Sterling Re-Furb by Andrewski

[NBC LT]

Sterling Re-Finish, Parts Upgrades & Scope Mount

My Sterling and spare parts were recently returned from John Andrewski for re-finishing and upgrades this week. I’m really pleased with the refinishing of my entire weapon and spare parts collection - crinkle finish and the new scope exceeded my expectations. The purpose of my refinish was to have Mr. Andrewski do the following:
• Remove a damaged front shroud (small cracks appeared after ~10k rounds fired). I’ll follow-up on this issue later with pictures in the post over the next weeks.
• Refinish the entire weapon.
• Add scope studs and picatinny rail.
• Improve my IMA bought Sterling barrel chamber to be more like British Army barrel. I’ll follow-up on this issue later with pictures in the post over the next weeks.
• Refinish all of my spare parts, to include a spare British Army 3 barrels, springs, 3 bolts, 2 extra trigger packs.
• Ensure that all spare parts fit and function with one another (all bolts, barrels, trigger packs).
• Reduce weight/mass of a bolt for increased rate of fire. John was able to bring a spare bolt from 16.6oz to 12.6oz ! I’ll follow-up on this issue later with pictures and movies in the post over the next weeks.

Links to pictures below:
Sterling Mag Side
Sterling close-up Mag Side
Sterling Eject Side
Sterling close-up Eject Side
Modified Charging Handle 1
Modified Charging Handle 2
Rail from Top
Sight Picture
Front new shroud

 

[Traveler]

John does a really nice job. The drooped cocking handle is nice to have with the rail.

 

[Mr.Maim]

Very, very nice. Interested in follow-up items you list in your OP.

 

[Captain murrica]

John built me one and it’s just perfection, can’t say enough good things about it.

 

[geavlaw]

Same type of experience with John. He took a functioning Mk-IV, and essentially rebuilt it and refinished to where it looks perfect and functions flawlessly. Even with something like refinishing magazines, John clearly takes pride and ownership of everything he does, with speedy turn-around times and always on budget. I am tempted to say that John “under commits and over-delivers”, but in actuality he “completely commits” and routinely “over-delivers”. Have been a great fan of his for years. Our industry could use a lot more great folks just like him.

 

[NBC LT]

I appreciate the comments about my Sterling - it just looks fantastic! And it is great piece of mind to have my spare parts all re-finished and fitted to the weapon. I'm going to buy a cheap red dot sight (AT3 RD-50) because it seems to have an un-obstructed see through mount that may allow me to use the irons still as a backup. The scope rail occludes 2/3 of my sight picture - so I'm hoping this mount allows for me to use either the dot of the irons at will.

Barrel Shroud Fissures
As promised in my original post, I wanted to share my discovery of an issue that I ran into with my Sterling well after ~10k rounds fired.

When cleaning the Sterling I notices cracks in each barrel shroud recess – where the allen type screws enter the shroud to screw in the barrel. See Pictures of the Fissures/Cracks below:
Fissure on one side
Fissure on the other side
View from the inside of the shroud after removal
Note: You can actually see the fouling built up in the shroud’s barrel aperture in the shape of my barrel groves in these pictures!!! John pointed that out to me and recommended scraping with a 7/16 drill bit. I cleaned this aperature thoroughly with solvent and brushes – but I guess scraping is the answer.

Another member on this forum identified my Sterling as a contract job (KR serial number) and I heard it was from New Zealand from the original owner. The shroud I just had removed does not seem (I'm no expert-and there is still a-lot of fouling) to have reinforcements on the inside like my British parts kit piece has, see below:
Reinforced allen screw openings in British parts kit where mine failed

I usually shoot between 200 – 800 rounds in an outing (can be as high as 1k rounds at the Big Sandy).

Basically, I clean my Sterling:
Every 1k – 1.5k rounds I strip the entire weapon down for cleaning. Barrel removed, trigger pack 90% disassembled (not the safety lever, etc.), and all bolt parts and ejector removed/cleaned with Hoppe's #9 solvent.
Every range trip is followed by a “general cleaning” if not yet at the 1k rounds fired mark since the last full disassembly and cleaning. "General cleaning" means bolt & trigger pack removed. Barrel cleaned while mounted in receiver, receiver tube solvent cleaned & oiled (ejector, rear tube receiver, mag well, etc), bolt and trigger pack not disassembled but solvent brushed and oiled.

