DIY S&W 15-22 mods

[trueg50]

I thought I would share the cheap DIY mods I have done, and hopefully get others to share their idea's. The only catch; total cost per mod has to be about $15 or less.

First mod I did was thought up by "Jsimmons" (his instructions located here).

Cost: $5-10 for Aluminum tape

Second mod was to polish the hammer to make for a much smoother action (at least when manually chambering rounds). This I did this by removing the upper receiver, pulling the trigger to bring the hammer forward, stuffing paper towels into the lower (to keep out metal shavings). Then using women's emery boards ( the pink ones, 240 then 360 grit) I polished until the hammer had a nice shine. Remember this is about polishing, not removing lots of metal.

Cost: ~$5 for 2 emery boards.

Look forward to hearing about other ideas!

 

[QuadCam]

What is the purpose of the aluminum tape?

 

[CPTBeaker]

I can understand the tape on the tube to eliminate play and tighten up the stock - for those that have problems with a loose stock.

....but what is the purpose of polishing the face of the hammer? I'm not clear on the description.

 

[CPTBeaker]

Description: Fake gas block
Purpose: Cosmetic
Material: Delrin Plastic (black) 2(l)" x 1.5"(w) x 2"(h), 3/4" 10-24 thread cap screws
Cost: ~ $4 for the cap screws, got the Delrin free from somewhere
Tools Needed: 3/4" drill bit, 10-24 thread tap w/drill, belt sander, fine sandpaper or steel wool for finish smoothing, portable drill, table/miter saw(optional), drill press(optional)
Method:
- shape the Delrin block as desired using available tools & sand/polish smooth
- remove handguard endcap off barrel (have to remove flash hider 1st)
- enlarge center barrel hole in endcap so this hole 'free floats' around the barrel
- drill & tap 4 holes in endcap + 4 holes in end of 'gas block'
- attach endcap to 'gas block' (see CAD drawing below)
- reinstall endcap.


Notes:
- Any hard plastic material that won't melt could be used as long as it is big enough for your idea of a gas block and can be drilled and tapped. (I suppose that a tight grain hardwood like Maple could be used if sanded and painted properly...after it's painted, who would know?)
- Attachment screws don't have to be threaded, could be regular self tapping screws
- Could be painted black, dark grey, pink, etc.. if so desired.
- If a 3/4" drill is used for the main hole, this block won't touch the barrel
- My installation is very secure when in place. I would not hesitate to attach a front sight to it. If your endcap does not fit tight, I would not try this mod.

Note: The cap screws on the exterior of the 'gas block' are only cosmetic. They don't do anything but make it look more like a real gas block.

 

[CPTBeaker]

Description: Endcap Embellishment
Purpose: Cosmetic (to make endcap not look so plain)
Material: 4 - 3/4" 10-24 thread cap screws
Cost: ~ $2 for the cap screws
Tools Needed: 10-24 thread tap w/drill, portable drill, hex wrench
Method:
- remove handguard endcap off barrel (have to remove flash hider 1st)
- (optional) enlarge center barrel hole in endcap so this hole 'free floats' around the barrel
- drill & tap 4 holes in endcap
- Install 4 cap screws
- reinstall endcap

Notes:
- if you enlarge the center barrel hole so there is a space around the entire barrel after the endcap is installed, you have effectively 'free floated' your barrel + still have an endcap
- the benefit of free floating is debatable and not in the scope of this thread.

 

[CPTBeaker]

Description: BoreSnake Storage (inside buffer tube)
Purpose: Just good to know
Material: 1 - .22 BoreSnake Link
Cost: $0 + cost of BoreSnake
Tools Needed: None
Method:
- remove rubber buffer tube cap
- shove in the BoreSnake - it does fit.
- put cap back on.

Notes:
- none

 

[Citoriplus]

....but what is the purpose of polishing the face of the hammer? I'm not clear on the description.

I believe he's saying that polishing the hammer face like that will make manual cocking, pulling the bolt back with the charge handle, a bit smoother/easier.
It should also allow it the bolt to cycle a little easier/faster because of the reduced resistance on the bolt when its ejecting empties.
It could be the answer to solving the FTF problem some have had when using low velocity or target ammo.

 

[CPTBeaker]

I believe he's saying that polishing the hammer face like that will make manual cocking, pulling the bolt back with the charge handle, a bit smoother/easier.
It should also allow it the bolt to cycle a little easier/faster because of the reduced resistance on the bolt when its ejecting empties.
It could be the answer to solving the FTF problem some have had when using low velocity or target ammo.

That makes sense.

I would just caution folks not to go hog wild on these parts. I doubt S&W has used top shelf parts considering the general low cost of the rifle. These parts are only case hardened. I realize this isn't a sear surface so material removal isn't going to cause a catastrophic failure here.

 

[trueg50]

I believe he's saying that polishing the hammer face like that will make manual cocking, pulling the bolt back with the charge handle, a bit smoother/easier.
It should also allow it the bolt to cycle a little easier/faster because of the reduced resistance on the bolt when its ejecting empties.
It could be the answer to solving the FTF problem some have had when using low velocity or target ammo.

That is correct. I did this on my 10/22 and it surprised me how much smoothing I makes chambering ammunition. It theoretically should improve feeding (it did when I polishedthe hammer on my Walther P22), so it might help some.

@CPTbeaker: yes defintely don't remove much, just use the pink womens emery board. It provides a nice flat surface to sand with. The goal is toremove the higher metal ridges andsmooth thugs out, thus why I stopped where I did without getting the pits ( I wanted to play it safe).

 

[Citoriplus]

trueg50,
I have to give you credit for that one. Looking at your pic I realized that polishing the hammer that way makes good engineering sense when you think about how the parts operate together.
In any mechanism where two surfaces are supposed to slide across each other, a poor or rough finish on either or both, is going to have detrimental effects on how they function.
I seriously doubt that polishing it even better than you did would hurt anything.
If you take it a step farther and polish both the hammer and the mating surface of the bolt it should improve things even more.

My only concern would be if the hammer face is case hardened, in that case you would have to tread carefully or risk polishing the hardened face off and exposing the softer material under it.
It would not present a problem today, but after 10 or 15 thousand rounds you could see some galling of the hammer face from the bolt.

But considering the benefits it would be a small price to pay for a better working gun.

 

[CPTBeaker]

Description: Magpul MAID Grip Storage
Purpose: Storage for hex wrenches
Material: ~2" diameter rubber stopper (purchased at a local hardware store)
Cost: $2.50
Tools Needed: knife, hand drill, drill bits, sand paper, belt sander (optional)
Method:
- remove existing grip insert
- trace insert profile onto top of rubber stopper with a pencil or fine tip Sharpie
- carve shape of insert using a sharp knife or shape it using a belt sander & sand smooth as desired
- test fit rubber insert into grip bottom
- drill vertical holes for various size hex wrenches

Notes:
- I have a hex wrench in my insert for every size used on my 15-22.

 

[Xapalambos]

Nicely done CPTBEAKER.

 

[MileMarker81]

+1 on the hammer polish. I pulled mine apart after roughly 1000 rounds and the rough hammer surface was already causing uneven wear on the bolt. Even worse, the bolt already had developed a burr under where the two surfaces meet and the hammer slides back.

Did a full polish on the hammer and I'm adding a bit of grease to that spot from now on.

Thanks again for pointing this out...

Rob

 

[BoostCrzy]

All of my contacting surfaces are mirrors in my gun now....the gun is super smooth....trigger pull is glassy and predictable....and the bolt glides across the hammer. just a bit of lube to coat the bare metal and she is good to go.