How to build a AK variant at home (2nd edition)

[aloharover]

Originally Posted by animator

My first thought would be to cut the flat a bit larger in that area, bend, then trim down to the correct size.

Of course that's an extra step that's not necessary if using the right tools.

That could work. Even with a purchased, sized, drilled flat you still trim the rail. So not really extra work.

If you have access to a sheet metal brake I say go for it. The 6x12 sheet metal blanks I got were 3$ each. Not like testing the brake method is going to send someone to the poorhouse.

Pete

[usmcdoc14]

This is RETARDEDLY simple to do and can improve the accuracy of a
barrel quite a bit. This is also if you cut down a barrel to carbine length (this is done on a FAL barrel as an example)

First the shit you will need:
crown cutter (i got mine from www.brownells.com it is the 11* target crown cutter. 11* is a great crown as it performs well and the
countersink protects the crown)
guide dowel to fit the caliber you are doing (once again, brownells. .30
cal guide for AK/SKS/FAL )
handle of some sort for it (i used a 1/4 all thread nut and a old die.
or you can spend the cash on a handle. I don't recommend the drill bit
one as you want to take your time)
0000 steel wool
brass screw or brass ball bearing a little bigger than the cal. you are
doing a 1/4 screw is perfect for .308/7.62
valve lapping compound
cutting oil
hacksaw with a new blade

first i saw my crown was SHOT and also noticed that the barrel
was corroded at the ends of the lands

so i decided to cut it down to a 17.5 barrel because i should not have
to open the gas port (you may/may not need to open the gas port on any
gas operated weapon. the shorter barrel produces less pressure, hence
less to push the action back)
mark it square, i used an old pipe cutter to score it. plug the barrel
with a patch a distance past where you are cutting to keep shavings
out.

HACK SAW MOTHER FUCKER !!!

Now go and insert the crowning tool with guide dowel into the barrel.

USE LOTS OF OIL AT ALL TIMES AND CLEAR THE CHIPS

Apply good pressure and turn away. I rotate the barrel to a different
position every time i clear chips and re-oil so i don't get a low spot
from my hand pressure. Keep cutting until you have cut the ENTIRE barrel
face (this does not apply to Bull or target barrels as they may be
wider than your cutter. in that case stop when you get the recess you want) Once you do that
keep decreasing your pressure and keep cutting, keep getting lighter and
lighter till only the weight of the tool is on it. This give a nice
fine finish.

remove the tool and clean away any shavings.
Now take the steel wool and use it to get rid of the sharp edge on the
OUTSIDE of the barrel. The pic is over exaggerated i actualy only
used a small piece and rotated it around the edge with my thumb and fore
finger.

[usmcdoc14]

hopefully the board wont crash this time

Is the images in the above post working now?

[usmcdoc14]

next you find a way to hold your brass screw. I used a tap holder. If you are using a brass ball just skip to the next.

Dip it in your lapping compound and lap away !


just twist it back and forth. I once again changed barrel position and also the angle i was hitting at to make sure i did not get a low spot. Use a medium pressure, its better to take your time and do it right instead of too much.

Check your progress and stop when you get a nice hairline at the grooves (lands are the high spots of the rifling, grooves the bottom) you can just see it in the next pic.

Push out your plug/patch from the breech (dont push the lapping compound INTO the barrel ) and CLEAN THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR BARREL !!!!!

and TAADAAAAA!


you now have a barrel with a nice new 11 degree target crown I used a cold blue to protect it but it an be left bare as long as you oil it and remember its bare metal.

[usmcdoc14]

finished and blued sorry was making some money on some parts

The trick to no streaks is to DEGREASE the fuck out of it with brake cleaner, buff lightly with 0000 steel wool and wipe the dust off with a clean dry rag.

[morpheus]

hey doc, do you have any more pics of one's that you've painted with that crinkle paint ? I think I'm going to paint some parts of mine that khaki color krinkle ...

[usmcdoc14]

Originally Posted by morpheus

hey doc, do you have any more pics of one's that you've painted with that crinkle paint ? I think I'm going to paint some parts of mine that khaki color krinkle ...

actualy ALL of them have been finished in it. Just to make sure we are talking about the same thing it is "Rustolium Textured". Rustolium also makes it in tan and moss green (the green is actualy in the "decorator" box but its the same shit)

[basketcasejeep]

Doc, does it say anything on the can about baking? Is that something you just decided to do, and found it worked?

Do you coat the entire parts, or just the outer pieces? I'm just wondering how tight the fitup would be if everything(save action and barrel), inside and out, is painted? Those screws looked painted as well.

I'm thinking about getting the Romanian one, painting metal parts with the Rustoleum texture, and the furniture with this:
http://www.zolatoneaim.com/inter_1.html


Maybe its just the ghetto in me...
I like the Butler Creek folding stocks for 10/22's and Mini-14/30. I wonder how hard it would be to adapt the folder portion onto an AK. I haven't seen this type stock made for the AK.

