[DELMILTRUCKS]

as other posts mention here that it does not matter how large your collection is, that is a true fact when it comes to the 1919. i must be humble and admit--i am a newbee to this one--but never had so much fun before!
maybe someone can give me some insight. i have an izzy semi a4 and the only way that i can headspace is by pulling everything appart in order to turn the barrel. it is virtually impossible to rotate the barrel with the gun assembled. the tutorial says that i can simply rotate by clicks. in my case, the barrel lock that resides in the bbl extension and lays in the lineal groves in the barrel which maintain the headspace adjustmentwill in no way allow the barrel to be rotated. therefore i must take the barrel lock(if this is the right term) out of the barrel extension, reassemble the gun, headspace, then mark the barrel with a sharpie to make sure that i i do not accidentally rotate the barrel when i pull it all apart again to reinstall the "barrel lock". this becomes a real pain but always needs to be done when i switch ammo brands or lots.

it seems that there should be some sort of shoe to ride in the detents or groves of the barrel however, there is not enough clearance between the barrel and the side to allow me to even pry the lock away from the groves far enough as it is. i really appreciate any help here bernie

 

[RICKI]

You must headspace the face of the barrel..I like the Israel locking spring the best..Who cares about time ?? Safety is more important..The Israel locking spring is the best..It will not move...

 

[57Strat]

To make your life easy, you need the 1919 head space wrench from the below URL. Once you have the wrench to assist you, you can take a long thin screw driver and pry out the barrel locking tang, and then easily turn the barrel with the head-space wrench offered below. Without the wrench, it's just too difficult to try to turn the barrel and pry the tang at the same time with only two hands.

Note: Prying the tang out of the barrel notch is tricky given the extremely limited space available, but once you figure it out, you can do it pretty easily. You have to apply slight pressure with the wrench as you pry the tang out of it's notch. Once the tang clears, it will allow you to rotate the barrel one notch (then repeat if you need to move it more notches). Also note that the locking tang will slide forward and rearward a slight amount in it's notch (maybe 1/8th inch). It's easier to get the tang to clear the barrel notches when you slide the tang as far forward as possible. OR....you may have to slide it rearward if your particular barrel has a slight front to rear taper to the barrel notches.


Note 2: Some here on this board modify the barrel locking tang by grinding the square tang locking surface into a rounded point, which allows you to turn the barrel with a wrench and have the tang click past the notches in a click detent fashion, yet the modified tang still offers adequate resistance to keep the barrel from turning during firing. CAUTION: It is very important that you insure that the barrel remains firmly locked in it's head-spaced position. If the barrel were to loosen during firing, it will result in severe damage to your gun and possibly you.


http://www.jjcustom.net/products.html

 

[Nosegunner]

Should you want to headspace with the parts outside the gun. Here's an early tutorial. The barrel locking spring varies, but the principle is the same.

Generally the parts are already outside the gun when headspacing is required, such as a barrel change.

 

[mcj600]

there's the problem - I didn't wear my suit & cufflinks!
really though, that's a great article nosegunner, thanks.
mcj600

 

[loboslanding]

Demil, I cannot emphasize and recommend enough that you read the headspacing tutorial on the home page in it's entirety and this thread http://www.1919a4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=818 ...especially #3. If you do read the tutorial you will find this photo which addresses your frustration. Grind it . I grind everyone I come into contact with. The spring on the right is an original GI and on the left the Izzy. Grind yours to look like the right one. Take as little off the tip as you can to just round it off. After you grind it, if it's a tad short and doesn't quite engage the barrel teeth then leave it sticking out about 1/4" and bend it down with a hammer until it engages the teeth good and leave it there...it can't come out. If after you grind it you have it too pointed and the barrel won't turn with a screwdriver (in both directions) then remove it and round it a tad more and bend it down a tad more until you get good teeth engagement and a nice crisp "click" in BOTH directions. At the build party this past weekend I ground a bunch of them and after you do one you can do them in about a minute.

In August at 95 degrees at the range the last thing I'm gonna do is fight that dang spring.

 

[DELMILTRUCKS]

i can't thank you guys enough-it worked!

thankyou all for all the tips and info. i really appreciate everyones input!
i just finished reconfiguring the spring as per loboslanding's instructions and presto! now i can honestly say that headspacing is fun--well sort of. at least it is not the disassembly/reassembly chore that it was.
i was contemplating doing this in the past but was concerned with breaking the spring due to its temper, but i had no problem. super nice possitive clicks!

gee i guess you can all tell that i am excited here huh? again thanks to everone bernie

 

[loboslanding]

 

[Luke]

I have doing mine like Nosegunner posted and it works fine.

