Very interesting, nice to see the M14 box is suitable for a Sten
Assuming it works!!! 
Yith - the mag is for an AGM MP40 - assuming all works well I'll fill in the grooves - if it doesn't I'll sell be selling the mags I bought 
PS: Apologies DieselMonkey if it seems like I'm trying to take over your thread ..... was just trying to flag that by moving the M14 mechanism forward a MkII Sten could be a possibility. 
other weapons you could consider- Bren? ZB28 (Czech Bren used by SS)?, BAR?, Vickers K gun?, humm....
PS: Apologies DieselMonkey if it seems like I'm trying to take over your thread ..... was just trying to flag that by moving the M14 mechanism forward a MkII Sten could be a possibility.
No apologies necessary, that was a fantastic post, hijack away! 
I'd not thought of moving the whole mech forward and pivoting a new trigger, i may well end up doing the same now, I was also planning on using the MP40 mags too, nice to see i'm not alone in that. i think, like you, i'll knock up a prototype in plastic, before fabricating in metal, and see how i get on.
Please keep us informed on how you get on, you've certainly given me the impetus to carry on with my planned Mk II!
Please keep us informed on how you get on
Will do
Yith - the mag is for an AGM MP40 - assuming all works well I'll fill in the grooves - if it doesn't I'll sell be selling the mags I bought
Could you put the magazine mech inside a real sten mag perhaps? they're pretty cheap...
Yith - the mag is for an AGM MP40 - assuming all works well I'll fill in the grooves - if it doesn't I'll sell be selling the mags I bought
Could you put the magazine mech inside a real sten mag perhaps? they're pretty cheap...
Somewhat ironically the real-steel STEN mags are cheaper than the *toys* which are the AGM copies!!!
To answer your question yes I expect it would be possible but you'd need to be sure of getting hold of (or of being able to reproduce) enough of the BB mag internal mechanics and ...... more importantly ...... the AGM MP40 mags are slightly different dimensions to the real ones and so IMO one would have to decide which route to go at the outset as I think the mag housing needs to be sized to fit whichever type of mag is going to be used.
For my plastic protoype I'm going to stick with the AGM mags but if I was gearing up to manufacture steel conversion kits then I'd be inclined to go with the real-steel mags simply because, as you say, they are cheap and plentiful (matters of internal gubbins aside).
Hi
I bought a couple of STEN magazines at Malvern with the idea of using them for converting MP40 mags in mind. The dimensions between the real steel items are very close with the sten magazines seeming slightly wider.
Have you been able to try the reliability of the feed yet with the 90 degree rotation. As if that works reliably it is a major advance on producing working magazine fed STEN's
Hi
I bought a couple of STEN magazines at Malvern with the idea of using them for converting MP40 mags in mind. The dimensions between the real steel items are very close with the sten magazines seeming slightly wider.
Have you been able to try the reliability of the feed yet with the 90 degree rotation. As if that works reliably it is a major advance on producing working magazine fed STEN's
I've tested the mp40 mags (in an MP40) by firing off a couple of mags full while holding it at 90 degrees, and the mag feed was fine, so i can't see that being an issue, more with the construction of the hop/feed tube, which needs butchering to roate the feed by 90 degrees.
Am in the process of fixing the new feed tube in place - I think I've got the angle and length right (oooh errr) but will have a better idea tomorrow when the araldite has properly set.
On my Sten I just turned the hop 90 degrees and left it off, I made the airseal better on the piston and even with an lpeg box it throws them out far enough for cqb. I would think with the power of an M14 box there wouldn`t be any need for hop.
Am in the process of fixing the new feed tube in place - I think I've got the angle and length right (oooh errr) but will have a better idea tomorrow when the araldite has properly set.
Well, the feed tube angle and length worked well and I have managed to put a fair few rounds through my plastic and cardboard prototype MkV. Two problems have cropped up though:
(1) the feed tube inserts directly into the mag so's the mag is effectively pushing against the barrel rather than a baseplate - too much force and it displaces the hop etc from the mech box - a niggle more than a problem and should be easily solved
(2) the AGM mp40 mags don't seem to be terribly reliable..... they seem to have a tendency to jam..... it's not the feed arrangement or the mags being positioned horizontally etc as it happen even when they're off the gun and held vertical.... sometimes even a poke with a loading rod won't clear them. I'm guessing that the internal spring is binding but before I dismantle the mags to have a look I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem?
Steve
I personally haven't had any problems with my MP40 mags. Great project, by the way - the Sten is a much sought-after weapon!
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
Steve, try squirting some silicon spray into the magazine, then using a spare loading rod, compress and release the spring a couple of dozen times. Did the trick on my AGM MP40 mags.
When we were a Kingdom it was run by a King
When we were an Empire it was run by an Empress
Now we're a country we're run by a..........
Steve, try squirting some silicon spray into the magazine, then using a spare loading rod, compress and release the spring a couple of dozen times. Did the trick on my AGM MP40 mags.
Cheers K - I'll give that a go.
Out of interest, are there actually any airsoft guns in production which do have a side-feeding mag?
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
In a word, no.
SGW used to make a Mk V STEN conversion kit, but its ages since ive heard of any for sale.
When we were a Kingdom it was run by a King
When we were an Empire it was run by an Empress
Now we're a country we're run by a..........
Out of interest, are there actually any airsoft guns in production which do have a side-feeding mag?
M249? The mag feed is sidewards, but I do not know about the relation of the hop to the mag input tube.
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
Kermit - that tip worked thanks. Cheers.
DieselMonkey - here's the new feed tube.... it's the nozzle from the mag housing of a TM M16 glued onto ally tube glued over a hole drilled into the M14 barrel fixture. (For glue read layers of Araldite). With the mags having had a work over (see Kermit's tip) they now feed fine.... the STEN mag housing isn't fixed into position yet so I've simply held the mag up against the nozzle (which I think caused a few jams as I wouldn't have been able to keep a constant pressure or angle of mag against nozzle).
slick63's suggestion of simply rotating the barrel and leaving the hop off would have saved a lot of the hassle of fabricating a new feed tube but - perhaps misguidedly - I'm going to try a retain a functional hop.
jochenpeiper - good spot - that's Chatham Dockyards; I go there a couple of times a year too!
Looks like its coming together nicely
Regarding Hop-up, it is in my estimation vital when it comes to having a gun thats actually usable at any decent range. Hop-up will at least double the effective range.
McVickers - TOP/CA/A&K M249's feed at an angle not straight - as standard. However, the Hop-unit on the TOP *can* be rotated to feed from any position you wish, which can be useful for some projects (once you've binned the TOP bellows and fitted a KM or Guarder piston-in-cylinder set) G&P M249's feed in the conventional way, from the bottom.
When we were a Kingdom it was run by a King
When we were an Empire it was run by an Empress
Now we're a country we're run by a..........