I was at a gun show last weekend (yes, we still have gun shows in Commiefornia) and saw a top cover with Northridge. It looked like a 1919 but the top nut had a screw in it rather than a pin with cotter pin assembly to hold the lever in place. It was right next to some M37 top covers which had the big blocky lockup in the rear but the ones I'm refering to had what looked like a regular 1919 surface for the rear lock face. Was this screw assembly a later product improvement over the pin/cotter system that sometimes fails when the pin breaks or works out (had this happen twice to me). Anybody know?
Saw a top cover
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I had a couple of top covers with the screws, and quite a few more with the pins. I always thought the screwed versions were the original type, and the pins came later because the screws tended to loosen and get lost. Now I'm not sure, as the 50 BMG uses twisted wire to secure screws on the RSG, mush like the pincs hold on the top cover. So maybe the pins version was the original? Anyone know for sure? Dolf's book must have something on that listed somewhere....
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The originals are the one with the screw. There is a headed pin that slides through from the top, and is secured by the set screw. That is the USGI assembly. Sometimes a lock washer is used as well.
The type we see on the Izzy kits, with the taper headed pin inserted up from the belt feed lever and pinned over a washer, is an Izzy modification. The worst part is the cut a chamfer in the belt feed lever to interface with the pin's head.
My guess is that this was done to overcome what some perceived as a drawback to the original design. That is, after a little wear, the lever can droop down a bit when the top cover is open, as it is held only by the fit of the pin through the hole. It does not affect function, but it can require one to watch that the lever is in its correct position when closing the cover. Doesn't bother me, and I don't like the Izzy design, but I understand why they did it.
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Rollin is correct. The Isreali modification came about to reuse worn feed levers. Once they were champhered, the original pin axis hole no longer mattered. Very smart in my book. I still prefer the original design and pick those parts for our builds.
Dan
Dan
I was unaware there was any other type than the one with the screw. The entire assembly of the pivot including the screw is 6 parts See page 47 figure 5-25 and 5.26, TM 9-1005-212-35, Sep 65 ot TM 9-1005-212-25, June 69, page 80 figure B-10. Figure B-11 shows the pivot for the M37 which was a pin type. Most of these parts are available from SARCO and Numrich if you wish to convert back to the original type.
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