I bought an Atlas Cal Gen2 bipod many months ago. My specific model was the CAL BT69-LW17. I was very dissapointed with the way the podlok lever worked. I expected the tension to increase/decrease as I turned the lever and for the bipod to hold whatever tension I set it to. Atlas CAL bipods don't do what I expected, at least not from the factory. The good news is that I came up with a simple mod to make it work the way I wanted it to.
Here's the short version of what I did:
1. Unscrew/remove podlok.
2. Unscrew/remove nylock nut.
3. Remove belleville washer.
4. Remove brass flat washer.
5. Place new belleville washer onto compass bolt with the concave side facing towards the podlok.
6. Screw podlok on.
I did not put the brass flat washer back onto the bipod -- it no longer has a purpose.
I did not put the original bellevelle washer back onto the bipod -- it no longer has a purpose.
I did not put the nylock nut back onto the bipod -- it no longer has a purpose.
Finding a new belleville washer (spring disk) to put on the bipod required some measuring and a lot of shopping and some trial-and-error.
There are two types of belleville washers I bought from McMaster-Carr that work well. One is stainless steel and the other is a nickel alloy.
The stainless steel has a smoother finish and a lower max pressure than the nickel alloy.
If my rifle was not so top-heavy, I would use the stainless steel. But my rifle is very top heavy, so I use the nickel alloy.
According to the description of both of these belleville washers on McMaster-Carr's web site, they can be compressed to completely flat (pancaked as we airgunners would call it) and still come back to their original shape and retain their "springyness".
Here are the part numbers and descriptions of the two types of belleville washers (spring disks) from McMaster-Carr:
Edit: August 26, 2024
Absolutely get the Nickel-alloy rather than the stainless steel. The stainless steel pancakes too soon, at which point you lose your leverage.
Stainless steel:
9713K19 Corrosion-Resistant Belleville Disc Spring for 1/4" Shaft Diameter, 0.255" ID, 0.75" OD, 0.0360" Thick, Packs of 3
Nickel alloy:
97125K119 Extreme-Temperature Belleville Disc Spring for 1/4" Shaft Diameter, 0.255" ID, 3/4" OD, 0.04" Thick
Here are a few things that are worth noting in no particular order:
The base of the belleville washer will rotate around the base of the compass bolt and will wear on the aluminum block initially. After some use you probably won't notice much, if any, additional wear. My BT69-LW17 has a round (not keyhole-shaped) hole at the base of the compass bolt, so the wear is even. I don't know how it will wear on the older CAL bipods that have a keyhole-shaped hole around the base of the compass bolt.
Although CAL bipods don't have a hard lock (it's just tension), this mod makes it a LOT easier to crank down to max tension with just normal adult male hand strength without bruising or bashing knuckles or curse words.
Other people in the world may have come up with this same idea, but I haven't found anything like it on the internet. Sometimes the same problem is solved independently by many people who all come up with the same solution.
Don't think you're helping anything by putting the brass flat washer on under the belleville washer or by stacking a bunch of belleville washers. You want as many podlok threads to be engaged as possible. Adding material under one of the single belleville washers I recommend is only decreasing the number of podlok threads that are engaged when you are cranking down the tension to maximum.
stovepipe
Here's the short version of what I did:
1. Unscrew/remove podlok.
2. Unscrew/remove nylock nut.
3. Remove belleville washer.
4. Remove brass flat washer.
5. Place new belleville washer onto compass bolt with the concave side facing towards the podlok.
6. Screw podlok on.
I did not put the brass flat washer back onto the bipod -- it no longer has a purpose.
I did not put the original bellevelle washer back onto the bipod -- it no longer has a purpose.
I did not put the nylock nut back onto the bipod -- it no longer has a purpose.
Finding a new belleville washer (spring disk) to put on the bipod required some measuring and a lot of shopping and some trial-and-error.
There are two types of belleville washers I bought from McMaster-Carr that work well. One is stainless steel and the other is a nickel alloy.
The stainless steel has a smoother finish and a lower max pressure than the nickel alloy.
If my rifle was not so top-heavy, I would use the stainless steel. But my rifle is very top heavy, so I use the nickel alloy.
According to the description of both of these belleville washers on McMaster-Carr's web site, they can be compressed to completely flat (pancaked as we airgunners would call it) and still come back to their original shape and retain their "springyness".
Here are the part numbers and descriptions of the two types of belleville washers (spring disks) from McMaster-Carr:
Edit: August 26, 2024
Absolutely get the Nickel-alloy rather than the stainless steel. The stainless steel pancakes too soon, at which point you lose your leverage.
Stainless steel:
9713K19 Corrosion-Resistant Belleville Disc Spring for 1/4" Shaft Diameter, 0.255" ID, 0.75" OD, 0.0360" Thick, Packs of 3
Nickel alloy:
97125K119 Extreme-Temperature Belleville Disc Spring for 1/4" Shaft Diameter, 0.255" ID, 3/4" OD, 0.04" Thick
Here are a few things that are worth noting in no particular order:
The base of the belleville washer will rotate around the base of the compass bolt and will wear on the aluminum block initially. After some use you probably won't notice much, if any, additional wear. My BT69-LW17 has a round (not keyhole-shaped) hole at the base of the compass bolt, so the wear is even. I don't know how it will wear on the older CAL bipods that have a keyhole-shaped hole around the base of the compass bolt.
Although CAL bipods don't have a hard lock (it's just tension), this mod makes it a LOT easier to crank down to max tension with just normal adult male hand strength without bruising or bashing knuckles or curse words.
Other people in the world may have come up with this same idea, but I haven't found anything like it on the internet. Sometimes the same problem is solved independently by many people who all come up with the same solution.
Don't think you're helping anything by putting the brass flat washer on under the belleville washer or by stacking a bunch of belleville washers. You want as many podlok threads to be engaged as possible. Adding material under one of the single belleville washers I recommend is only decreasing the number of podlok threads that are engaged when you are cranking down the tension to maximum.
stovepipe
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