[frazer42]

Ok, I made my bfa from an original 17A1 bfa TiG'd to an extra bushing for my '28 water jacket. Fits perfectly and the barrel unlock co-incides with the relief holes in the bfa. Great. Do I need to have extra packing to prevent blow by into the jacket or does this even matter? The manual says nothing about what this will do to the packings. I assume it's no biggie cuz the Army did it for years, but I can't requisition a new, F/A 1917A1. Also, who here is good at re-bushing a water jacket with the threads blown out! Just in case I 'F this up real good. Any and all opinions, facts, and thoughts will be much obliged. Thanks, Frazer42

 

[biggerboreman]

What you have made will probably work OK, but for U.S. GI-spec blanks only. If the gun short cycles with the above blanks, you made need to weld up some of the gas escape holes in the BFA. The best packing is asbestos, and next-best is teflon string used for pipe packing (1/8 inch dia.). Dont use 0-rings, as they will break and cause you no end of hair-pulling. With the above packing, installed correctly, back pressure is not a problem. Packing is a craft learned from experience, but the object is to have it tight, but not so tight you can't manually pull the bolt back and have it go back forward. If you are a re-enactor, and you encounter HOT .30-06 motion picture blanks made BAR's, DO NOT USE THEM or you will destroy your gun. I've been building and renting MG's for movies for 20 years, and if you have any questions, please e-mail me at [email protected]. Good Luck!

 

[frazer42]

It works!

FYI, after a little jacking-with, my '17A1 runs sweet on 30-06 crimped blanks. The only drawback is the filthy condition it leaves my end-cap in, black as the ace of spades. I used an "0" ring to keep the crap out of my packings and slathered blue wheeel bearing grease on it to help. Thanks for looking! J