AK build parties, anyone?

413dan said:
id absolutely be down for an ak build party, when acquiring parts what do you need,just a parts kit or moe? are certain parts kits better than others, i.e. russian, egyptian? Ive built an ar but would love to get my hands dirty and build my first ak! thanks for any responses
Click to expand...

russian kits command the price anywhere from 700 and up so for your first build i would recommend to buy an inexpensive kit.

but first determine what caliber you desire. your choices with kits are pretty much limited to 5.45 or 7.62. any other calibers would be hard to find and/or expensive

there are currently good inexpensive hungarian underfolder kits available in 7.62. they are true russian pattern AKM unlike Yugo AKs

if you desire to go with low impulse round aka 5.45 then your best bet is bulgarian ak74 kit which is also priced about the same as hungarian.

these would be my first choices but other people might think different.

once you purchase a kit you will need two more things - barrel, receiver. there are well priced barrel at apex right now as well as kits so it could be one stop shop for you, save $12 on shipping too.

second thing you should get is a receiver. As a first time builder i would suggest to buy a 100% receiver with all holes drilled and rails welded and already heat-treated. going with 80% or even a flat might be too much for first time builder. but again that's just my opinion. i got burned by multiple people at gunco for suggesting this to a novice builder, but they can GTFO i stick to my advice.

centerfire currently running deal on receiver-barrel combo for good price. atlanticfirearms has receivers for underfolders that are also running as a deal for just $50.

you can get chrome-lined AK barrels from ak-builder and gmriflebarrel. but expect to pay around @150 for those. apex has AK barrel s for around $75 right now which is not bad but they are non-chrome-lined.

regarding chrome-lining - it's not worth to overpay for IMO because there is no longer corrosive cheap surplus left for 7.62x39 and 5.45 is on it's way out too. so i wouldn't overpay for chrome-lining because of that reason. authenticity is besides the point because you are already using so many US-made parts it's not even an argument worth having (for me) but opinions might vary on this depending on who you ask.

922r aspect. according to this law any rifle built from imported parts needs to have certain amount of parts in it that are US-made. some people follow this law and some people do not. if you choose to follow it then you will need in your AK build have 6 us-made parts. since you are using US-made barrel and receiver it counts as 2 parts already. easy way to get 4 more parts on the cheap is to by Tapco g2 trigger group that count as 3 more parts, and US made muzzle break which will be the 6-th and will satisfy the letter of the law.

as alternative you can choose to use different parts to meet compliance requirements. it could be US-made: gas-piston, handguards, butt-stock, pistol grip. any of those parts will be OK to substitute with and each counts as one US part. but any of those things would cost you more in the end. parts that i suggested first (muzzle break and Tapco FCG) will be the cheapest and easiest route to take.

if you are in MA then there is another thing to consider it's MA AWB
basically you cant have a semi-auto rifle that able to accept detachable magazine that has more than one of following features:
-pistol grip
-flash-hider or threaded muzzle
-bayonet lug
-collapsible or fold-able stock.

in layman's terms if you build AK in MA you can only keep pistol grip. things like threaded barrel and fordable/collapsible stock need to be disabled - pinned and/or welded and bayonet lug needs to be ground off or rendered inoperable in some other way. flash-hider is out of the question so only muzzle break that was welded on.

something else i thought about and decided to add. when you buy Tapco G2 fire control group (FCG) get tapco retaining plate like this one:http://www.amazon.com/Tapco-AK0690-AK-Retaining-Plate/dp/B002N2ILPE
one of the easiest and quickest retaining solutions i've ever tried. easy to put in and out with just bare hands. no need to have any tools.
some people like wire-retainers or other style retainers but i like these the best personally because of how easy it is to install.

something else i forgot to mention. you will need a proper set of rivets.
yes there are diferent sets of rivets depending on the type of AK you are building. i.e. underfolder, sidefolder, fixed stock.
ak-builder sells the as well as apex, robertRTG, and prety much most of other sellers who sell AK parts and kits.
 
Last edited:
dnepro-mike's post reminds me, what should the M@$$holes among us plan to do about permanently attaching muzzle brakes? Solder, spot weld? I can grind off my bayo lug easily enough at home beforehand.
 
DudeAbides said:
Don't know how it would work for others here bit I could definitely do Manchester.

I'll bring along craft beer and Stolichnaya wherever it happens, though!
Click to expand...

I'd be interested, I have an AK74 kit with everything.... but I have any of the "special tools". I do have plenty of hand tools, some air tools, a grinder and a drill press I could bring.
 
Last edited:
some the good to have specialized tools are:
-trigger guard riveting fixture
-rivet pressing jig
-barrel pressing support
-press ram atachement
-go and no-go headspacing gauges for each separate caliber being built.
and shop press to work all these tools.

w/o these it'll be pretty difficult to build and will take some time although not impossible.

if you gonna have receivers w/o front trunnion holes then you would need trunnion hole drilling fixture with separate mandrels for 23mm(AK-47, AKM) and 22mm(AK-74/100) trunnions
 
Gator9329 said:
Sad part most the experienced people have been banned or they have moved.
Click to expand...

