New Wise Lite M53. A couple of questions.

[MP43]

Finally acquired an M53 semi-auto. Haven't shot it yet, but was over at a friend's comparing it to his live MG42, and this generated a couple of questions.

First, the hole in the booster cone is noticeably smaller on the M53. His MG42 cup opening measured 11mm. He also has .308 conversion parts, and the booster cup used with that measures 9.5mm, the same as the one that came with my M53.
The M53 is 8mm, so why the smaller (.308) sized recoil booster opening?





Second, barrels are difficult to change on the M53. With the bolt pulled back, it pretty much requires repeated beating on the barrel door to get the barrel to seat. The MG42 requires a firm slap with the heel of a palm, but nothing like the force required with the M53.
The problem seems to be that the "step" in the barrel, just ahead of the extension, hits a "C" shaped bracket inside the receiver under the rear sight. This prevents the barrel from moving forward enough to cleanly ride over the recuperator. The edge of the recuperator is beveled, but it doesn't seem to be enough.
We tried several barrels, .308 and 8mm, and while the one that came with the M53 was the least difficult to get into place, all were problematic, some were near impossible.

So, is the 9.5mm booster cone what I should be using, and is the barrel change issue typical of Wise Lite M53s? If not, is there a fix?

[MP43]

OK, sorry for another FNG question, but how do I fix the dumb typos in my post? The FAQs say use the Edit button, but heck if I can see one...

[drooling idiot]

i think you got a 308 booster with your gun. whether it was deliberate or by accident i don't know.
try shooting with your Buddy's 8mm booster if you have success, get your self one to save the wear & tear.
sadly i think you need to bevel your recuperator button more. barrels should change just as easy as a mg42.
the edit function kicks in after so many posts i believe.

[oakrodent]

I agree, the barrel should be easy to change. Look at the barrel giude. You can try to remove alittle from this area. Don't touch the trunion or the barrel. I will try to take some pics for you Tuesday.

[wiselitearms]

Finally acquired an M53 semi-auto. Haven't shot it yet, but was over at a Friend's comparing it to his live MG42, and this generated a couple of questions.

First, the hole in the booster cone is noticeably smaller on the M53. His MG42 cup opening measured 11mm. He also has .308 conversion parts, and the booster cup used with that measures 9.5mm, the same as the one that came with my M53.
The M53 is 8mm, so why thew smaller (.308) sized recoil booster opening?





Second, barrels are difficult to change on the M53. With the bolt pulled back, it pretty much requires repeated beating on the barrel door to get the barrel to seat. The MG42 requires a firm slap with the heel of a palm, but nothing like the force required with the M53.
The problem seems to be that the "step" in the barrel, just ahead of the extension, hits a "C" shaped bracket inside the receiver under the rear sight. This prevents the barrel from moving forward enough to cleanly ride over the recuperator. The edge of the recuperator is beveled, but it doesn't seem to be enough.
We tried several barrels, .308 and 8mm, and while the one that came with the M53 was the least difficult to get into place, all were problematic, some were near impossible.

So, is the 9.5mm booster cone what I should be using, and is the barrel change issue typical of Wise Lite M53s? If not, is there a fix?

When we test fire the M53's at the works we install a booster that provides enough pressure to operate the M53 reliably. Sometimes it is an original part, such as is supplied with the part set and sometimes we use one of the boosters we manufacture. Being newly made the guns tend to be tight and loosen up with use. We supply APEX Gun Parts with sets of the booster nozzles that we manufacture. That way if you wish to change out the boosters to adjust gas pressure to match ammo, wear factors, weather, etc, they are available for purchase from them.

Regards,
Richard C. Hamer
Factory Representative
Wise Lite Arms
Class II Manufacturer
07 FFL SOT
FAX: (940) 433-8096
WEBSITE: http://www.wlarms.com/
SALES: sales@wlarms.com
INFORMATION: info@wlarms.com

[rocco1911]

So are you recomending he fire his gun using the one he showed in the picture with 8mm ammo ???

[wiselitearms]

So are you recomending he fire his gun using the one he showed in the picture with 8mm ammo ???

The senior Weapons Tech for the manufacture of the M53 does the selection of the nozzle booster and evaluates each M53 during test fire. After all the M53's that have gone out the door I won't second guess the person with all the expertise.

Regards,
Richard C. Hamer
Factory Representative
Wise Lite Arms
Class II Manufacturer
07 FFL SOT
FAX: (940) 433-8096
WEBSITE: http://www.wlarms.com/
SALES: sales@wlarms.com
INFORMATION: info@wlarms.com

[rocco1911]

OK cool It just looked like a .308 one to me...

[needaclip]

Not to hijack the thread, but I have the same problem with my barrel extension not wanting to get past the recuperator. It is on a "just received today" WLA M53. Is this by design, or something that needs to be sent in for repair?

