith kit. I tried to get it to “fire” and it wouldn’t so I switched gears and installed the Geissele Super Sabra instead that was still new in the box.

Both of these pins were sticking out on this side. I already tapped them back in before I took this photo.

I lubricated the Super Sabra per their instructions and it dropped right in and worked. So, right now I have an inoperable Timney that I can’t get to do anything on the bench that I think I will try and have Timney do a warranty repair on – I’m kind of curious what they will do or not do. In the mean time, I will happily run the Super Sabra.

The Geissele Super Sabra on the left and the Timney Tavor trigger pack on the right. Note how the Super Sabra is using screws vs. pins.
Here’s the other side of the trigger packs.
I have always found Geissele’s engineering to be top notch. This trigger pack dropped right in and felt great. If I were to bet money, and I guess I already did since I bought it, this pack will last. The Super Sabra 05-267.

The Super Sabra feels really good – I am still using the stock Tavor trigger itself – the part you actually pull with your finger. Geissele sells a replacement trigger but I am not using it – just the replacement Super Sabra trigger pack.

For a bullpup trigger the Super Sabra is quite decent. There is a long pull but it breaks pretty nicely at 4 pounds 12 oz on average. To get that number, I did 10 test pulls with my Wheeler digital gauge. The lightest pull was 4 pounds 2oz and the heaviest was 5 pounds 1 oz. Very manageable and will be what I use going forward.

As I was writing this blog post, I had the Timney trigger pack in front of me. I tried repeatedly to actuate the hammer by pulling on the little lever that connects to the transfer rod in the rifle. Boy, it would not move – not one bit. I’d put a ball pin in the “U” and pull – it would not budge. I just tried again right now and heard a loud click just like we did at the range. I pulled on the lever again while controlling the hammer with my free hand and it “fired” – the hammer came up. In looking inside the cartridge i have no idea what has happened but don’t want to take it apart and void a warranty either. When I closed the hammer, it made a funny clunking abnormal sound and now doesn’t want to open/fire again. Weird. Something has gone wrong, that much I know.

I was able to eventually get it to open while I was writing the post. It made the same odd click sound that we heard at the range and after that it opened.
When I closed it, an abnormal clunking sound came from the pack and it will not open again.

Summary

Not sure what happened but the Timney trigger pack stopped working. I plan on contacting Timney to see if they will look at it under warranty and will report back how it goes – I emailed them on 2/12/2023. I’m now running the Geissele Super Sabra pack and will see how that holds up.

I’m hoping Timney will do a warranty repair so I can compare both units down the road as I had originally hoped. I’ll update the blog post with how that turns out. By the way, I’ve had a number of Timney triggers over the years and this is the first problem I’ve had with one.

3/28/2023 Update: Got a nice update email from Timney. They are revising the design of the disconnector and will start production in June. That’s pretty cool that they are learning and improving their design. They offered me a refund or to wait for the new model and I opted for a refund at this point and they processed it (I bought it direct from them in this case). So, I am happy with the result.

3/25/23 Update: Really not happy with Timney customer service – I sent them polite emails asking for a status or even if they have the trigger (I can see they do from the tracking #) but they don’t even reply. Last email I told them I don’t mind waiting but please give me an idea of the lead time – no reply. I literally have no idea of the turn around time – they never gave me an estimate.

2/17/23 Update: Timney customer service was really easy to work with. They asked me to send them the trigger pack and they would take care of it. So, I sent it via priority mail with insurance on 2/16. I’m curious if they will tell me what went wrong.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Gunsmithing, Optics

Use a Wheeler Engineering Green Laser Bore Sight To Get Your Scope or Optic Range Ready

When you buy a scope/optic and mount it on your rifle or pistol, it may relatively be close to where the actual bullet will hit the target or it may be a mile off. This applies just as much to dot optics as well as scopes with magnification. First off, this is why you need to sight in any type of optic before you use it. Second, unless you want to waste a ton of ammo, this is why you want to bore sight an optic before you do the final adjustments.

“Bore Sighting” refers to looking down the bore, seeing the target and roughly dialing on the elevation and windage of the optic. This was never perfect but it at least got you on the paper at 25-50 yards you could then start dialing in the scope and backing up to whatever range you wanted to dial the scope in for. This method worked fine if you could actually remove the bolt and look down the scope, such as a bolt action rifle. It doesn’t work for semi-autos where you typically have a closed rear receiver and can’t look down the bore. It also doesn’t work for folks like me who can’t see the broad side of a bright red barn when trying to look down a bore.

