BR99 10 shot magazine fettling
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 5:17 pm
The BR99 10 round magazine to magazine well fit has always been a bit of an issue, the 5 shot is reasonable however the 10 shot is marginally larger which leads to all sorts of problems and the traditional approach to remedy this is some quality time with a variety of files. This all well and good however you end up with either a 10 shot that fits and a 5 shot that rocks and causes feed issues or a 5 shot that fits and a 10 shot that is just too tight.
In the past I have carefully dressed the rougher edges of the 10 shot magazines and then equally carefully touched them up with gun blue, yes it made a difference however time would still be needed with the files on the magazine well so today I decided to experiment…
First job is strip the magazine and it was whilst doing this I noticed the follower was quite tight, the follower has a pin across it which just stands proud and forces the plastic out very slightly, this is easily sorted with a diamond file and once the sides were smoothed out I could start on the magazine body itself. My past polishing antics are well documented and one of the machines carries a 150mm ultra fine Scotbrite wheel, it is not something I use very often however it does come in handy on occasions and seemed like a logical tool to test with.
I removed the sharp edges and smoothed the surfaces down to just past where the mouth of the magazine well sits paying close attention to the edges and periodically testing in a BR99 lower and was pleasantly pleased with the improvement it gave so a bit more effort and I ended up with this. A smooth satin finish without any perceptible burrs or rough edges
A good clean up and wipe over with Acetone and the job was completed with some cold gun blue and a light oiling to stop the surface rusting and it was good to go. The change is quite dramatic and this is certainly something I will experiment further with on both the 10 and 5 round magazines and I look forward to some feedback from the owner.
In the past I have carefully dressed the rougher edges of the 10 shot magazines and then equally carefully touched them up with gun blue, yes it made a difference however time would still be needed with the files on the magazine well so today I decided to experiment…
First job is strip the magazine and it was whilst doing this I noticed the follower was quite tight, the follower has a pin across it which just stands proud and forces the plastic out very slightly, this is easily sorted with a diamond file and once the sides were smoothed out I could start on the magazine body itself. My past polishing antics are well documented and one of the machines carries a 150mm ultra fine Scotbrite wheel, it is not something I use very often however it does come in handy on occasions and seemed like a logical tool to test with.
I removed the sharp edges and smoothed the surfaces down to just past where the mouth of the magazine well sits paying close attention to the edges and periodically testing in a BR99 lower and was pleasantly pleased with the improvement it gave so a bit more effort and I ended up with this. A smooth satin finish without any perceptible burrs or rough edges
