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AK-47 building from parts kits

26K views 22 replies 6 participants last post by  flopshot 
#1 ·
Re: AK-47

*Note: I split the following posts from the "AK 47" thread. I apologize for the hijack there, and figured this was a topic that should be in its own thread.*

Good. Now that you're hooked on AK rifles, you need to get busy building your own AK's from de-milled parts kits. This is the way to go. For half of what you paid for those commercial models, you can own a military version, rebuilt on a semi-auto platform.

Congrats, though, on the purchases. The more AK rifles out there in this country, the better.
 
#3 ·
Re: AK-47

First step: buy a parts kit.

The process is complicated to the uninitiated. But once you understand it, it's incredibly easy. It's no wonder these things are churned out in every 3rd world country that wants them.

In a nutshell, a parts kit will consist of everything from the original military (full auto) AK47. It will have been de-milled per NFA standards, with the receiver being torch-cut. Some kits will be missing some of the FA parts, just so you will avoid the temptation to convert it back into a machine gun.

All you really have to do is build a new receiver and reinstall all the parts onto it, while replacing a minimum of 6 parts (from the BATF list) with US-made parts. What you end up with is a legal, home-built, semi-auto AK47. And the cool thing is that it's considered a home-built firearm. It need not have any serial numbers whatsoever, unless you sell it. Since you built it yourself, it will never have appeared in any FFL's records. As far as the government knows, it does not exist.

For paranoid people like me, that is a good thing.

Some people simply buy pre-fabricated commercial (US made) receivers and install their parts on it. This, however, does require an FFL just like a regular firearm. I chose to do the slightly more difficult process of bending my own sheet metal receiver from an 80% "flat". It is not considered a firearm as long as it's less than 80% complete. So I bought a bunch of flats, procured a bending jig, and spent a weekend with a friend bending receivers. After that, it just came down to fitting, trimming, assembling, and finishing them.

Myself and a "co-op" of like-minded individuals got together and built a lot of them. And I mean a lot. ;) We ended up with professional looking builds that we assembled, sandblasted, parkerized, and Duracoated.

We chose to use plug welds to connect the trunnions and rails to the receivers we fabricated, instead of the traditional method of riveting or screwing them together. This was a more difficult process in some regards, but easier in others. It looks very nice, though, and it stronger than the other methods. But unless you have a knowledgeable welder, riveting or screw-building is the way to go.

The average cost per rifle, the way we did it, was probably along the lines of $250. And that included the parts kit, receiver flats, tooling to bend them, compliance (US made) parts, plus all the materials to blast/parkerize/Duracoat them. But we did more than most home builders do. Most people just buy a kit, buy a receiver, buy the compliance parts, slap it all together, and end up with a functional rifle. They will cost anywhere between $200 and $500, depending on which parts kit you buy and what kind of accessories you want to put on them.

It's a fun process, and very rewarding. Not that there's anything wrong with buying a commercially made Romanian AK (WASR or SAR series). But the idea of home-building an AK47 in your garage that is "off the books" and built to your specifications is a really cool thing. I would love to see more people getting into this.

Unfortunately, I think the days of home-building AK47s cheaply are coming to an end. With the latest "barrel ban" having taken effect on January 1st, parts kits are starting to run out that have barrels included. In the future, home builders will have to spend hundreds of dollars on US made barrels for their parts kits, significantly increasing (i.e. doubling) the cost of a build.
 
#5 ·
Re: AK-47

It can be. Depends. If you get a parts kit with matching numbers and you're not removing the barrel, chances are the headspace is OK. It's easy enough to check. But if it's a mismatched kit and/or you have to pull the barrel and re-set it, you run the risk of being out of spec on headspace. It's not exactly an easy fix, but it can be done.
 
#7 ·
Re: AK-47

Lots of places have them. Tapco is generally the one that makes them, and several companies sell them. I found the best price at Copes Distributing. Look about 2/3 of the way down the page on the left, you'll see the 80% flat with separate rails.

In fact, that page has pretty much everything you need to build an AK. They sell the demilled parts kits, compliance parts, magazines, receiver flats, etc. Of course, you'll want to shop around for the best prices on each item if you're building multiples. If you only intend to build one or two, it's probably best to get all the parts from one place if possible.

