www.MG42.us

Hey guys! Great work on your semi builds! Since F/A MG42 receivers are hard to find these days, what about using the Philadelphia Ordnance 80% Complete MG42 receivers to build a semi? Has anybody tried this, and also, does anybody own a PhilaOrd receiver either as a display or for shooting builds? I do not know if the PhilaOrd 80% are easy to work with, but since they are new made and do not need to be rewelded, they seem to be an easier and cleaner route. Also, has anybody bought BRP semi parts and built a semi with those? BRP does offer those sheet metal rear receiver stampings, and as for their semi bolts, handles, etc. do Pirate and others offer cheaper conversions? Thanks guys!

Philadelphia Ordnance receivers are machined from solid blocks of steel, the receiver would need complex internal broaching that is expensive to do.

Pirate and Panaceabeachbum are two members that I know of that will complete the Modifications for a semi. pdstout will weld your receiver to 80% for you for $400 - 3 cut or $450 - 4 cut receiver.

MG3/M53 receivers can still be imported; they are abundantly available world wide and are still in current production. It’s rumored that an importer will import some MG3/M53 receivers. It will happen, but who knows when?

URAR1004 wrote:Pirate and Panaceabeachbum are two members that I know of that will complete the Modifications for a semi. pdstout will weld your receiver to 80% for you for $400 - 3 cut or $450 - 4 cut receiver.

MG3/M53 receivers can still be imported; they are abundantly available world wide and are still in current production. It’s rumored that an importer will import some MG3/M53 receivers. It will happen, but who knows when?

I don't know about MG3 but Yugo M53 is not in the production sense early 80s when Zastava adopted PKM in 1984. Thats because Yugo soldiers hated M53 because it was too heavy and jammed often. They all loved PKM and called it a "sprayer of death".

A PKM does look nice, It just so expensive right now, I'm hoping the prices will go down. I'd like to get a semi-PKM, but i'm also waiting to see how much the semi-mods will cost? The PKM is still in production, so hopefully if our laws don't change much in the future, they should still be available. You're right M53's aren't in production anymore since the PKM, but M53’s will be imported or let loose on the market, someday? The MG42 is currently cheaper to build than a PKM and has the highest rate of fire of any single barreled MG

pdstout does fantastic work - I am waiting on him to reweld mine so I can show it off.

PKM's are a very popular item on the world market right now, and have been for some time. The ones that came into this country and were de-milled for the parts sets you see offered today were not cheap. Don't expect to see any more imported (now they would have no barrels) and I would not expect a price drop on the sets available now. There is simply too much money tied up in them by the importers.
Yugoslavia is covered by a UN imposed moratorium on export of "Items of WAR". Nothing (AKs, M56's, M53's)has come out for over a year. The importers made there purchases/deals when they learned the moratorium was coming and have been selling from that supply for some time. Not sure how much material is even left in Yugoslavia to sell.
EU member nations have very strict controls on ARMS exports. I would not expect to EVER see anything significant come out of Germany again. Yugoslavia is also working on that EU membership.
Some of the largest importers are VERY leery of selling receiver sections due to concern expressed by BATFE and their own legal staffs.
This is my "read" on the current situation. It is also why I suspect we will see some outfit offer a semi receiver for the Yugo M53 (relatively mass produced) just as is occurring for the PKM now.

Here is a link to my conversion parts & services

http://www.panzer46.net/mg42board/viewtopic.php?t=2532

Ok, Thanks alot guys! Pirate, you are like Manna from Heaven! Thank you for responding to my post; you are an awesome moderator! As for the rest of you, thanks for the pertinent info, but I did not ask for anything regarding the PKM...
I might give pdstout a call sometime. I have a friend who welds, but i do not know how far he can help me. I will definately give Pirate a call sometime. has anybody here tried to use a PhilaOrd reciever? And has anybody tried to use BRP parts instead of Pirates? (I only ask because I hope that Pirate is not swamped with orders, but if he is I just want an alternative option). I was planning on doing a PhilaOrd and BRP semi parts combo, but I just might buy an IMA reciever to build the semi. ONE THING ABOUT THE PHILAORD! Are these PhilaOrd recievers nearly complete on the inside (hollowed out)? I know that solid steel is tough to cut up, but if the 20% of the reciever that is left is just a few uncut metal walls (like along the ejection port, or the whole front of the reciever), then that can be worked with. Thank you guys! And please; no more unrelated "fun facts." Thanks!

