Ambi-safety is rough

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03-15-10, 15:28
Zhurdan

Ambi-safety is rough

Ok, so I bought an ambidextrous safety for my Noveske 10.5". The safety switch that was in it ran smooth as silk, but this new one seems to drag quite a bit. It's far more "sticky" or rough than the original. I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts as to why this is the case.

I've installed one before on another rifle (but didn't take the short cut I'm about to mention) with no issues and this installation went well, but I didn't have any real instructions. This time, I just released some pressure off the detent spring by partially pulling the pistol grip away from the receiver and rotating the original safety to 45 degrees and pulling it out. Then installed the ambi and snugged up the grip.

It may sound silly, but I'm just sitting here at work and wondering what the hell could be so damn different between the parts to cause this. I've only got about 15 minutes after work before I'm supposed to go run some drills with a few buddies so I thought I'd pick your brains.

1. Will the detent go completely thru the receiver if there is still spring pressure on it and the old safety is removed?
I fear if it will, I may not have heard it fall or seen anything. I've got a spare and this will be an easy fix if it's even on the radar as a possibility.

A slightly unrelated question, but I noticed this during the installation process.

2. The fire control group (tail of the trigger) seems to be just a bit off center. Is this normal or should I pull it apart before something decides it doesn't want to be there anymore?

Prior, the rifles been running like a champ, I just don't want to be damaging anything since I haven't shot it since installing the new safety and noticing the askew trigger tail.

Thanks in advance.
03-15-10, 16:21
C4IGrant

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhurdan

Ok, so I bought an ambidextrous safety for my Noveske 10.5". The safety switch that was in it ran smooth as silk, but this new one seems to drag quite a bit. It's far more "sticky" or rough than the original. I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts as to why this is the case.

I've installed one before on another rifle (but didn't take the short cut I'm about to mention) with no issues and this installation went well, but I didn't have any real instructions. This time, I just released some pressure off the detent spring by partially pulling the pistol grip away from the receiver and rotating the original safety to 45 degrees and pulling it out. Then installed the ambi and snugged up the grip.

It may sound silly, but I'm just sitting here at work and wondering what the hell could be so damn different between the parts to cause this. I've only got about 15 minutes after work before I'm supposed to go run some drills with a few buddies so I thought I'd pick your brains.

1. Will the detent go completely thru the receiver if there is still spring pressure on it and the old safety is removed?
I fear if it will, I may not have heard it fall or seen anything. I've got a spare and this will be an easy fix if it's even on the radar as a possibility.

Not fully sure what your asking, but the answer is no. The selector detent will not fly out of the lower.

Quote:

2. The fire control group (tail of the trigger) seems to be just a bit off center. Is this normal or should I pull it apart before something decides it doesn't want to be there anymore?

Off center where? As it rides under the selector?

Quote:

Prior, the rifles been running like a champ, I just don't want to be damaging anything since I haven't shot it since installing the new safety and noticing the askew trigger tail.

Thanks in advance.

If the selector rotates from safe to fire, and the trigger does NOT go foward when in the safe position, you have nothing to be concerned about.

C4
03-15-10, 16:29
Zhurdan

Quote:

Originally Posted by C4IGrant

Not fully sure what your asking, but the answer is no. The selector detent will not fly out of the lower.

Perfect. I figured the hole where it comes in contact with the safety was tapered. Just didn't want to tear down the grip and everything if i could find an answer without doing so being I have limited time today.

Quote:

Off center where? As it rides under the selector?

If looking straight down into the receiver with the upper removed, the rear of the trigger assembly where the disconnector rides between, it is not centered within the body of the receiver. It's not much, but noticeable with the naked eye.

Quote:

If the selector rotates from safe to fire, and the trigger does NOT go foward when in the safe position, you have nothing to be concerned about.
C4

The rifle passes a function check (safety too), and it may very well have been that way for a while. Installing a safety shouldn't have had anything to do with those parts, I just noticed it when I was installing the safety.

It may just need to be worked over a bit. I cleaned the part well, lubed and installed it so it's not any residue or anything like that, it just doesn't feel as "clean" as the original part.

Thanks.
03-15-10, 18:18
seb5

Over the years I've had 2 issues with various ambi safeties. FWIW I've had the best luck with DPMS ambi's, go figure. Anyway, occasionally there will be some slag or flash in the groove of the safety. A needle file and dental pick is what I use for this. The other problem has occurred where the safety is very difficult to switch on and off. It seemed to me that the hole at the end of the groove and the groove itself in the safety was deeper than normal and it seemed that the point of the detent was dragging. In this case I took a small diamond file and took off the point of the detent just a bit so it. I don't know if this is the "correct" manner to fix this but it worked and the safety had had about 3000 rounds since without incident.