FAL Build

The Beginning

Yes, a FAL build. More expensive than an AK but the kits are somewhat plentiful on the secondary market (under $200 as of this writing, in 2007) and a very good looking rifle.

I bought both of my FAL kits on the FAL Files forums. The receivers are a bitch to find but I will be patient, something will turn up. In the meantime, I started looking at the kits, studying the parts, and preparing them for the build.

Another good thing to prepare for the build: gather a list of resources, a list of parts and tools that I will need and to make notes about where I am going to get them. Notes about all this follow.

List of Parts on a FAL

There are 20 parts on the ATF 922(r) list, of which no more than 10 are allowed to be imported and still be assembled into an assault rifle. Of these 20 parts, a FAL has 17. I highlighed the ones that a FAL has in bold. Ignore the others for the purposes of your FAL builds. You will need 7 US parts. If you will not be using the flash hider, you will need 6 US parts. Just leave the flash hider off but that would look ugly. There are so many arguments and so much confusion about the parts count, but it's actually very simple: 10 foreign parts, no more. There is not a certain number of US parts that you need to shoot for. The parts you should count are foreign parts.
  1. Frames, receivers, receiver castings, forgings, or castings.
  2. Barrels.
  3. Barrel extensions.
  4. Mounting blocks (trunnions).
  5. Muzzle attachments.
  6. Bolts.
  7. Bolt carriers.
  8. Operating rods.
  9. Gas pistons.
  10. Trigger housings.
  11. Triggers.
  12. Hammers.
  13. Sears.
  14. Disconnectors.
  15. Buttstocks.
  16. Pistol grips.
  17. Forearms, handguards.
  18. Magazine bodies.
  19. Followers.
  20. Floor plates.
I was able to find more than seven parts for sale at the various online vendors (see FAL Resources below). Since I have a choice, I am going to go choose the seven parts based on (1) how they enhance the appearance of the rifle, and (2) how cheap they are. This probably means I will get a new set of handguargs (gunthings and DSA has them). Tentative parts list:
  1. Receiver (Century)
  2. Hand guard set (gunthings.com)
  3. Flash Hider (ARS)
  4. Pistol grip
  5. Trigger (FSE USA)
  6. Hammer (FSE USA)
  7. Sear (FSE USA)
  8. ----- that's 7 parts -----
  9. Piston
There are also floorplates (cheap) and handguards and buttstocks (expensive).

FAL Resources