I feel like such a redneck. After a couple of years of dealing with mag wobble on my WASR-10, I decided to do something about it.
I like my WASR-10. I bought it from a member here a about 2 years ago, and the only two things I didn't like were (A) ugly unfinished plywood furniture and (B) mag wobble. This rifle did not have canted sights or trigger slap, so I was pleased overall. Both of the problems were entirely cosmetic, as the mag wobble did not seem to affect reliability.
I "fixed" the furniture a while back, for those of you that missed that thread, here are before/after pictures:
Before:
http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o...h/IMG_1466.jpg
After:
http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o...h/IMG_1556.jpg
Which left only one problem: Mag wobble. I originally wasn't going to fix it, but it is a little obnoxious when I pick it up and it rattles like crazy.
So, being poor and therefore stingy, I said, "What do I have in the house that I could fix this with?" After searching my junk drawer, I came up with some JB Weld. Now, I wasn't about to go slathering JB Weld all over my favorite home defense gun without at least checking google and seeing if anyone had done it. After all, I couldn't possibly be the first one to think of it.
A quick Google search revealed that no, I was not the first one to think of it, and that yes, it should work as long as I used JB Weld, and not JB Kwik. JB Kwik apparently cannot withstand the heat. That was fine because I have both.
First step was to figure out where, exactly, to put the JB Weld. I came up with a method that worked very well for me.
Step 1: Clear the rifle (Duh...)
Step 2: Place the butt of the rifle on the floor and look straight at the barrel with an empty magazine inserted. I know it's scary, but you can do it.
Step 3: Wobble the magazine and see where it needs to be to be straight. In my case, if I moved it all the way to the left, it was crooked, and if I moved it all the way to the right, it was straight. This made my job easy, as it meant I only had to put the JB Weld on one side.
I field stripped the rifle for a better view and noted which side of the mag well had a gap when it the mag was straight. Then, I removed the mag and put a generous helping of JB Weld on the inside where I had determined it should go. I laid the rifle on its side overnight.
The next morning, I inserted a magazine to test it. The mag slid in easily, and wobbled about as much as it had yesterday. That was fine; I had expected the first glob of JB Weld to settle too much to work. I mixed up some more and put that on top of the old JB Weld, and let it sit till the next day.
I tried a magazine in it the next morning, and it refused to fit into the gun. Perfect. Now that I had enough JB Weld in there, all that was left was to shave it down so the mag would fit nice and snug. I used a utility knife to do this. I kept shaving thin layers off and trying the mag, taking off more JB Weld in the spots where the mag was getting hung up until finally, the mag slid in nicely and clicked into place... With no wobble.
Here is what it looks like. Not very pretty, but this part is inside the rifle, so what do I care?
http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o...h/IMG_1581.jpg
I will take it to a range as soon as I get a chance to. I will try a couple of mags slowly, then try some rapid fire and see how the JB Weld holds up to the punishment of an AK-47.