It's an AK, not a space shuttle... There's lots of build threads where people built them in a living room. I thought somewhere here even built one with just a hammer and the homemade rivet tools.

I'm convinced anyone with half a brain and a mild mechanical aptitude could make one.

warwickben said:
I'm a hack lol .
Click to expand...

You're way overqualified! [rofl]
 
turbo89 said:
I'd be interested, I have an AK74 kit with everything.... but I have any of the "special tools". I do have plenty of hand tools, some air tools, a grinder and a drill press I could bring.
Click to expand...

I have a drill press, mig, compressor, grinder w/cutoff wheels, bead blaster and a too small bench vice. A couple of the other shops next to me might have a press I could borrow.
 
warwickben said:
I'm a hack lol .
Click to expand...

Looking at the work needed to be done, far from a hack.

Also got a good pic.

831ae1383387198d240a4080294c2f2e.jpg
 
DudeAbides said:
Would anyone be interested in trading a hungarian under-folder trunnion and stock for a fixed stock trunnion?
Click to expand...

just build under-folder and pin it.
also fixed trunnion+fixed stock vs under-folder and stock are not equal trades. fixed trunnion +stock cost about half of what under-folder setup costs.
fixrf rear trunnion alone is about $20 plus surplus stock is about the same or even less.
under-folder setup trun+stock together go for at least $75 but most places are selling that for $100-120

just FYI
 
DudeAbides said:
Well that's good to know since my lower is a 7.62 OOW...[hmmm]
Click to expand...

Early OOWs had a problem where their selector holes were too low. You needed to trim the selector and there was a gap where it met the top cover.
That is the only problem with them that I am aware of, and I'm going back 10 years or so. The problem was corrected a few years ago.
 
dnepro-mike said:
just build under-folder and pin it.
also fixed trunnion+fixed stock vs under-folder and stock are not equal trades. fixed trunnion +stock cost about half of what under-folder setup costs.
fixrf rear trunnion alone is about $20 plus surplus stock is about the same or even less.
under-folder setup trun+stock together go for at least $75 but most places are selling that for $100-120

just FYI
Click to expand...

I have a fixed buttstock already, just need a trunnion for it and really would rather go fixed. The hungarian underfold kits look great other than the fact that they're underfolders. I might just buy it and try to sell the folder + trunnion separately though, if they're worth that much alone.
 
Last edited:
crono1000 said:
Perfect form... I dremel-cut shit with no goggles too. Nothing like metal shards in the eye to make you a man haha
Click to expand...

I used to just kinda squint and turn my head. I have recently started wearing safety glasses and it is amazing how much better you can work with your eyes open and pointed at your tools. It only took my about 45 years to figure that out.
 
crono1000 said:
Perfect form... I dremel-cut shit with no goggles too. Nothing like metal shards in the eye to make you a man haha
Click to expand...

mclina said:
I used to just kinda squint and turn my head. I have recently started wearing safety glasses and it is amazing how much better you can work with your eyes open and pointed at your tools. It only took my about 45 years to figure that out.
Click to expand...

Trick is to have sparks spraying away from you.

What is the worse thing in the world is the metal deburing bits. I don't know what it is about ak receiver but they make these perfect thinner then hair slivers that are 1/4-1/2 long . Instantly goes into your skin.
I use these at work on stainless and it's just metal dust . Steel = hell. First time I did I looked at my hands and went o ****. (Trimming way over size upper rails on cold steel solutions psl receiver ).
From that point on if I'm going to use one on steel I wear rubber cloves then work gloves .
And I take a clean room suit home. From work .
I spent a hour pulling metal out of my hands till I could grab some thing with out feeling pain.
Then few days later I started seeing black dots from the ones I missed rusting under my skin.

Did that once and never will again .
Hurts thinking about it .
 
You were taught better Ben.
Magnets are awesome at getting metal out of skin and eyes.
I use a face shield at minimum. I don't dig goggle glasses but they will save you from yourself.
Dremil cutoff wheels are so flimsy it doesn't take much for them to grenade.
 
Bursting cutoff wheels are always fun, or when the metal your trimming finally comes off and lands directly on skin. Ohhhh the burn...

And seriously, Ben, that sounds horrible hahaha

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
 
Reasons for wearing eye pro when grinding etc. 1. Metal shard removal is no fun when they numb your eyeball and drill out the surrounding area. 2. Head Xray needed prior to MRI to prevent blindness if any metal left in eye.

On another note... If one had a 100% OOW 7.62 receiver around, what would be a good parts kit to get?
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Ak hand gaurd
Replies
12
Views
194
42!
42!
Anyone know a skilled woodworker in Boston Metrowest area?
Replies
0
Views
97
hminsky
H
WTK - Interest in Build Party
Replies
7
Views
875
Muther
M
10/22 build
Replies
15
Views
844
lilbear
L
Black powder build
Replies
17
Views
768
Sweeney
Sweeney
Back
Top Bottom