A couple of other websites I recommend for AK building supplies and parts:

DPH Arms

Tapco

K-Var Corporation

AK Parts

AK-Builder

AA-OK

Just to name a few.
 
#8 ·
thanks for the info sniper. after looking at the required tools and jigs i think i'd be better off either buying an ak via private sale or maybe paying someone to build the reciever if i want a parts gun. the cost of the tools won't pay back unless like you did, spread it out among several people/several units. too bad, got the mig, tig, etc. just can't make the economics work out. sure does look fun though :D
 
#9 ·
If you don't want to invest in the tools to bend your own receiver, just buy a commercial one. They can be had in the $50 range. It'll just require an FFL transfer.

I would shy away from asking someone to fabricate a receiver for you. Technically, they would need a manufacturer's license (FFL) to do that legally.

BTW, here is one of my home-built AK rifles. :D

 
#10 ·
"It'll just require an FFL transfer"
it's just that 4473 thing again. that's one fine looking rifle. i suppose another option is to pick one up privately and make what i want out of that. it's just not going to take advantage of the parts kit price, but it will be out of the loop. after the ban i'm just parnoid about my stuff.
 
#11 ·
I guess it just depends on how much your paranoia is worth to you. For me, it was worth the expense of investing in tooling and finding like-minded associates with which to undertake this project.

Bending the flats is pretty easy. If you don't want to invest in a $150 bending jig, I have seen people make some pretty ingenious makeshift jigs out of flat bar and bolts, for about $20 each. You can get passable results with that. The great thing about the AK is that it's such a loose tolerance rifle, nothing has to be quite perfect for it to work well. But you can indeed make your own bending jig and save a lot of money, making it worthwhile to bend your own receiver(s). It'll just take some time to create the jig. Should be a lot easier, since you have a welder.
 
#13 ·
Heck you don't even need all of that. I'd say you already have the tooling necessary. With just a minimal amount of time spent learning what's involved (which is very simple), you could be building your own receiver either from an 80% flat or from scratch.
 
#16 ·
I think all the variants out there are suitable for building on. If you want to save some money and don't mind a bit more headache, the Romanian kits are OK. Just beware that you'll have to do some tweaking on them to get them to work properly. I mainly noticed this with canted rear sights, canted gas blocks, out-of-spec receiver covers and selector levers, etc. But these issues are all easily resolved. It just takes longer and is a bit more of a "headache" than a higher quality kit like a Hungarian or Polish kit.

On hardening the receivers, it's not necessary to harden the entire thing. You only need to harden the ejector nub on the left lower rail, as well as the hammer and trigger pin holes. There are various methods out there for proper hardening. But it's easy to do with a MAPP gas torch or an oxygen/acetylene torch. You can just heat the area until it glows red, then quench in oil. Then do it again. Just be careful not to melt the steel by going too hot. You just want to heat it enough to realign the crystalline structure of the steel. After you've done this twice, it should be plenty hard for what you need.
 
#18 ·
thanks a bunch sniper. 3 flats in hand, ordered two romanian kits today, two more flats, g2's, and rivets. gonna order a polish underfolder tomorrow if akron's got any left. it doesn't take long to get bit by the build bug, even my own questions seem lame to me now. big bend party in thomasville next month. doubt i can make it though. see ya.
 
#19 ·
Cool! You'll love the Polish underfolder. It's a very high quality kit.

The Romanians are so-so. They'll work just fine, don't get me wrong. But after building Hungarians and Polish kits too, the Romanians leave something to be desired. But they're still kick-ass rifles, and they will function great. You may just have to sort through some minor issues with them. It's kind of "luck of the draw".
 
#23 ·
I like someone to send me a list of what all I need to build one...

thanks
boy,, talk about an old thread. :D
you really need to get hold of a kit before anyone can steer you further.
my advise,,,, get what you can while you can and deal with the building aspect later. if you don't want to get into folding your own buy complete receivers now for each kit you aquire. a low end Romanian is a good start but you will likely want more. the tantal is another good choice.
the problem is at today's prices you may do better buying a complete rifle.
you will however miss out on the rush of firing off that first shot of your own build.
alot of guys don't want to commit to the full range of tooling needed and complete receivers will help there.
i'll be happy to help you along the way so if you have any questions feel free to ask.
let us know of your progress and welcome to a new addiction.
 
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