As far as I know you need a barrel press which makes it hard for a hobbyist

 

Nope, the barrel screws in you need a press for a HK 91.
If you can use calipers and get the receiver wrench it's super easy for those mechanically inclined you need a GOOD vice I built on in early 2000 and it was easy kits were also plentiful and Imbel gear logo receivers were cheap. if you get a good kit and have a good receiver the receiver wrench can be found on equipment exchange boards for rent or just lending out. Good luck and have fun. Best finish is to park then use a shiny black gun paint looks just like the originals.

 

here is the tool list from years past.
this site has great info
http://www.cruffler.com/trivia-April01-tools.html

 

here is the build guide
http://www.cruffler.com/trivia-April01-assembly.html

 

And the AK uses a press also.

 

And the AK uses a press also.

I have seen them both done with the frozen barrel heated Trunion method amazing what garage gun smithing can produce

 

One more a tech manual I used found online .
if you are looking at the PSA kits my understanding is that many have parts that are unsuitable for use with crushed threads and missing parts .
https://gooddebate.org/sin/mirror/l...or/library/weapons/firearms/manuals/fn_fal___l1a1_home_gunsmithing_-_graham.pdf

 

I built one about 25 years ago--L1A1--same thing using an inch pattern Enterprise receiver. IIRC the locking shoulder was the only part that caused problems as this determines headspace and most kits only come with one...which might or might not work with your new receiver. The factory uses a series of numbered parts of varying thickness but you won't have that available to you and might end up inly finding the correct part after a lengthy series of trial and error as you order different thickness parts. If you get one oversized as mine was you can have it surface ground to the correct dimension at a machine shop. (I had a friend with a surface grinder). You have to be sure to leave the headspace long--so it almost closes on a field gauge. FALs' are notorious for stretching once fire brass and there is a reason for that....a large chamber aids reliability. You don't want a tight chamber on any semi-auto rifle. Not even an AR10. I didn't use an action wrench as the flat sides of the receiver were quite stable in a bench vise with some leather jaws. IIRC the torque specs weren't that high either. More timing than anything. Mine shot perfectly--no issues.

 

You need a receiver wrench, barrel vise/clamp, headspace gauges, and pin gauges. The hardest part is getting the barrel timed exactly right and setting the headspace, that's what the pin gauges are for.
Setting the headspace seems a little confusing at first but after you get the process figured out it's not hard to do. I recomend using only the GO gauge to set headspace and after installing the correct locking shoulder check it with the NO Go gauge. Some people try to use both gauges to set headspace and it confuses the process. You want the headspace to fall between GO and NO GO on a new build.

 

I built one about 25 years ago--L1A1--same thing using an inch pattern Enterprise receiver. IIRC the locking shoulder was the only part that caused problems as this determines headspace and most kits only come with one...which might or might not work with your new receiver. The factory uses a series of numbered parts of varying thickness but you won't have that available to you and might end up inly finding the correct part after a lengthy series of trial and error as you order different thickness parts. If you get one oversized as mine was you can have it surface ground to the correct dimension at a machine shop. (I had a friend with a surface grinder). You have to be sure to leave the headspace long--so it almost closes on a field gauge. FALs' are notorious for stretching once fire brass and there is a reason for that....a large chamber aids reliability. You don't want a tight chamber on any semi-auto rifle. Not even an AR10. I didn't use an action wrench as the flat sides of the receiver were quite stable in a bench vise with some leather jaws. IIRC the torque specs weren't that high either. More timing than anything. Mine shot perfectly--no issues.

Don't know where you got wanting the headspace close to the field gauge but that is NOT correct. You want the headspace on a new build to be between GO and NO GO. If you are using commercial 308 gauges you want to add .002 to headspace for use of military 762x51 but also most say you need to Subtract .001 for setback of the locking shoulder so you really only add .001. If I remember right headspace of 1.630 is 308 and 1.632 is 762x51. Headspace of 1.632 is what most aim for for use of both 308 and 762x51 ammo. Personally I try to set all mine to 1.630 for better accuracy and longer life and I have never had a problem. You do not want a new rifle anywhere close to field gauge which can be anywhere between 1.636 and 1.640 depending on who you ask. Though I wouldn't be scared to shoot any working FAL with headspace between 1.630 and 1.640.
Oh, almost forgot NO GO is 1.634.

 

How many .308 semi-auto rifles have you barreled?

