4boost Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 The latch that you have to press in order to pull the charging handle. It locks the charging handle to the upper receiver. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lupus78 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 (edited) Yeah, the charging handle seems REALLY cheap and fragile. I just heard that the guys doing the WE M4 review to the Softaaja-magazine (which might be familiar to you as the english language "Airsoft Soldier" magazine) managed to break the handle right in the beginning. Mine is still intact, but I'm trying to be very careful with it. Â Airsoft Buddy: PLEASE urge the WE to make the handles from STEEL, not aluminum. Bolt catch ain't the only problematic part. I would really much like to buy one, even if I don't get one for free... Also would be nice to hear if you guys manage to use real weapon part instead and what kind of modifications it would need. Although getting one with reasonable price might be hard here in Finland. Â Firing Pin issue: Also my gun seems to leave the firing pin in forward position about 50% of the time when I try to cock it manually by the charging handle. I need to click the pin with finger after doing that. I'm planning to open it up and try to do the fix that was described here earlier. Hope that will help... But from the pictures coco and 3vi1-D4n gave us, I don't get it what I really must do. From coco's pictures I see that we can get the pin out without removing the selector, grip etc. but what 3vi1-D4n describes I need to do all that. And the pictures coco took doesn't quite resemble the diagrams 3vi1-D4n made... Can I do something about the issue without dissassembling it like 3vi1-D4n did? Does the greasing and lubing do the job as well? Â Edit: I just emailed Airsoft Buddy (and he answered almost instantly). He's passing on the firing pin issue to WE. WE is also planning to reinforce the charging handle. Edited December 4, 2008 by Lupus78 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
davedawg123 Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Airsoft Buddy: PLEASE urge the WE to make the handles from STEEL, not aluminum. Bolt catch ain't the only problematic part. I would really much like to buy one, even if I don't get one for free... Also would be nice to hear if you guys manage to use real weapon part instead and what kind of modifications it would need. Although getting one with reasonable price might be hard here in Finland. Firing Pin issue: Also my gun seems to leave the firing pin in forward position about 50% of the time when I try to cock it manually by the charging handle. I need to click the pin with finger after doing that. I'm planning to open it up and try to do the fix that was described here earlier. Hope that will help... But from the pictures coco and 3vi1-D4n gave us, I don't get it what I really must do. From coco's pictures I see that we can get the pin out without removing the selector, grip etc. but what 3vi1-D4n describes I need to do all that. And the pictures coco took doesn't quite resemble the diagrams 3vi1-D4n made... Can I do something about the issue without dissassembling it like 3vi1-D4n did? Does the greasing and lubing do the job as well?  I agree. Airsoft Buddy, please inform WE to fix these two issues. Also, I know it's only cosmetic but I'm sure we could all do without the hole developing in the magwell if possible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lt.Fenix Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 (edited) Airsoft Buddy: PLEASE urge the WE to make the handles from STEEL, not aluminum. Â I actually got my RS charging handle today, and from the weight of the thing I think it's also made of aluminum. A quick search in google also reveals that the RS one is made of aluminum. Â I was thinking, and I think there might be a problem with making the charging handle out of steel, but perhaps it's minor. But if you make the charging handle out of steel, it will have a tendency to wear out the receiver at the point of impact when you let go of it after charging the bolt, since the upper receiver is made of aluminum and a steel charging handle would be about three times as massive compared to an aluminum one. Looking at the cross section of my broken charging handle, it looks as if it's made of really crappy quality aluminum. I think sufficient durability could be acheived by using higher quality aluminum alloy. Making the charging handle latch thicker around the pin hole is equally important, though. Â Â Â Â And also, there's a slight difference between the RS and WE charging handles. The WE one has a small rectangular extrusion at the bottom front of it so it hangs slightly lower and allows it to grab the bolt at a more forward position than the RS does, which is not tall enough to reach the front cut, so instead you pull on the thing that's screwed on top of the bolt (I think that's where the gas hits the bolt on the real thing) most of the time, while some of the time it does grab the same portion of the bolt as the WE. So what happens is that after charging the bolt and letting it go, most of the time the latch won't lock into the receiver and instead will stop in front of it because the bolt doesn't push it far enough inward. It's a minor issue I suppose since it does function and I can just push it in manually, but it's still kind of annoying. Â Airsoft Buddy, if you're reading this, I would still like a replacement from WE... because the RS one does have this minor issue. Â Â Firing Pin issue: Also my gun seems to leave the firing pin in forward position about 50% of the time when I try to cock it manually by the charging handle. I need to click the pin with finger after doing that. I'm planning to open it up and try to do the fix that was described here earlier. Hope that will help... But from the pictures coco and 3vi1-D4n gave us, I don't get it