ALL the small, Allen head screws holding the feet were removed and tightened-down with Loc-tite applied. The screws holding the brackets for the leg-adjustment levers required the lever pivot pins be driven out for access. Once the screws were properly tightened, with loc-tite, and the roll pins driven back in, the sides of the aluminum brackets were given a few taps with a hammer in order to compress the bracket so that it would be tight on the body of the leg. Easy does it. A belt-and-suspenders type would delete the roll pins, and use stainless steel machine screws and NyLock nuts.
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Probably the major reduction of rattle/wobble was installing a collar/bushing on the body of the screw that secures the bipod to the SKS bayonet lug. I made this out of on-hand brass tubing. The tubing was just a tinch too-large in diameter. Tubing was cut to length, and a slot cut down the 1/4" length of the tubing, using a Dremel and cutting wheel. It slipped, perfectly, into the body of the mount, and the body of the screw fit into it with a little play. A machinist could improve on this, I'm sure, but the cost would be ridiculous for this application. IOW, what I made was a simple collar/bushing that fits snugly inside the body of the bipod mount which in turn, slips inside the "ears" of the bayonet lug, and which is finally secured by a screw that "just" fits within the collar/bushing.
It's important to reduce slop between the hard steel pivot/securing screw and the aluminum body of the mount, since the hard steel screw will, given enough use, cause the hole in the mount through which it passes to become deformed. The less play/slop (within reason) the better.
ETA: I added an
inner shim of .004" stainless steel to the previously-installed brass collar/bushing, and there is almost no detectable slop/play between the screw which secures the mount to the rifle's bayonet lug and the body of the mount itself, Since there are dissimilar metals involved, the user must take care to frequently lubricate this point with light oil, lest corrosion develop. All joints/pivots oiled/greased, as appropriate. All rivets were re-staked in place, using appropriate staking tool.
Aside from the primary question about whether or not one should buy and install this bipod in the first place, the small, inexpensive mods
definitely tightened-up things, and greatly reduced rattle and noise. The unit is much-improved. Sorry, no pix, but this vid shows the bipod, and all the component parts can be seen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka_uHS9BTQM
Submitted for consideration.
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