recent project

[randyt]

Last december a friend stopped by and showed me a ak47 he put together from parts and pieces. At that time I thought I should do that to. So I started to put one together and took a few pictures of the process.

This is a legal build for my area, if anybody decides to build a firearm all laws should be followed.

I want to add that doing this is for fun, it probably costs more than if I had went out and bought a ak47


I used a hammer a lot for building this. Gosh I make some mistakes but they are cosmetic and I learned a bunch.

here's a few pictures of the process.


the parts kit, with a receiver flat
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here's a jig I made up from angle iron to form the receiver.
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I used bolts to draw the flat through the jig to size it and form it.
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formed receiver
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here's bolt cutters that I modified into rivet smashers.
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here's the receiver with the trunnions riveted in place and the holes heat treated. To heat treat the holes are heated to cherry red and quenched in oil and then drawn to a straw colour with a torch. The rails are then welded in place.
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The barrel was set in place with a bronze hammer and the head space set.
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side view for giggles.
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[crashdive123]

Cool project. Thanks for letting us have a look.

[Rick]

Nice job. Good thing you have a metal shop to do the work.

If you ever get tangled up the lathe in the rear of that last pic you probably won't come out until next Sunday. That's a lot of belts and pulleys!

[randyt]

thanks for the comments. Hopefully I won't lose this rifle in a canoe roll over, those pesky canoes I tell ya.

The only power tools I've used have been a small side grinder, dremal tool and a small drill press. A hammer has been the most used tool LOL.

[BENESSE]

Who knew?...well, I didn't.
Very interesting and empowering. Have you fired it yet? How would it compare to a store bought one?

[hunter63]

That's a pretty ambitious project, that seems to be going well.
I am impressed! Very cool.

I have seem parts assortments for sale but never a receiver"kit".....So, am I to understand if it's just a 'plate" that you home form yourself, that makes it a legal firearm?
Mostly the receiver is the one component that need to be registered as it would have numbers and such.

I did get a kick out of your "break" as I do the same thing with the 2-1/2 angle, bolts and large "C" clamps in the vice.
I also have an assortment of large 1" square key stock for smaller parts.

[randyt]

I've not fired it yet, it's getting close though. It may be a big flop but I have faith it will function.

It's legal for a citizen to build a firearm for their own use as long as it is legal for said citizen to own a firearm. I don't want to go into details because I don't want somebody to read my post and get bad info or misunderstand and break a law due to me.

It's all for fun, I'm not a semi auto fan but I like making things. I never really wanted a semi auto but with all the hubbub it became time to check it out.

I've filed enough gun parts out of chunks of steel over the years to know a rifle like this could be made by hand. I see several production shortcuts that would speed up production. There's lots of info on the net regarding ak 47 builds, I tweaked what I found for me. khyber pass here I come LOL.

[Rick]

Well, if you don't want a semi auto then make it a muzzle loader. I'll bet there aren't many AK muzzle loaders.

[hunter63]

NatGeo Mag had an article a number of years ago where ships were beached off the coast of India, steel salvaged with hand tools, sold to gun smiths in Afghanistan Pakistan, a literally sawed out filed heat treated and such to make just about anything firearm you could imagine.

Talk about a cottage industry..........

I have built several ML's from rough components, but never sawed out actions, hammer welded barrels, cut rifling one groove at a time, of fabricated springs...........

[randyt]

I've been fooling with guns for some time now. The first I think was a stevens favorite my Dad gave me when I was 11 years of age. I filed out a new extractor and firing pin for it. If I remember right we case hardened both parts in kasenit, it's been awhile. I've made lots of different parts and pieces, all for fun.

[randyt]

here's a update. I've installed the rear sight block, gas tube block and front sight. I'm going to pin those in place when I'm satisfied with the fit. I've also installed the piston and bolt and have been checking those out for function. so far so good. I would like to find a 24 inch barrel for the next one I put together. I think a press would be very handy for this project, for sure the next one. I have a better understanding of the AK than before I put this together LOL.


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[randyt]

Here's the latest on my "khyber pass" AK build. I took it out today and ran a few rounds through it. After I check it out a little more I'll see how a few 30 round magazines function.

I'm close to being done except for the paint and the safety. The darn safety broke so I have another one coming. The best safety is knowing where the muzzle is pointed at all times but I want a proper safety.

This was a experiment. I was curious what was involved in building one of these. Now that I spent some time fooling with this it would be feasible to put one of these together in a afternoon.

I didn't save a dime building this. I would have been money ahead if I had went to the store and bought a AK.what's the fun in that though. thanks for looking



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[Rick]

I promise you did a far far better job than I would have. It looks great from where I sit.

[crashdive123]

I think it looks great, and yeah - far better than I could have done too. I call it the Copper Tone AK.

[randyt]

thanks for the nice comments. After I install the safety I'll polish it up a bit and spray it with a duraguard finish. I'm thinking about cutting the grip off of the front hand guard to. it was a fun project.

[hunter63]

Very nice, thanks for taking us along on the journey, nice to see a completed project.

As far a saving money goes....I don't think that even enters in to it, when the decision is made to go ahead with something like this....at least it doesn't for me.
If you were to do it for profit, then cost would matter, and have to be dealt with.
Good job.

[randyt]

Hunter, Thanks for the nice comments. but OMG you're getting to know me pretty well. Honestly though I do finish a project once in awhile. LOL

[Winter]

Good job on that.

[Batch]

randyt,

What did you use to weld the rails on the receiver?

You said you didn't save any money. Care to give a ball park on your cost? Does include any tool purchases?

[randyt]

I used a harbor freight spot welder with modified tips for welding the rails on. I have $149 in the parts kit, $110 in the barrel, $12 in the flat and $25 in 922 compliant trigger group. It cost me more than if I had bought one from the store but, however, on the other hand I my goal was to build a AK. Tool cost is another story $150 for the spot welder, $20 for the bolt cutters and $40 for the head space gages. I already had everything else, hammer, punches, dremel tool, side grinder, drills, drill motor etc.