what I really must do. From coco's pictures I see that we can get the pin out without removing the selector, grip etc. but what 3vi1-D4n describes I need to do all that. And the pictures coco took doesn't quite resemble the diagrams 3vi1-D4n made... Can I do something about the issue without dissassembling it like 3vi1-D4n did? Does the greasing and lubing do the job as well? Â The disconnector stops the firing pin from retracting backwards and hence keeps the gas flowing into the bolt from what I understand. It moves upwards to allow the pin to retract, and removing some material from the bottom of the disconnector, and the bottom of the notch in the firing pin allows it to let go of the pin sooner, so to speak. One downside I can see to this is that it would reduce the amount of time gas is allowed to flow into the bolt, so you might get lower recoil/velocity. ([EDIT] Actually now that I think about it, it wouldn't really affect the velocity much, because the bb would have left already at that point in the operation where the hammer is being pushed back by the bolt.) I just keep mine thoroughly lubed with silicon oil though, just put in a bunch from the magazine well side and then push the pin back and forth to spread it... it seems to work for me, as mine retracts all the time. Edited December 4, 2008 by Lt.Fenix Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lupus78 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Looking at the cross section of my broken charging handle, it looks as if it's made of really crappy quality aluminum. I think sufficient durability could be acheived by using higher quality aluminum alloy. Making the charging handle latch thicker around the pin hole is equally important, though. You're propably right. But as Airsoft Buddy told me, WE is already improving the handle design. Hopefully we get the better replacements soon. Â I just keep mine thoroughly lubed with silicon oil though, just put in a bunch from the magazine well side and then push the pin back and forth to spread it... it seems to work for me, as mine retracts all the time. I'll try that myself before I do any other modifications. We'll see how it works then. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4boost Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 What email are you guys using to contact Airsoft Buddy? I've emailed him multiple times without response. I've even sent him a PM on this board and it hasn't even been opened. It's just frustrating to know that I have multiple emails out there that haven't been responded to while others email him and get a response in a few minutes..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lupus78 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 enquiry@airsoftbuddy.com Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4boost Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Yup, that's where I've been sending to. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
UrPeaceKeeper Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 **Snip** Â What RS Charging handle are you using? My curiosity is peaked. Another question, what would happen if you JB welded a small plate onto the RS charging handle? Would that solve the issue entirely or be too problematic? Â I agree though it does look rather poorlymade. Huge disappointment but I suppose if you baby it it will be fine. (Thats something I will have trouble doing!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4boost Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 What RS Charging handle are you using? My curiosity is peaked. Another question, what would happen if you JB welded a small plate onto the RS charging handle? Would that solve the issue entirely or be too problematic? Â I agree though it does look rather poorlymade. Huge disappointment but I suppose if you baby it it will be fine. (Thats something I will have trouble doing!) Â I don't know if I would use JB weld... Maybe a small rivet would work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Horsem4n Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 i think JB weld would work fine. it'd be as strong as welding a little plate to it. its not called jb weld for nothing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lupus78 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 (edited) Just opened up the firing pin and lubed and greased it a bit. Seemed to improve it a little. Still the pin seems to stay forward if I let the bolt forward slowly. But if I let it slam forward all the way, the pin seems to snap back as it should. Knowing that, I should be able to manage fine with it. Â It would seem if I want to improve it, I could only dremel some small amount of material from the pin itself and leave the disconnector alone...? Edited December 4, 2008 by Lupus78 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
3vi1-D4n Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Yup. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt0311 Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 What are some parts that you want to lube up/silicone every so often and/or when you first get the M4? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
