wes, lemme know if u need a hand... not to burn though

Thanks bud - I might take you up on that - been wishing for a third hand while takin pics!

Ok now the receiver is kinda tight and can be a real pain to put the center support in...I use a vise to spread the receiver in small increments just enough to allow the support to fit inside and be held with a tension fit...



Now we have converted our rivet jig to press in the center support and rear trunnion rivets...



I like to support the receiver above the jig to allow a flat surface in the rivet head so we don't bend or torque the receiver when we form the rivet...

Excellent "How to"...Thanks!

We want more.

Now the way this jig works is we have a pin to line up the rivet that is protruding from the side of the receiver and then we put in a spacer that comes with the jig and tighten down the long screw....



after everything is nice and tight we remove the center pin used to line up the rivet and then we put in the forming pin and press form the rivet head...



after I get the rivets formed I like to smooth them out and clean up any perfections - this also helps with the safety selector to keep from hitting the rivet head...



Now that we have the center support in we need to put on the rear trunnion...I just placed the trunnion on the side of the receiver and lined up the edge with the edge of the receiver and marked the holes for drilling.
I then placed the trunnion inside of the receiver and started to drill in my mars - START SMALL! then you go a little bigger until the rivet will fit...



The rivets are swell necked for the rear trunnion so the holes on the side that the heads will be must have a countersink cut to recess the necks. Now we slide in the rivets (sometimes these can be a bit tight)

Now we setup just like before with the center support except that we use a tool holder to support the rivet head underneith...



Then once we press the rivets we have a nicely set rear trunnion...



Now we are pretty much done - you can assemble the bolt carrier and recoil spring and check for any tight fitting areas and file them down so the carrier runs smoothly.

The Fire control group pin holes need to be heat treated along with the ejector tip - here is an excellent Pictoral on how to do this...First you will heat to cherry red and dunk then you will go back and anneal to a bluish tan and air cool... http://www.quarterbore.com/images/amdbuild6/

Now we just have to drill the pin holes to hold on the front sight and the gas block - you would do this the same as we drilled for the barrel pin, just start with small drill bits and work your way up to a size slightly smaller than the pin (about .001-.003" smaller)

After everything is pinned you can test fire the gun - DON'T TRY TO SHOOT IT WITHOUT DOING THIS AS YOU RUN THE RISK OF THE GAS BLOCK MOVING!

Next update will include the sequence I go through for prepping and painting the gun (with gunkote) but for you rattle can guys this will hopefully get you guys to the point where you can build your own Kalashnikov!!!

Hope you guys enjoyed this...

niice

Update with final steps!

Thanks togeneral for doing this for all of us. Really enjoyed this thread (best yet). Much apriciated. Would be cool to see the final paint process when you get around to it....

Thank you!!

Once I get everything pinned and filed I'm going to document the gunkote process I use.

Excellent tutorial, better than most I've seen on specialized AK forums. My girlfriend is about to hate harbor freight and ak-builder.com, lol. Thanks a ton for taking the time to put this together.

Joe

You're welcome Joe. I hope all of you guys get everything that you need from this tutorial, but if you have any questions shoot me a pm and I'll try to help.

I know I said I was going to do a tutorial on the Gunkote, but I guess that will have to wait for the next gun as I forgot to take any pictures (Wanted to get this thing done!)

But here is a finished pic of the rifle as she sits complete...



I have to say she shoots pretty good with Yugo surplus ammo (only have 25 yards to test her out, but I can hold just as tight of a 30 round group as I can with my AR so.....)

nice!

amazing work. A lot more involved than I thought. If I built one it'd be the iraq cave method with rocks. I have much more respect for the ak and those who build them.

Nice man, reaaaaaal nice!!!

Thanks guys (maybe one day they'll make this a sticky)

IMO best thread EVER!!!!!!

HAHA Thanks Joe!

Would you, or anybody else be interested in a build party? Get a few guys that have kits and flats, and build a few rifles over a weekend? We would all contribute with tools, or money for tools. Bring your own drill bits etc.

I have a flat ordered from Ak-builder, and I'm saving for a kit.

Nice,
Why did you not heat treat this receiver ?

I did heat treat the wear iems - the FCG pin holes and the ejector. I just didn't get around to taking a picture of it (Kinda tugh with only 2 hands while holding a torch and a red hot chunk-o-steel)

I put the instructions here though

"The Fire control group pin holes need to be heat treated along with the ejector tip - here is an excellent Pictoral on how to do this...First you will heat to cherry red and dunk then you will go back and anneal to a bluish tan and air cool... http://www.quarterbore.com/images/amdbuild6/ "

Could we get a break down of the jigs and stuff needed?

I have a 80 %er looking to get put together.
My buddy and I are doing our first build and good jigs/tools makes a difference

1st and foremost you will want AK-Builder's rivet jig, then the barrel press jig, you can get by without the trunnion hole drilling fixture if you mark the trunnion holes carefully.
Small tools will be a good set of drill bits and a 5mm and 7mm reamer set.
All of this with a dremel, spot welder and a 12 ton press and you should be good.

Excellent tutorial, sir!! I have a buddy that just finished his first build and he didn't give me the impression that it was anywhere near this time consuming and detailed. I would love to build my own someday, but until then I'll just have to enjoy my "factory" AK's.
Thanks again and I hope to see more form you in the future.

It all depends on how you build them. I've seen AKs that put mine to shame with the level of detail and time put into them, and I've also seen AKs that are screwed together, welded, or look like they were riveted together with a hammer/rock!
He may have had a barrel where all of the gas block and front sight were already in place and used a receiver from nodak spud or some other full receiver (whereas the flats are only 80% complete). There are easier ways to build, but from a flat is the norm.