Oh, and Doc, did you test fire any at the range today? I think I remember reading that you were going to test fire a recent build today... I could be wrong, I've spent 12+hours reading on these since last night...

[usmcdoc14]

Originally Posted by basketcasejeep

Doc, does it say anything on the can about baking? Is that something you just decided to do, and found it worked?

Do you coat the entire parts, or just the outer pieces? I'm just wondering how tight the fitup would be if everything(save action and barrel), inside and out, is painted? Those screws looked painted as well.

I'm thinking about getting the Romanian one, painting metal parts with the Rustoleum texture, and the furniture with this:
http://www.zolatoneaim.com/inter_1.html


Maybe its just the ghetto in me...
I like the Butler Creek folding stocks for 10/22's and Mini-14/30. I wonder how hard it would be to adapt the folder portion onto an AK. I haven't seen this type stock made for the AK.

Oh, and Doc, did you test fire any at the range today? I think I remember reading that you were going to test fire a recent build today... I could be wrong, I've spent 12+hours reading on these since last night...

in order :flipoff2
I learned that baking on regular spray painted shit on metal will bond it a LOT better. Then i saw some guys on another board were doing it with the textured. I did test chunks of steel and subjected them to different torture/chemicals and was happy so i used it

Entire parts, assembled gun. minus bolt/bolt carrier, trigger shit, springs, gas piston. Light coat inside, outside i control the texture till it looks like what i want. what cant get removed stays together and what comes off is sprayed separately. I let it dry and then bake in the oven at 350-400 for an hour and turn off the oven. Remove when cool (this also anneals the parts good too)

Its the ghetto in you

show me a pic of the stock and i will find you the AK version or how to adapt it

Yes, the range was closed today and i did not know. Tomorrow at 10am unless i have to be at the airport i will be shootin'

[basketcasejeep]

Ok, that makes sense about the coating. It definitely looks better than the factory blueing that comes on most of these things. The crappy looking wood stocks and ugly blueing is a lot of what has turned me off to these rifles before... I actually prefer stainless... but a good paint job will do for a beater.

Here's an example of the 10/22 stock:
http://www.gunaccessories.com/ButlerCreek/Folding.asp

A mini-14 stock on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BUTLER-CREEK-STA...QQcmdZViewItem

Also another for the 870 shotgun here:
http://www.combatstocks.com/Butler_C...ington_870.cfm

I'll get a chance to look at some both on and off the rifle tomorrow, I'll see if it has to be cut off or can be otherwise detached. They feel very solid, and collapse tighter than the AR stock you used. Yours is practical for a better cheek weld, but the folder would take less room in the truck... and is cheaper.

I read your description on how to heat treat the receiver earlier. It makes sense. I read another one on one of the sites mentioned here, and it claimed to heat the treated areas to red hot and quench, twice. Then, heat to red again and allow to cool. IIRC from welding school this actually softened the metal. Heating to 500 like you wrote would treat it to a good hardness. Baking to 400 would be on the verge of hardening it to the max. Somewhere in the 400-420 range is where the transition begins. If its bare shiny metal, you can see it form a straw color. Blue/Purple form in the 500-600 degree range... At least, thats how I remember it. I definitely neeed to brush up on this.

[usmcdoc14]

hows that one ?

thats from www.aceltdusa.com (same maker as my AR stock) they sell folding kits for it and a specialty adapter that you cut the back of the tang off and just bolt the stock on

[basketcasejeep]

This is a good idea for a cheek rest.

http://www.aceltdusa.com/images04/ga...Wrap1-602w.jpg

AMD-65:
http://www.aceltdusa.com/images04/Cu...373f2_615w.jpg

[jstarnes]

I have read all of Doc's posts and I feel this would be a great addition to them http://gunsgutsandgod.com/SBS%20tutorial.htm

it answered a bunch of questions I had after reading through this thread

[morpheus]

that's a good link, thanks jstarnes ...

hey doc, when I asked a couple of days ago for more painted pics I meant to specify ones that were any other color than the black ones you already posted. Where did you get the pieces in this pic you posted. I've searched a fair bit and can't find ones like that ... at least in the pics of the parts that places say they sell:


EDIT: Just found the pistol grip piece. I saw one you guys reference a SAW and that's what the grip piece is from a SAW.

[usmcdoc14]

www.tapco.com makes them hey are styled after the M249 SAW

[morpheus]

Originally Posted by usmcdoc14

yes you WILL NEED A MAG !!!! thats how you determine the front trunnion location. too far out and the mag will wobble/fall out. too close and it wont fit.
the best magazines are the FORIENG MADE plastic mags (Bulgarian waffle, Finnish waffle, Finnish valmet, etc) the U.S. made plastic ones (US Mag) suck balls
Those ones will fit most anything PERFECT !!

now any of the steel ones will work but they may require fitting. Fitting means sanding off some of the "duckbill" that sticks out of the mag. always adjust the magazine NEVER the magazine catch on the rifle.

hey doc, will a steel mag work good enough to locate the front trunnion or do I need a good foreign plastic one for that ?