The industry responded with all kinds of gizmos to help improve the process ranging from calibrated collimeters that let you roughly sight in by pointing at some target held up from the end of the barrel. That lasted for a few years until lasers started getting affordable and then models started popping up that either went in the muzzle with some form of collet to help center the shaft in the barrel or there were ones that approximated the shape of a given round and went in the chamber. The accuracy of either one greatly depended on the quality control of the manufacturer. In general, they worked and were really simple – put the laser in, turn it on and then dial in your scope to where the red dot was showing.

Pros: Simple, cheap, did the job Cons: acccuracy was highly dependent on how well the manufacturer made the unit, they are impacted by how well the inside of the muzzle device aligns with the barrel and the red laser faded out quickly in bright light and because they all use button cells of varying sizes the battery life might be short – especially the fake cartridge units. Note, a number of the muzzle end manufacturers do offer green lasers and that helps. Bottom line, they do the job and I do favor the muzzle end devices more provided they are from a quality manufacturer.

Then along came Wheeler Engineering with relatively large green laser unit with a strong magnet that sticks on the face of the muzzle (the end of the barrel). This got away from issues with the muzzle end units not centering and the frequent poor quality of the imported fake cartridge units. The green laser is powered by a relatively large CR123A battery that is the same used in many tactical lights. I should point out that they make a red laser version too but if I had to pick I would go with the green laser as your eye can see it easier and it reflects from further away.

This is the Wheeler laser bore sighter and it is the green laser unit. Note, I have a bettery in the unit and a spare Surefire CR123A in the holder. Steer clear of no-name cheap CR123A units as they have had issues in the past and caught fire, burst, etc.

I’ve used it for a few years now (I bought it in 2019) and have found two issues that affect it. First, the end of the barrel or your muzzle device (flash hider, muzzle brake, and so forth must be steel for the magnet to stick to it. By the way, I am not impressed by how aluminum muzzle devices hold up over time and just buy steel whenever I can.

The second shortcoming is that the manufacturer of the muzzle device and/or the barrel must have created a true end meaning the end of the barrel, the thread, the muzzle device – they must all result in an end of the barrel/muzzle device that is perpendicular to the barrel. The worst offenders in my experience are the muzzle devices because their positioning depends both on how well the threads were but on the barrel plus how well the device was made. Some combinations are better than others. If I were to make a generalization, unthreaded barrel muzzle faces from a quality manufacturer tend to be pretty true.

This is a quality Ballistic Advantage 20″ 5.56 DMR barrel. I’d expect its threads to be cut properly. The next variable would be how well the muzzle device engages the threads and how square the end of it is.
This is a IWI Galil Ace in .308. In a favorable nod to their manufacturing the factory barrel and brake yielded a remarkably close test pattern at 25 yards. I’m always amazed when boresighting is within inches and then going to range yields initial rounds within a6 inches of the expected center and this one did.
This is the strong magnet that secures the laser boresight to the end of the barrel or muzzle device. It’s also why either end would need to be steel for it to magnetically attach.
Here’s the unit secured to the end of a PSA barrel and PSA bird cage brake. It did the basic job of getting the rifle on paper with it’s Vortex UH-1 optic.
The power button is on top of the battery compartment and you can see the green laser hitting the off-white plastic cup. I like to sight in when the sun isn’t bright so I can get out 25-50 yards.

As with the other bore sighting devices, this unit will get you in the ballpark. Because of the factors above, you might be on the paper at 100 yards but you are better starting off at 50 and working things out from there.

By the way, one tip of any of them is to do your boresighting early in the morning or at dusk but not in the bright light of day. You can reach out 25-50+ yards and see the dot enough to do the initial sighting.

As a closing comment – none of them are perfect because they were all designed to be approximations. The final sighting must be done by you with the rounds you expect to use because a ton of variable will affect where you bullet actuall hits – your cheek weld, your trigger pull, factors with the bolt and barrel, how consistent the ammo is, the weight of the bullets, etc. My goal is to save some ammo and at least hit the target so I don’t have to shoot so many rounds to dial in the final settings and then begin working out firing solutions for different ranges.

In Conclusion

There actually isn’t a perfect solution – I mainly use the Wheeler Pro Green Laser Boresighter when I can but I still have a couple of good muzzle end units that I use when the muzzle device is aluminum. I know one unit is from LaserLyte and I really do not recall who the other is from. I do not use the dummy cartridge units after a few disappointing tries.

So, if you haven’t tried a Wheeler Pro boresighter and are in the market, I like mine.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.