Mals pistol upgrade

[Zombie Killer]

I bought one of the recent qmx Mals pistols and when i got it it had a twisted barrel. I was going to send it back and QMX did offer to replace it but i have since decided to fix it myself. While fixing it i decided i might as well turn it into a project and upgrade it With working trigger and hammer and maybe some wood grips.

First thing was to cut the barrel off. I used an xacto saw and went around the barrel sawing a little on each flat until it was around 5/16 threw and the rest snapped off.

Then using a palm sander with 180 grit i flattened the ends down. This left a slightly rounded surface. To fix it i sanded it down on a flat file. Pull the gun in one direction only, from the tip of the file back to the handle turning it 90degrees after each pull untill its flat. Then i did the barrel, blurry friggin pictures..

I then found some brass tube to give the barrel some support. I am guessing the prop is like this too but the finish is closer to copper color than brass. I know bronze has a tint but man thats copperish colored.

I then took this dremel bit and ground a hole into the end of the gun and barrel for the brass tube. I could have used a drill but i was worried that either piece could split or shatter.

.....and then i noticed that the barrel has slight upward bend to it too, i guess it wasn't noticable because the barrel was mounted twisted.

Take it inside and yup its bent.

I tried hot water from the tap but that wasn't really working so i boiled some water, let it sit a few minutes and then poured it to this plastic cup with the barrel inside. I let it sit for awhile and then bent it back as best i could and held it against a piece of angle aluminum. This way you keep it straight on 2 angles. While i held it on the alum i held it under cold running water. It did take a few times to get it right. I didn't want to force it and bust it.

I used an angle to check it's squarness and now that it's straight the end is slightly crooked.

A little file work and its straightish again on both axis.

Did a check on the gun for squarness and it looked ok. You kinda have to eye it here as the receiver is not straight.

Just setting it up there and it looks OK, about as good as i can get it. Looks a little crooked in the pic but its because i was struggling to hold it and the camera all steady and straight. I failed.

For those wondering, the screws in the grip are just big setscrews. If yours are crooked just unscrew them, they came right out. May have to glue them back but i will probably go with some allen screws.

 

[ReproMan]

good work on straightening your shaft lol, i see barrel twist on these is quite a common problem and i hope to get a mal pistol soon so thanks for the tutorial

 

[Serenity]

Best of luck with this; I hope the polystone material can hold up for the work being done because it could look pretty darn good when finished. It's too bad the magazine wasn't a separately cast part too...

 

[Garthok]

This is why our ZF1 parts are so incredibly accurate, your attention to detail and perfection is always mind blowing. You have some mad skills ZK

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Great project! I'm thinkin' this will turn out pretty darn spiffy when it's done. (Y'all thought I was gonna say shiny now, didn't ya?)

Moving trigger and a set of wood grips on that baby will make a world of difference.

 

[CJ 617]

Great work so far..can't wait to see more

 

[74Draven]

Outstanding job!

 

[Filandrius]

Stop giving me ideas! Seriously, great job. Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[Darph Bobo]

Wow, that thing comes apart nicely! Very tempting!

(Gotta finish my Serenity build first!)

 

[marsattack]

HOw amazing is this guy???
Its like a freakin tutorial.
Good job mate!
Mars

 

[Zombie Killer]

This is where things got interesting. A little carefull sticking of the saw here and there around the circumfrence and the grips came off. Had a tiny bit of damage where the glue was thicker but i am going to have to paint anyways. So now i have my grip templates.

No need to stop now, just some carefull twisting and pulling and prodding with a flat ended xacto knife and the rest of it came apart.

So the plan is to cut off the rounded grip part of the receiver and hollow the receiver out a bit. I am then going to make an trigger group of sorts out of 4 layers 1/8" aluminum sheet to hold a trigger and hammer and a spring. It will get glued into the receiver and then the silver edging can go back on. Or it will have to get attached to the silver trim then glued into the gun.

I won this lot of Taurus parts. There is also a set of rossi parts in there but i think i they look the same as the 85. I'll update as soon as they come in. Need to find some wood for grips too......

Day 2.

Today i cut some grip pieces to shape out of red oak. I was going to shape them too but i figured i better try to hollow the gun out first just incase it wanted to self destruct. No need in making grips if i don't have a frame.

Here are the grip plugs.

First thing i tried was cutting the frame with an xacto saw. It went OK, i am suprised i didn't break the ears off though so i didn't go too far.

Then i got the cutoff wheel and cleaned out as much as possible before the die would hit the gun.

Next up was the high speed die grinder and the mill bit on the left.

and with a bunch of time and cussing i was able to open it up. I still will have to go back and clean it out but i am spent for today. There are a few chips and rub marks from a turning cutting tool but it went better than i thought. It's still in one piece. Once the trigger frame is epoxied in it should be strong again. It is fragile right now though. I need to get the trigger and hammer now to make the trigger group housing. Hopefully i will be able to work on the grips tomorrow. Got a headsup from dr_slurpee on some cnc wood grips and maybe some metal thumbwheels. I would really like to get the metal thumbwheels.

I ordered all the screws and setscrews on this thing so those will have to come off and either drill and tap or drilled oversized and i'll glue the screws in. I worry about taping this stuff. I will do it when the screws show up.

I also pulled out my hi tech table sander, also known as an upside down belt sander and did the main sanding on the grips. They are still a tad big but that will get tweeked with the dremel and drum sander. Today i was just trying to get it all roughed up. I need to dress the top were it meets the receiver then i can sand them to fit the shape closer. I am pretty happy with them so far. I could have picked a better wood for grain pattern but they will do. At this point i will wait for the trigger parts and screws. No need to rush and i need to get that trigger group done before messing with the grips anymore.

 

[pennausamike]

Definitely a lot of work,
but it will be the only one in the world exactly like that when you are done.
There's just something about taking something "everybody" has and making it your own
that can't be beat.

Mike
My Firefly/Serenity Collection:
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly/Serenity Weapons Collection

 

[Zombie Killer]

edit

 

[Chrisisall]

Glen, you are a master of fixing polystone! I salute you.:thumbsup

 

[WarPig]

I'm not sure, but I think Robstyle may be able to point you towards metal thumbscrews...

This is amazing.

 

[Muttleysdad]

wow ZK thats some serious work there, I only had the nerve to Remove the barrel and straighten it up, I wouldn't dare go this far. I'm going to watch this project with great interest.:thumbsup.

 

[Zombie Killer]

edit for photobucket repair

 

[DrMcoy]

shiny!

 

[greylocke]

If you want to modify the grain pattern a bit, you can do a trick we did at the Gunshop I used to work at. We specialized in Black Powder and muzzle loaders so to get variations in grain for stocks we would literally paint wood ash mixed with water into a paste and paint it on the stocks with a small brush in the pattern we wanted, then we would take a propane torch and singe the wood lightly. the ash paste kept the covered section of wood from singeing and when done we'd lightly sand then steel wool it and then go on with our staining and final finishing. We had quite a few customers who would come from several states away to have us refinish their stocks and ram rods.

 

[gyoung2993]

WOW.................very nice work