Parts and Tool for Building the FAL at Home

Building a FAL at home requires a significant investment in parts and tooling, some of it specialized for the task at hand, some general.  In the course of researching and building FAL's, we came across some excellent products.   Our favorites are noted below, along with the source, pricing information and a "buy rating."  The buy rating is a numeric scale ranging from 0 to 10 as follows:

0 = This thing is more toxic than plutonium.  Stay away.  Stay far, far away.
1 = Not only doesn't it do what it says it will, you're going to hurt yourself trying
2 = Unsuited for the stated purpose
3 = It tried to work, but broke in the process
4 = It looks like it should work.  You might get it to work.  We couldn't.
5 = It worked, but that's about it.
6 = Good product, could be improved, no better than competitors products
7 = Very good product; a few less than desirable features.
8 = Excellent product
9 = Excellent product that does everything we could ask from it and then some.
10 = Mortgage the house, sell the car, but you have to have one of these!
 

TOOL or PART	SOURCE	PRICE	COMMENTS	BUY RATING (0 - 10)
Entreprise Arms  Metric Receivers	Entreprise Arms 626.962.8712	$329.00 (Type 01) $239.00 (Type 03)	Entreprise advertises their receivers as requiring only that the barrel be torqued, the headspace be set, and the remainder of the parts be assembled in order to be shootable.  After building several guns on Entreprise receivers, we have to agree.  The dimensions and tolerances were perfect.  Machined from a 4140 chrome-moly steel casting,  the Type 01 and Type 03 metric receivers we worked with, were perfect reproductions of the Belgian originals with no flaws to be found either in the metal or the finish.   Working with these receivers was as easy if not easier than working with the Imbel receiver we compared them to.	9
Elliott Enterprises FAL Metric Receiver Wrench	Elliott Enterprises 972.790.2636	$75.00	Can you say "indispensable?"  It's safe to say that had we not had an Elliott Enterprises receiver wrench, we'd have been unable to build a single rifle.  We used this wrench to install and time barrels as well as for removing the receiver stub from StG58 barrels.  The wrench is manufactured from hot rolled carbon steel.  It consists of two pieces, an upper and a lower half with a 3/8" bolt on either side connecting the 2 pieces.  The pieces are contoured in the middle for the receiver.  Each wrench produced is hand filed and smoothed to ensure that there are no sharp edges abrading or scratching the  receiver. Once milling and filing is completed, the wrench is parkerized and stamped "FAL METRIC."  Each wrench has a 3/4" square hole in the top for a breaker bar or torque wrench.  Since it's much less expensive to buy a 1/2" breaker bar, the company recommends that one employ a converter on a 1/2" bar. Elliott Enterprises offers a  money back guarantee on each wrench:  If for any reason it is broken in use, a new one will be sent at no cost.	10
Elliott Enterprises FAL Locking Shoulder Sizing Rods	Elliott Enterprises 972.790.2636	$89.95	You don't need Elliott Enterprises' locking shoulder sizing rods to successfully build a FAL.  You do have the option of pounding in the locking shoulder that came with your kit and HOPING that it works, and, if it doesn't pounding another one in, and hoping that one works.  That's a lot of pounding.  If you're lucky, you won't damage the receiver, the locking shoulder or yourself.  The sizing rods make the job much easier.  The rods are made of hardened tool steel, machined so that each rod has six different diameters (for a total of 12) ranging from .2454" to .2765".  By sliding the rods into the locking shoulder recess in the receiver, and using them in conjunction with GO and NO-GO headspace gauges, it's possible to determine a range of locking shoulders that will fit your needs without all the time and effort involved with seating a number of shoulders.	8
Starrett Pin Punches	Brownells 641.623.4000	$33.50	Simply put, a set of pin punches is a required item for building a FAL.  At the very least a large punch is needed for seating the locking shoulder, a small punch for installing the pins that retain the cocking handle lug and gas tube, and one that's in between for a little assistance with the locking catch retaining pin and the fire control assembly.  The Starrett set is precision ground from specially selected tool steel, hardened and highly polished.  We found them to be well proportioned and beautifully finished. The grip area is blued and knurled, and each punch is individually marked for size. The 8 punch set comes in a  handy, fitted, round, hardwood bench box.  Included in the set are punches of the following diameters: 1/16" (1.6mm) 3/32" (2.4cm) 1/8" (3.2mm) 5/32" (4.0mm) 3/16" (4.8mm) 7/32" (5.5mm) 1/4" (6.3mm) 5/16" (7.9mm).	8
The FAL Rifle, by R. Blake Stevens	Collector Grade Publications 905.342.3434	$129.95	While this could be the ultimate gun book.  It *IS* the ultimate FAL reference. Actually, it's three gun books combined in one, covering the development of the FAL in North America (Canada and the United States, the inch pattern FAL's of the British Commonwealth, and the Metric FAL.  The book exhaustively covers every facet of the rifle:  History, development, technical data, firing characteristics, variants. . . . you name it, it's in there.  The book is richly illustrated in a clever an intuitive manner that amplifies the well written text. While expensive, this is one accessory the true FAL-phile cannot afford to do without!  More importantly, it is the gift that truly keeps on giving.  We've read it three times, and we still discover new information every time we pick it up!	10

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