Any AK builders here?

[Dan the Man]

Anyone here built an AK from a parts kit? I've always wanted to but never have. With some of the WBP kits out there I may try it. Just curious if anyone out there that has done it before would help a new guy out if I decide to try it.


Is there any reputable AK gunsmiths in Alabama?

 

[Old Dog]

Anyone here built an AK from a parts kit? I've always wanted to but never have. With some of the WBP kits out there I may try it. Just curious if anyone out there that has done it before would help a new guy out if I decide to try it.


Is there any reputable AK gunsmiths in Alabama?

Have built 2 in the past using original barrels mounted in trunnion.Not difficult, but I threaded rather than use rivets.Built an FAL also, not difficult either with breakdowns online now.Built many AR's as well, and easiest build of all as long as using good receivers.Key is don't rush or guess, do your homework and don't do anything half way. Every rifle I built, I assembled 3 times,1st for fit, 2nd -function, 3rd final with thread locker as needed and final clearance.
Enjoy.

 

[mhobtr]

Several years ago I built 3 AK's, one fixed stock and two under folders, All of them have stamped steel receivers.

I bought one of the Harbor Freight bolt cutters and ground down the cutters to make a rivet press which worked well for me. Also bought some press guides to help with the trigger guard install.

I would recommend staying away from milled receiver kits for a first time built.

Worst part can be pressing in the barrel because If the fit is too tight, you can bend the barrel. I have had luck freezing the barrel and heating the trunion but if I do another I'm going to turn the barrel down a thousandth or two for an easier fit.

An old drill bit works great for a barrel pin.

Ak's are a fun build but don't expect the final product to be on par with an FAL or M14 final product.

 

[DTC JESTER]

I've built something like 15 AKs from kits over the last few years. Anti seize is your friend when pressing any of the parts on the barrel or pressing the barrel into the trunnion. I highly recommend for a first build getting a pre headspaced parts kit as that eliminates like half of the work.

 

[rybern]

I built an AK or two nearly 20 years ago and still have one of them. I can recommend Jeremiah Galloway as a builder AKA Kane Tactical near Arab, AL. You can find him on FB but I I'll PM you his cell. Jeremiah is a friend, a stand up guy, a trainer and gunsmith.

 

[mhobtr]

Anti-seize worked fine for all but one of my builds and it turned out to be a real PIA. My lathe wasn't up and running or I would have turned the barrel down a thousandth or two and then polished it.

I use a nickle on the muzzle to protect it in the press and that works great.

I learned the hard way to not pin the barrel until you check the headspace. But it worked out OK in the end, just a little mr work.

 

[rybern]

Anti-seize worked fine for all but one of my builds and it turned out to be a real PIA. My lathe wasn't up and running or I would have turned the barrel down a thousandth or two and then polished it.

I use a nickle on the muzzle to protect it in the press and that works great.

I learned the hard way to not pin the barrel until you check the headspace. But it worked out OK in the end, just a little mr work.

I guess I was lucky and never had to mess with headspace since the barrels were all still pinned to the front trunion. All my previous builds were demilled Hungarian kits.

Here's the one I still have.

 

[mhobtr]

Did you check it to be sure?

Nice looking build BTW. I have an underfolder that was de-milled from an unissued AK that looks like that.

 

[rybern]

Did you check it to be sure?

Nice looking build BTW. I have an underfolder that was de-milled from an unissued AK that looks like that.

I didn't check it. Should I be concerned?

Thank you. I built it in 2004 before the Hungarian kits dried up. It's built from an AMD-63 kit.

 

[mhobtr]

I would definitely check it. It's probably OK but it's best to be safe than sorry.

A while back I saw a picture of an M14 home build that blew up. I don't know how the shooter didn't lose half is face, or his hand, but he was lucky.

 

[rybern]

I would definitely check it. It's probably OK but it's best to be safe than sorry.

A while back I saw a picture of an M14 home build that blew up. I don't know how the shooter didn't lose half is face, or his hand, but he was lucky.

Thanks for the info. I'll get with my AK builder buddy... I'm sure he has gages.

 

[RPank]

I built an AK or two nearly 20 years ago and still have one of them. I can recommend Jeremiah Galloway as a builder AKA Kane Tactical near Arab, AL. You can find him on FB but I I'll PM you his cell. Jeremiah is a friend, a stand up guy, a trainer and gunsmith.

I would appreciate the info as well! I have a Romanian parts kit I’ve been holding onto for like 6 years and it’s time to get it built.

 

[rybern]

I would appreciate the info as well! I have a Romanian parts kit I’ve been holding onto for like 6 years and it’s time to get it built.

PM coming at you.

 

[rybern]

I would definitely check it. It's probably OK but it's best to be safe than sorry.

A while back I saw a picture of an M14 home build that blew up. I don't know how the shooter didn't lose half is face, or his hand, but he was lucky.

I checked the head space on my Hungarian build and all is good. Go gage went easy and the no go held the bolt open about .25".

 

[DTC JESTER]

As a general rule of thumb you always want to verify headspace regardless of if the kit has the original barrel or not. The main benefit of an already headspaced kit is the barrel is already populated and at least In theory should press into the trunnion fine. You still have to unpin the barrel and press it out in order to rivet the front trunnion to the receiver, then you can press the barrel back in and this is where I recommend pressing until the previously drilled barrel pin channel is close to lining up, but you determine the barrels final position in the trunnion with headspace gages. Why? Because the barrel being too far in or out just a few thousandths can cause some serious problems for headspace so please don't just eyeball it.

Now that I got that rant out of the way here are a couple of my builds.
All matching polish AKM kit


All matching Yugo M70AB2 kit