I believe the term "80% receiver" is more a legal term than a description of the amount of work remaining to make the receiver a workable firearm. One main thing that BATFE checks when a 80% receiver is submitted for evaluation is this. The BOLT absolutely cannot be placed inside the receiver. They also look at the amount of effort/time required to make the BOLT fit into the receiver. There goal is to prevent the easy manufacture of illegal FA machineguns.
Philadelphia Ordnance makes a very nice "80%" MG34 receiver. However, it really is more of a "mock up" receiver that allows you to hang all the MG34 external parts from it for display. As discussed many times on this forum there is no practical way to broach cut the internals of a solid receiver to allow the passage of the bolt.
For the time being BRP semi receivers, or welding up a cut receiver are the only way to home build.

Sorry for all the info on the PKM's in my earlier post. I was addressing another post in this thread. I have had the PKM on my mind lately as I have a change to look at a few and buy one.

What exactly needs broaching on the 34 and 42 recvrs? Could I not use a woodriff key cutter to mill out the bolt guides? I've used these with great success on BREN recvrs. Bare in mind I don't know the 34 and 42 recvrs all that well.

The BATFE doesn't classify it as an 80% 50% etc. The 42 is basically a folded piece of sheet metal. The 34 is machined out of a billet of steel and is a nice work of art. However it is not as easy to make. Phil ord rec are good for displays but unless you are hell bent on doing a lot of machining I would not get one.
Just my $.02

I should have stated that the term "80%" is really a marketing thing. The manufacturer submits a sample of what the company considers to be a "80%" receiver to the BATFE "Tech Branch". There it is determined (hopefully by some sort of uniform criteria) as to wether the sample is a firearm or not. If it is a firearm then the manufacturer finds out from "Tech Branch" what they have to change to achieve the "80%" status (non-firearm) that they are seeking.
It can be surprising to find out at what point in some receivers manufacture the BATFE considers it a firearm. The manufacturer needs to know as they have only 24 hours to get it marked and into the "books". It is a tricky business and manufacturers need to be very aware of the LAWS and BATFE rulings.
For the BATFE "Tech Branch" guys the determination that some outfit is making "100%" firearms/receivers (as a licensed manufacturer) also means they can collect the 10% excise tax, per unit.

Ok, ok. As you can tell, I am new to this forum. I just bought my MG3 parts set from FTF industries on Gunbroker about 1 month ago. I joined this forum a few days ago. I always wanted to make a SA-42, so I looked for receivers for my parts set, and all I could find right now is BRP sheet metal, PhilaOrd, and IMA's last few cut receivers. So after much perusing of this enormous forum, I have learned that the best Semi build is indeed done with a cut up receiver, so yesterday I purchased a hand-selected IMA cut up receiver. I guess that for me, everything written above can be disregarded, but it is good for reference, and it will help anyone who misses out on the last IMA receivers. Also, how difficult is it to build a Semi-auto with the sheet metal stampings of the rear receiver that BRP is offering right now? When I get my receiver pieces, I will compare them with BRP's stampings (no, I have not bought the stampings), and maybe I will be able to build a S/A with BRP's parts... Anyone try this, or have experiences with this? Thanks guys!

what receiver sections did you get from FTF?

i'll assume the kit included the barrel shroud.

you still need the cam section of the receiver and the barrel support

Sorry none123, I am in school right now, I just got out of class. Ok, the parts set from FTF is complete, just missing the rear part of the receiver. I am lucky, because the barrel shroud is missing the camming section (I assume that is where the trunion locks on), but the trunion is locking onto the shroud (enough for a display gun, not to move). So I was planning on fabricating that part of the receiver. As for the barrel extension (which is missing with my kit), I am not worried about that right now, it seems to be the cheapest of my worries. I think I will buy the extension when it pops up on sale somewhere. BTW: I will start a new post about my build when my IMA pieces arrive, I don't want this post to go off topic, the topic being possible builds with the PhilaOrds, BRP sheet metal and semi parts, and now; IMA receivers. Thanks for the help none123!

IMA peices came in; they are very buildable.