 

[Beltfire]

Headspace

Why does everyone have to make so much to do about headspacing the gun. It is getting so old. The Isreali detent is the most reliable. It was made that way so that it would never move. If you want to risk undetected movement in the adjustment then go ahead and grind it down. Learn how to disassemble the gun and adjust the headspace according to the field method.
Once the gun is running smoothly you will never have to re-adjust the gun. I have had my FA for over a year now and have never had to re-adjust the head spacing. Learn how your gun works, set the headspacing and forget about it. Gees!!!
Sorry, Ill get down from my soapbox now.

 

[JD0270]

Yeah it takes about 2min maximum to pull the barrel from the rear and adjust the headspace.

 

[loboslanding]

"I have had my FA for over a year now and have never had to re-adjust the head spacing."

How do you disassemble a gun for cleaning and never have to reset the headspace?

 

[57Strat]

"I have had my FA for over a year now and have never had to re-adjust the head spacing."

How do you disassemble a gun for cleaning and never have to reset the headspace?

When I clean mine, I just leave the barrel in the barrel extension after pulling it out of the receiver. This poses no issues for cleaning the barrel and barrel extension, and that way the head space stays set because the barrel locking tang still holds the barrel firmly in place.

 

[loboslanding]

Oh..............

 

[DELMILTRUCKS]

sorry to have started something

i just wanted to mention that i am sorry that i caused some contention on this site. i did follow the headspace instructions as listed in the faq section. also my ww2 tm mentions that i can simply rotate the barrel. i just thought i would get some experienced input on what i should do.--which i feel i did. someone mentioned that i should learn to field strip the gun--i do, that is how i had to headspace the thing in the past. they also mentioned that once it is set it is fine. i would just like to mention that even with lake city ammo, different year production runs showed considerable headspace difference. i will probably have more questions in the future. i hope i do not upset anyone here by asking a question that may have been asked in the past. again thanks to everyone

 

[JD0270]

I just turn mine all the way in, and count the clicks out(12 for my gun), wich is easy because I don't have the notched spring, its rounded, and so are my barrel groves(30-06). Also I noticed my chamber must be quite deep, as it has never headspaced on the actual cartrige, only on the face of the barrel chamber. So far 3 reloads on the brass and no indication of dammage to the brass.

 

[Beltfire]

i just wanted to mention that i am sorry that i caused some contention on this site. i did follow the headspace instructions as listed in the faq section. also my ww2 tm mentions that i can simply rotate the barrel. i just thought i would get some experienced input on what i should do.--which i feel i did. someone mentioned that i should learn to field strip the gun--i do, that is how i had to headspace the thing in the past. they also mentioned that once it is set it is fine. i would just like to mention that even with lake city ammo, different year production runs showed considerable headspace difference. i will probably have more questions in the future. i hope i do not upset anyone here by asking a question that may have been asked in the past. again thanks to everyone

No problem. I just wanted to make the point that the reason you are not able to rotate the barrel in your Izzy is because they didn't want it to rotate loose in the first place. Rounding and shortening the spring seems to me to be an unnecessary and possibly risky option. We have had so many unexplained explosions and questions about the spring and headspacing that I just don't see how it's worth the risk to modify a proven design. I have yet to have to reset the headspace inorder to use any brand of ammo including my own. I resize to the B/P high with a case gage and my gun runs like a champ and the brass lasts almost forever. Have fun Dude. Welcome to the world of opinions. One time I thought I was wrong but I was mistaken. LOL

 

[Beltfire]

When I clean mine, I just leave the barrel in the barrel extension after pulling it out of the receiver. This poses no issues for cleaning the barrel and barrel extension, and that way the head space stays set because the barrel locking tang still holds the barrel firmly in place.

Me too. Also the correct notch is marked on all my barrels by a center punch.

 

[57Strat]

Me too. Also the correct notch is marked on all my barrels by a center punch.

I do the same, mostly as a safety measure in-case I do something stupid when assembling the gun, or to alert me of the remote chance that the barrel locking tang got broken. There is nothing wrong with being cautious when the consequences of an incorrect headspace adjustment is a face full of top-cover or pieces of brass/metal in the family jewels.

 

[Beltfire]

I just turn mine all the way in, and count the clicks out(12 for my gun), wich is easy because I don't have the notched spring, its rounded, and so are my barrel groves(30-06). Also I noticed my chamber must be quite deep, as it has never headspaced on the actual cartrige, only on the face of the barrel chamber. So far 3 reloads on the brass and no indication of dammage to the brass.

That my good friend is a risky method if you have more that one barrel. The chamber is reamed to a tolerance in relation to the end of the barrel. The shoulder created by the end of the theads has no reliable relationship to the headspacing of the chamber. Again, Rotate the barrel in till the bolt will no longer lock into battery. Then rotate it out one click at a time till the action locks into battery. Then rotate it out 2 more clicks. On rare occations one more click out may be necessary.