[usmcdoc14]

Originally Posted by morpheus

hey doc, will a steel mag work good enough to locate the front trunnion or do I need a good foreign plastic one for that ?

works good enuf. just get it "snug". use a small "C" clamp to hold the front trunnion in place to test the mag fitment.

and when you do find mags that wont lock in grind a little from the "duckbil" on the mag NOT THE MAG LATCH ON THE RECIEVER !!! make the mags fit your AK not the other way

[Diesel Smoke]

Doc,

When you bake stuff, do you use the oven in your kitchen, the same you cook with? I suspect you don't have any issue with fumes or any residual smells. I am going to be baking a finish onto some smaller parts and I have toyed with the idea of buying a small toaster over to use instead of the one in the kitchen. However if it's working find for your, the money could be better spent on more gun parts!

[usmcdoc14]

Originally Posted by Diesel Smoke

Doc,

When you bake stuff, do you use the oven in your kitchen, the same you cook with? I suspect you don't have any issue with fumes or any residual smells. I am going to be baking a finish onto some smaller parts and I have toyed with the idea of buying a small toaster over to use instead of the one in the kitchen. However if it's working find for your, the money could be better spent on more gun parts!

Yes i use the regular oven as I can suspend the parts from the inside and nothing fawks up the finish. That and the heat is nice and even inside.

no issues with fumes when its done/finished, but it will put off a odor when baking. so no, my brownies dont taiste like Rustolium

If you could find an old stove with shot top burners it will probly cost you less than the toaster oven (free on the side of the road) and you could also do home powdercoating in the garage to boot

[basketcasejeep]

I think they may not have updated the site since the ban expired?

Maybe our resident gun law armchair experts will know whether guns built between 94 and 04 are still illegal to modify, and the ones built '05 and newer are exempt?

Edit, Doc you beat me to it. So does the ban still apply to guns built in those years or are they now exempt?

[usmcdoc14]

Originally Posted by basketcasejeep

Maybe our resident gun law armchair experts will know whether guns built between 94 and 04 are still illegal to modify, and the ones built '05 and newer are exempt?

Edit, Doc you beat me to it. So does the ban still apply to guns built in those years or are they now exempt?

nope, you can put evil black shit on your guns thread your barrels, throw away your thumbhole stocks, rape, pillage, plunder...

[morpheus]

Originally Posted by usmcdoc14

nope, you can put evil black shit on your guns thread your barrels, throw away your thumbhole stocks, rape, pillage, plunder...

Excellent !

[morpheus]

I see a few of these laser cut receivers for sale for fairly cheap $30 ... they don't have the magazine "bumps" in them though ... what's the word on them ?

[usmcdoc14]

Originally Posted by jstarnes

Doc do you know if the underfolder "folder" will fit over that forgrip?

that I do not know

Originally Posted by morpheus

I see a few of these laser cut receivers for sale for fairly cheap $30 ... they don't have the magazine "bumps" in them though ... what's the word on them ?

They work
its thin sheet so take your time welding, they require heat treating when done.

If you want the "bumps" for magazine stability just measure how high it needs to be from the reciever stub in your parts kit and plug weld a plate to the inside that matches that thickness

[mudtoy67]

Doc, I've been reading this thread over and over and have figured out what to spend my Xmas money on.

I'm planning on picking up a Romanian parts kit from Gunbroker. I thought about going to the next gun show, but I can't wait. Got a few questions for ya though, if ya don't mind. I apologise if any of these have already been answered, I have ADD

Is this the skull bashing collapsable stock I would need?
collapsible stock
Also does the mounting for it count as the rear trunnion......I.E. would this be two US parts?
But I'm also thinking....do I really need a collapsible stock like this? I like the fact that I could save a little room, but do these really collapse that far? It would save me a little money to just get a 4 piece set.
I thought about a folding stock but I'm not sure wether I like them or not.

I noticed in the rifles built on the first page you replaced the stock and hand grip (2parts), fire control (3 parts), and gas tube (1 parts) to make the 6 US parts you needed. But the reciever would count as a US made part wouldn't it? I'm going to get an unbent reciever to save a little money.

On the trigger group, do i need the single hook or double hook? I've noticed most of the time they are the same price. And is "G2" better than anyone else's US trigger groups?

So so far this is what I've got...

part........................cost...............US parts

romanian AK47.........$99.97
gunbroker.com

collapsible stock......$84.95..............2
fl gun works

pistol grip................~$20...............1


g2 trigger group.......$39.................3
tickbitesupply
--or akparts.com.......$37.95 *not listed as G2

Unbent reciever......$24.95..............1
akparts.com

Total...................~$270...............6

I plan on getting a front hand gaurd to match the stock/pistol grip when I get closer to completion, and a birdcage flash hider. And I didn't factor in the screws or other small supplies into the cost. Is there anything you can think of that I'm missing?

TIA for the help!


Edit: I just saw the link to DPHarms above.....

They have a Ewbanks receiver that is already predrilled and folded for $50.....are these any good or should I stay with the unbent recievers?