 

My FAL ended up being 1.632 after initial shooting and it was still there 4 years later. BTW the locking piece provided in my kit (Imbel) worked just fine although not many are that lucky


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I built one about 25 years ago--L1A1--same thing using an inch pattern Enterprise receiver. IIRC the locking shoulder was the only part that caused problems as this determines headspace and most kits only come with one...which might or might not work with your new receiver. The factory uses a series of numbered parts of varying thickness but you won't have that available to you and might end up inly finding the correct part after a lengthy series of trial and error as you order different thickness parts. If you get one oversized as mine was you can have it surface ground to the correct dimension at a machine shop. (I had a friend with a surface grinder). You have to be sure to leave the headspace long--so it almost closes on a field gauge. FALs' are notorious for stretching once fire brass and there is a reason for that....a large chamber aids reliability. You don't want a tight chamber on any semi-auto rifle. Not even an AR10. I didn't use an action wrench as the flat sides of the receiver were quite stable in a bench vise with some leather jaws. IIRC the torque specs weren't that high either. More timing than anything. Mine shot perfectly--no issues.

Out of curiosity how did you turn the barrel , I used vice blocks to clamp my barrel and turned the receiver , as the flats on the barrel did not look substantial enough to get bite on them with a wrench.


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Out of curiosity how did you turn the barrel , I used vice blocks to clamp my barrel and turned the receiver , as the flats on the barrel did not look substantial enough to get bite on them with a wrench.


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Used the flats on the barrel....worked fine. You can also make yourself a barrel clamp using a couple pieces of 2X4--search on youtube for a homemade barrel clamp.

Also, I was wrong about what we machined. The barrel times on the receiver via the thickness of a washer or spacer. This is the numbered part and the way it works is you hand tighten the barrel until its about 30 degrees shy of lining up. Then you torque it down the rest of the way to gain alignment with the gas system and sights. The washer or spacer is what we had to surface grind based on the amount of correction we had to apply to get the barrel to time properly. The locking lug is indeed another part that needs to be properly sized and at the factory they would have an assortment of different sizes to test the fit.

Don't worry what the other guy said about headspace and a Field Gauge. I've rebarreled my match M1As and other semi-auto guns with some of the most respected names in the barrel making business and they all will set headspace on a semi-auto to close with some thumb pressure on a bolt with a no-go gauge. Gene Barnett is a guy I have spent some time with and he rebarreled thousands of match grade M1 and M14 rifles for the highpower community.. The Field gauge is the milspec standard on every semi-auto firearm ever produced. I promise... The no-go gauge is fine for a civilian bolt action rifle but only a little dirt on that close of tolerances will render the gun useless. There's not a FAL in existence you can't close the bolt on a no-go gauge...My DSA FAL sitting right in front of me included.

 

How to build a top notch FAL:

Save money
Buy a SCAR 17

 

And end up with another “tactical” plastic 7.62 rifle with a rail...

SCARs are excellent rifles, just don’t have the draw that an FAL does IMO.

 

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OP- Check with Mark Graham
(GunPlumber) in Arizona as he’s the go-to-guy for FAL advice/work. The FAL Files has been down since 7/8 but should be back up soon and there’s a wealth of info over there.

 

The metric FAL I built did not have a washer between the Barrel and receiver it went hand tight to about 30 degrees and torqued to TDC with a breaker bar.

 

As said Mark Graham, ARS, Arizona Response Systems. He's not the most sociable person around but he knows his FAL and I hear he has a great instructional video you can buy.

 

DS Arms out of Lake Barrington Illinois are great guys and experts on the FAL.

I would start there.

 

OP, if you thought building an AK was a nightmare, the FAL build may not be for you.

 

What are you talking about FAL Much easier than an AK ,riveting sucks


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OP, maybe this will help answer your question:

Back when full, barreled Imbel kits were $199 (I missed out on the $99 kits), I built two. Am NOT a gunsmith but wanted to give it a whirl. Bought the receiver wrench, pin gauges, op spring and extractor tools, and off I went. I wore out the FALFiles forums by reading everything I could find on building. Didn't have to ask many questions because so much was already there. Got my first one together and still shoot it today without ever having any issues. The finish sucks because I learned how to NOT do things. The second build was a project I did with my son and he still has his.

Both builds were on DSA receivers and I used DSA and Falcon Arms for sources of required US made parts. I can't exactly recall but I think I used all new springs in both builds.

The build process is nowhere as easy as an AR build but isn't so hard that "I" couldn't do it. If you can't replace the brakes on your car/truck, you might be best not trying a FAL build.