codegeek2004 Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 What are some parts that you want to lube up/silicone every so often and/or when you first get the M4? Â on mine, i oiled all the valves on the mag; i oiled the outside of all the valves, and then put some oil in the propane adapter to oil the inside. Â i also oiled the gas system parts in the bolt carrier group, sprayed a little into the trigger group. Â hope that helps Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lt.Fenix Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 I really don't think JB weld would hold... and yes they do call it JB Weld for a reason... to make you buy it :-p. Its bond strength would pale in comparison to actually welding something on there.  Just opened up the firing pin and lubed and greased it a bit. Seemed to improve it a little. Still the pin seems to stay forward if I let the bolt forward slowly. But if I let it slam forward all the way, the pin seems to snap back as it should. Knowing that, I should be able to manage fine with it. It would seem if I want to improve it, I could only dremel some small amount of material from the pin itself and leave the disconnector alone...?  That's kind of odd, because from my understanding the disconnector is supposed to release the firing pin during the backstroke of the bolt: when the hammer is being cocked. This is what mine does. Perhaps lube the interface between the disconnector and the firing pin assembly?  I think you could just remove some material from just the firing pin, but that other guy did both to keep both of them relatively strong and not weaken either of them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt0311 Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 Thanks codegeek2004. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lupus78 Posted December 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 That's kind of odd, because from my understanding the disconnector is supposed to release the firing pin during the backstroke of the bolt: when the hammer is being cocked. This is what mine does. Perhaps lube the interface between the disconnector and the firing pin assembly? That's what I did. I lubed the groove that the disconnector moves in the pin. But the hammer triggers the disconnector only after it has locked back itself. It needs to continue a surprisingly long distance after that to trigger it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lt.Fenix Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 (edited) That's what I did. I lubed the groove that the disconnector moves in the pin. But the hammer triggers the disconnector only after it has locked back itself. It needs to continue a surprisingly long distance after that to trigger it. Â Mine lets the pin go shortly after the hammer is cocked, when the bolt is about half way back. It does it reliably even when I pull the bolt back slowly. Â Perhaps there's some variation in the manufacturing of the disconnectors and/or firing pins? Â Maybe you should try dremeling some material away then. I wouldn't do it too much though. Something else could be causing it.. you never know. Â [edit] Also, it could be that the disconnector is too long in the direction towards the firing pin assembly wall, and causing a lot of friction... too many things to think about :-p Edited December 5, 2008 by Lt.Fenix Quote Link to post Share on other sites
db_pepsi Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 THIS JUST IN! EVIKE.COM IS NOW TAKING PRE-ORDERS FOR THE WE GBB M4A1! Check them Out- Plain Jane:$400USD http://www.airsoftpost.com/order-eta122008...le-p-30370.html  With UTG Rails:$450USD http://www.airsoftpost.com/order-eta122008...ck-p-30368.html     I hear that the ones they're taking in are the Gen2 guns. An odd feature I've heard about it is that it is going to be able to take AEG inner barrels. YES, YOU'VE READ IT RIGHT! AEG INNERS! If this is true, I'm really surprised and hope to get one as soon as they hit the store. Also they reinforced(or atleast I hope so) those flakey parts Gen1 guns have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uscmCorps Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 I hear that the ones they're taking in are the Gen2 guns. An odd feature I've heard about it is that it is going to be able to take AEG inner barrels. YES, YOU'VE READ IT RIGHT! AEG INNERS! If this is true, I'm really surprised and hope to get one as soon as they hit the store. Also they reinforced(or atleast I hope so) those flakey parts Gen1 guns have. Should be interesting if these do indeed have fixed internals. But man... those rail covers are hideous! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kai_Wolf Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 THIS JUST IN! EVIKE.COM IS NOW TAKING PRE-ORDERS FOR THE WE GBB M4A1! Check them Out- Plain Jane:$400USD http://www.airsoftpost.com/order-eta122008...le-p-30370.html  With UTG Rails:$450USD http://www.airsoftpost.com/order-eta122008...ck-p-30368.html     I hear that the ones they're taking in are the Gen2 guns. An odd feature I've heard about it is that it is going to be able to take AEG inner barrels. YES, YOU'VE READ IT RIGHT! AEG INNERS! If this is true, I'm really surprised and hope to get one as soon as they hit the store. Also they reinforced(or atleast I hope so) those flakey parts Gen1 guns have.   Really not sure if I should buy from them to get the rails in, or get it from AB for the great customer service. It might be bast though to buy it from AB when the gen 2's come out, if they stay the price they are now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LordElpus Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 i thought the general consensus was to avoid getting anything from evike.com? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
squeakyL Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 i thought the general consensus was to avoid getting anything from evike.com? Â I would concur with that from my experience with them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kai_Wolf Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 (edited) Lol good, that makes me feel a lot better. Also, I noticed that the new gen's bodies are going to be anodized instead of painted? Sounds good! Â Â Also, I didnt know if the trigger guard area is also real spec. I wanted to know if the Magpul round trigger guard, like this one below, would fit the WE. Â Â http://www.magpul.com/catalog/index.php?ma...28440aff035bf7b Edited December 5, 2008 by Kai_Wolf Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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