[Der Alder]

Assuming the bolt is being held back and that the barrel is seating, it should just pop right into place when the door latches without any great effort.

My WLA M53 takes no more effort to seat the extension than a slight smack from the heel of my hand to latch the door. When I use my .308 barrel it takes slightly more effort to latch the door, but nothing dramatic. It could be a recuperator issue. I’d get a hold of WLA, they have very good customer service and will take care of you.

[Franz 1796]

Make sure your barrel bushing is moving fully forward or it could put pressure on the barrel and make it hard to remove and install. That was the issue I had on my M-53.

[buster]

I think Franz has hit the nail on the head with the barrel bushing being all the way forward. I found that if I tilt the back end of the rifle up, which moves the barrel and bushing forward, I way able to close the barrel door with a push from the palm of my hand. Buster

[MP43]

Life being what it is, I had to put the toys away for a time and concentrate on other things. But I got out the M53 and did a little tinkering this past weekend.
I double checked, and the barrel bushing is not contributing to the barrel changing issue. Even removing the barrel bushing has no effect. Forward travel of the barrel is limited by the barrel shoulder contacting the "C" shaped piece inside the receiver.
With the bolt and feed parts out of the way, it's readily seen that the bevel on the barrel extension isn't meeting up with the bevel on the recup plunger. The side of the extension is making contact behind the bevel. The geometry is all wrong for developing any force to retract the plunger, it simply pushes it against the wall of the receiver.
Since the barrel can't go further forward, the recuperator needs to be further back. There's actually a small amount of fore-aft adjustment available for the recuperator (between 1/16" and 1/8", it looks like), but mines already all the way back.
I've been going through the threads, and I see I'm not the only one needing a mallet and wooden block to complete a barrel change. What I haven't seen is a good solution. Besides sending it back to WL, is there a fix I've missed?
The recuperator looks difficult to remove, but I saw on another thread where someone managed it on a WL M53. I'll see if I can get some pointers there, but feel free to throw in any advice or suggestions you may have here.
Thanks in advance.

[drooling idiot]

Its sounds like the front nut of the recuperator was installed backwards.
Done this myself carelessly on a few long days.

Talk to wiselite, you have this thread to show the issue has existed for a while before you got around to addressing it. that might be a help if the warranty period has expired. It will be interesting to see if wiselite continues to support these guns.

[Seabee]

While we try to make sure each barrel door closes with no more than a thump from the heel of my hand, I'm sure that there is the occasional one that sneaks by that is a little more snug. The two beveled surfaces, the one on the plunger and the one on the barrel, should contact at the bevel. If they contact at two flat surfaces, we can EXCHANGE the plunger for a shorter one. We are accountable for the kit parts so we have to have the other one back.

Regarding the booster nozzle size, the one included with the firearm was the size required to complete a full cycle for the fifty to sixty rounds we test on. The small diameter indicates that the gun was tight and required more gas pressure to cycle. As the firearm "wears in," it may not require the same amount of gas pressure to operate. If the firearm start to kick harder as it is used, I recommend purchasing a booster kit, available through the WLA Warehouse, to change the gas pressure. The booster kit also gives you the flexibility to change boosters as you change ammo. Barring this, you could ream out the diameter of the hole in 0.5mm increments until you reach the hole size that eases the kick but still allows for adequate ejection. The negative side to this approach is the potential to over-ream the hole and loose ejection and/or feed. If you have friends that have nozzles with other diameters, you can try them to see if they have a diameter that works and ream yours out to that diameter.

Hope this helps.

[MP43]

While we try to make sure each barrel door closes with no more than a thump from the heel of my hand, I'm sure that there is the occasional one that sneaks by that is a little more snug. The two beveled surfaces, the one on the plunger and the one on the barrel, should contact at the bevel. If they contact at two flat surfaces, we can EXCHANGE the plunger for a shorter one. We are accountable for the kit parts so we have to have the other one back.
/snip/
Hope this helps.

Thanks Seabee, that helps a lot. I followed your instructions in the "Disasterous problem" thread and the recuperator is out. Please drop me a PM or e-mail with the proper address to send the plunger for exchange, and I'll get it headed to you right away.

Jay

cj750-at-yahoo dot com

[713houstonpi]

the fix for a hard to shut barrel gate is simple. you dont need to move the recuperator tube at all.

open the barrel gate and remove the barrel. you will see the tip of the recuperator head at the end of the tube. note the shiny mark on the beveled edge of it. this is where the edge of the barrel extension contacts it when in place.

all you need to do is sand down the beveled edge with a dremel tool using a small sander wheel. repeat this process untill the barell gate will close with a firm rap on the door. only remove as much as needed. problem solved.