[Octavian]

Just bought a new production HK A3 stock from Blue Ridge Supply, and of course the forks are shiny black (not sure why HK did that) and like many others I want to refinish them in standard semi-matte HK Black to match the rest of the gun. Searched online for how to remove the forks and everyone is taking apart the entire mechanism to remove the forks, and then its near impossible to re assemble the tension spring without the proper tools, and every post I found didnt end well and they end up sending them off to an HK gunsmith to reassemble.

I spent some time tonight studying this thing and found a way to remove and reassemble the forks in a matter of minutes. Video below.

Mp5 A3 Fork Removal Video

 

[Saab95v6]

Well made video and showing the fork removal process, excellent and Thank You

 

[Octavian]

I was literally minutes away from taking the whole thing apart and decided to look it over thoroughly one last time. Glad I did. Hope this helps others since the new A3 stocks are readily available.

 

[bauerdb]

Just send to Brad. That isn't going to help you do the back plate.

 

[Foxtrott_4]

I never had issues disassembling the A3 stock and even assambling it without special tools and working out fine

 

[catplusneo2]

I double checked my plastic cap stock. There is even a notch cut just for your to push the plate a little bit to the right when the roll pin is removed. So I think this is the original intention of HK.

Thank you for showing this. This is really helpful.

 

[Octavian]

I have no doubt its the intention, like you said the plate is set to rotate to a locked and unlocked position and has one purpose, releasing the forks. It never made sense to me that you would have to disassemble the whole mechanism just to pull the forks out.

 

[Octavian]

I never had issues disassembling the A3 stock and even assambling it without special tools and working out fine

You are the only person I have seen make that statement (and I did alot of searching). But hey, if you rather do it your way, by all means have at it. 😅

 

[catplusneo2]

I have no doubt its the intention, like you said the plate is set to rotate to a locked and unlocked position and has one purpose, releasing the forks. It never made sense to me that you would have to disassemble the whole mechanism just to pull the forks out.

For metal cap older version you do need to take the whole thing apart so the fork can be removed.

HK supposed have that process simplified in the new plastic cap stock but it was not well known so most of us just break it away like the older version. And that spring is god damn hard to put back and even you succeed it might not work as smoothly as before. Ruined a beautiful HK53 stock because of that.

 

[rambo-2000]

For metal cap older version you do need to take the whole thing apart so the fork can be removed.

HK supposed have that process simplified in the new plastic cap stock but it was not well known so most of us just break it away like the older version. And that spring is god damn hard to put back and even you succeed it might not work as smoothly as before. Ruined a beautiful HK53 stock because of that.

Is there a video on taking the whole thing apart?

rambo

 

[catplusneo2]

Is there a video on taking the whole thing apart?

rambo

There is one on YouTube I think. The guy took the whole metal cap stock apart and then put it back together.

 

[Foxtrott_4]

You are the only person I have seen make that statement (and I did alot of searching). But hey, if you rather do it your way, by all means have at it. 😅

Perhaps its a gift given only to germans, who knows

 

[Octavian]

Remember as I said in my first post (and in my video), my video is for the NEW PRODUCTION A3 Stocks not the OLDER A3 Stocks. There are videos showing full disassembly/reassembly (links below) but remember there are two types, the older stocks must be disassembled to remove the forks and the mechanisms are NOT the same. The newer stocks need to have the tension spring preloaded when it is reassembled into the plastic sleeve (part #15 in diagram above), which is where the problem is with reassembly. The older stocks are put together much differently and re-tensioning the spring is significantly less difficult on the older stocks. We are talking about 2 very different stocks. I added "New Production" in the thread title to avoid confusion.

The videos below are for the OLDER A3 Stocks, NOT the NEW PRODUCTION Stocks like in my video. Two VERY different stocks in terms of the mechanisms.

OLDER A3 Stock Disassembly

OLDER A3 Stock Reassembly

 

[Wildman326]

Very slick. I made a couple tools out of a notched socket and a small stiff wire hook to complete the process of putting the spring back in, but your way is mech better d as no looks less frustrating. Well done.

 

[67ray]

Very cool!!!
Thanks

 

[rambo-2000]

Remember as I said in my first post (and in my video), my video is for the NEW PRODUCTION A3 Stocks not the OLDER A3 Stocks. There are videos showing full disassembly/reassembly (links below) but remember there are two types, the older stocks must be disassembled to remove the forks and the mechanisms are NOT the same. The newer stocks need to have the tension spring preloaded when it is reassembled into the plastic sleeve (part #15 in diagram above), which is where the problem is with reassembly. The older stocks are put together much differently and re-tensioning the spring is significantly less difficult on the older stocks. We are talking about 2 very different stocks. I added "New Production" in the thread title to avoid confusion.

The videos below are for the OLDER A3 Stocks, NOT the NEW PRODUCTION Stocks like in my video. Two VERY different stocks in terms of the mechanisms.

OLDER A3 Stock Disassembly

OLDER A3 Stock Reassembly

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks!

rambo

 

[Jdyer]

Great post. Thank you!

 

[Octavian]

Great post. Thank you!

I am glad that this has been a help to some. I have found help here over the years and am happy that I could contribute something back.