I bring up my cleaning routine because I thought that I may be torquing the barrel too tightly and causing the fissures. I checked with John and he thought the spec was 8ft lbs / 87 inch pounds of torque – so I’m getting a torque wrench prior to full disassembly/cleaning.

Stay Tuned!!!!!
I’ll let the forum know how the speed bolt works, I’m taking the Sterling to the range in a few weeks. I just have to figure out how to record/calculate the rate of fire difference between a 16oz and 12oz bolt is going to be without a shot counter… anyone recommend a specific shot counter or trick for determining rate of fire?

 

[Traveler]

There are several brands of timers available. I was using a Pact Club Timer III. It’s simple to use and made in Texas. Look for it on Amazon and you will see other brands also.
There are also shot timer apps for your phone. I don’t know how good they are.

About those fissures. It looks like the kind of damage you see from corrosive ammo.

 

[NBC LT]

I have never shot corrosive ammunition, mostly reloads with Montana Gold FMJ projectiles, Winchester, Federal or CCI primers and decent powder (W231, AA#2, AA#5).

However.... I was laying heavy on the tracers with that weapon for night shoots at the Sandy. Maybe I should rethink tracers? Or rethink stacking tracers in the magazine more than 1 in 5?

 

[timkel]

Really nice Sterling. I like the red dot front sight.

 

[NBC LT]

Contact Andy via email @ andy@kgbarms.com to see if he's still has any. I really like mine.

Really nice Sterling. I like the red dot front sight.

 

[NBC LT]

Took the sterling to the range on Friday. My new AT3 RD-50 red dot scope found zero fast and held it on the new rail (the included 0.83 inch riser mount allowed me to see through it and use iron sights as well). The regular weight bolt fired at 575 rpm and the new reduced weight "Speed Bolt" (pictures coming) fired at 615rpm. The only failure I had was probably due to an overloaded magazine that failed to fire on the first round. Otherwise - that was the only hickup in 500 rds.

Video Links of Sterling firing 30rds with regular (16.6oz) and speed (12.4oz) bolts:
Link to Video of Regular Bolt ~575 RPM
Link to Video of "Speed Bolt" ~615 RPM

I wonder if taking a half spring loop out of the main recoil spring would speed it up any as well???

 

[Super Dak©]

I like the slower speed of the Sterlings. My MK-V is definitely faster then my MK-IV, it uses a lighter bolt and a single spring to compensate for the lower pressure. I would think that removing spring coils from a MK-IV with a lighter bolt might cause the bolt to contact the end cap? Just a thought.

 

[OldBesty]

Took the sterling to the range on Friday. My new AT3 RD-50 red dot scope found zero fast and held it on the new rail (the included 0.83 inch riser mount allowed me to see through it and use iron sights as well). The regular weight bolt fired at 575 rpm and the new reduced weight "Speed Bolt" (pictures coming) fired at 615rpm. The only failure I had was probably due to an overloaded magazine that failed to fire on the first round. Otherwise - that was the only hickup in 500 rds.

Video Links of Sterling firing 30rds with regular (16.6oz) and speed (12.4oz) bolts:
Link to Video of Regular Bolt ~575 RPM
Link to Video of "Speed Bolt" ~615 RPM

I wonder if taking a half spring loop out of the main recoil spring would speed it up any as well???

Nice videos. Thanks for sharing them. Were you able to perceive differences in recoil or controllability between the two bolts while shooting? Did you develop preference for one over the other?

 

[Traveler]

Thanks for posting the videos. They are a great start to my day.

I wonder if taking a half spring loop out of the main recoil spring would speed it up any as well???

I am guessing you’re using only the big recoil spring? Bolt milled out like the Mk5, so no cocking handle block or fouling pin?

If you want more speed, I would recommend a stiffer spring. It will stop the bolt and send it back faster.

The FAMAE PAF uses a single recoil spring with its light bolt (copied from the Mk5). I will measure the spring later and post the dimensions for you.

 

[Traveler]

FAMAE PAF top, Sterling below.

The FAMAE PAF recoil spring is an inch longer than the Sterling large spring. Other than that, it’s basically the same. It’s wound the other way, but that doesn’t matter. The pitch is slightly higher. Wire, ID and OD are the same.

 

[J2X]

Thanks for the videos. I like the slower speed of the MKIV.

What ammo are you using?

 

[NBC LT]

Chilean Spring & Ammo Type

Traveler, thanks for posting the picture, I'll have to look out for one of those springs. Maybe Numrich has them.

I was using S&B 115gn FMJ @ 1322 fps

 

[Traveler]

I sent you a PM about the spring.