Bushing on factory folder Mini-14?

[Joe From NY]

Greetings all,

I just got my third Mini14, which is my second factory folder. On my blued one there is alot of slack on the pivot for the folding arm. The arm slops around a bit loosely. Whereas on my stainless one, there appears to be a bushing or washer on the pivot and there is not a bit of slop when it opens. My question is was there a bushing put there from the factory to eliminate the looseness in the folding arm? if so, was this on all or just certain models/years? Is there an exploded diagram of the folding stock so i can see the part number to see if any are available? And how would i go about removing that pin so i could put a bushing there.
thanks to all.

 

[KAC-556F]

That shim is not factory, but it is a necessity on just about any folder that has been opened and closed alot.

Some folders are tight, some are horribly loose. Shimming helps to an extent, but if the pin or hole is wore then the shim will only help in lessening the up and down slop.

The pin should come out fairly easily with a drift and a light hammer strike.

Another thing to do is tighten the screw that holds the folding stock to the rifle, they will continually loosen up with shooting. You can loctite them but you run the chance of screwing up your threads if you remove the screws periodically. Same goes for the pistol grip screw.

If you take your folding stock apart be careful not to lose the retaining pin for the folding arm latch, the latch is the plunger style mechanism that locks the arm open, next to the sling swivel mount. The retaining pin for the plunger is typically a tight fit but if it is a loose fit the only thing holding it captive is the wood stock and if the folder is off the wood that pin could fall out if the plunger is depressed. I've done it and didn't realize it right away but luckily found the pin.

If you try to disassemble the folding butt arm drift out the roll pin first to take the tension off the springs, and then use a press to remove the pivot pin, it is an extremely tight fit and only comes out one way, don't try to drift it out with a hammer. Use a suitable press or a bench vise with appropriate sized sockets to allow the pin to be pressed out without damaging anything. The pin has to be pressed out from the small side of the pin.