AK project off to bad start

[Dan1612]

Looks like it'll end up being much closer to a real muj gun than you even realized.


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[Red]

Looks like it'll end up being much closer to a real muj gun than you even realized.


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Yeah sure is. Still working on the rifle at 1am. lol. Almost have it to where a live fire test is in order. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day I will dump a few mags thru her and she'll run. Next debate I will have is whether I want to put the "worn in" look on the rifle or wait a while. It can go either way. Watching documentaries of the Soviet-Afghan war has some nice footage of the then new AK74. Mis matched wood, bakelite brown grip and rubbed white on all contact surfaces. Or Muj it out with a charm attached to a key ring on the cleaning rod, colored paki tape on handguard and pistol grip and picture of a local warlord on the buttstock. Ahmad Shah Massoud would be my pick if I go that route. Oh and the bakelite mag cutout. I have a red handled ak bayonet somewhere I am gonna throw on and buy a couple of red/orange slabsides to go with it. All I have are black bulgarian and the brown tapco waffle mags that came with this thing. Then need an Afghan girls name and done.

 

[Red]

I do wonder when the scope rails were introduced. I'll have to look at some old pics and see if I can spot any. I imagine they would have been standard on the 74s they were using in the 80s but not 100% sure.

 

[Dan1612]

Rather than distort the internals, I'd have the receiver replaced, since that's likely the problem. Or better yet, maybe press on the seller and see if he'll make it right...
But that's just me.


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[Red]

Rather than distort the internals, I'd have the receiver replaced, since that's likely the problem. Or better yet, maybe press on the seller and see if he'll make it right...
But that's just me.


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A receiver replacement is most likely in the future for this rifle. I expressed my concern thru text and on this forum and he has not responded. The only thing I got from him was IF DDI would honor WW warranty, that he would pay for the shipping. Right then and there I know he is not the kind of guy to try to make it right. We all know its pretty much impossible for a gun to run right one day, and then not be able to run thru a mag the next, but if that statistic anomaly were to happen I think most would immediately return the money or offer to fix it. If he were that surprised that this gun turned into a turd on the day of sale, I would think any reasonable person would be like ok here is your money back, sorry I made you drive all the way out to Pensacola on my day off. Just seems to me he knew the un reliability issue. He may not have known what the cause was, but there is no way that his claim on the occasional stoppage attributed to a cheap tapco magazine is truthful. He went as far as to say "I should have marked the mag" No problems other than the one mag. I took 8 of my mags filled with 2 different kinds of ammo. All mags were bulgarian or russian and not even one of them made it straight thru. I had multiple stoppages on the first mag. So there is no way that he did not know that the gun was unreliable. He would have been better off saying "I never shot it" and then hey its a gamble with WW. But the ad and the conversation completely misrepresented the reliability of the rifle. If his best offer is paying for shipping to a MFG that no longer exists to try to get them to work on a gun that they did not build, then the likelyhood of him offering to return the money aint going to happen. Not even like a hey my bad, here is a 100 bucks back at least since I sold you a non working gun when I told you it worked. I am no man to judge just have to deal with life's downsides sometimes and try to make lemonade outta it. Golden rule, really trying to live by it. In the meantime, bbyrd130 is on my "do not do business with list" Its a super short list too lol.

 

[Red]

Well it is 245am and I quit for the night. MTF tomorrow on hopefully running some trouble free mags thru. Wish me luck fellas, and thanks for the advice.

 

[Red]

Update. After many hours of diagnosing then identifying the problem, more hours were spent figuring out how I could fix it. Here was the course of action I went with.
Ejector was the problem without a shadow of a doubt. Just did not have enough material to hit spent shell casings out of the action. Taking a tip I learned from JJ, I was able to isolate the ejector between two punches and massage some extra material out of the ejector so that it would have a chance of hitting the spent casings. I used a blow torch to soften the metal a bit and make it more workable and got to work. I cooled it hoping to retain some bit of hardness to it as well. After carefully hand cycling the rounds dry, I could no longer duplicate the problem if I tried where as before I could duplicate it whenever I wanted. Good sign right?
Too late to test drive by the time I got done last night so this morning I stuffed ak74 mags. 2 bulgy and 1 russian with two different types of commercial ammo and off to the range I went. 90rds flew threw without so much as a hiccup. Seems my ejector bandaid worked and I have a working rifle now. Awesome!!!! Learned something new and was able to get a non functioning pile of crap running again with some simple hand tools on my kitchen table.
In the long range I will still probably put on a new quality receiver but I will run this one until it is dead. I am just happy I got thru 3 mags without any issues at all. Ejected shells were flying several meters away like a good AK should fling them where as before if they were lucky to get out of the action would land at my feet. So this has been a valuable learning experience for me and though I had to put in a lot of effort and thought into just getting a supposedly working gun to work, the payoff is that I get to learn more about the platform and little tips and tricks about it. Thanks to all that suggested advice on possible culprit. Fear was spot on with it being an ejector issue. We'll see how long it holds up, fingers crossed it holds up and I dont have to mess with it again but if I do I know what to do. Time to move on to the next step of the project. Soviet soldier AK74 clone, or Muj capture AK74 clone. What say you?

 

[Fear21]

Good stuff, glad to hear it's running. To me it sounds like you wanted to Muj it out - get some Paki tape, stickers and a beat up set of furniture you don't care about and carve that Afghan girl's name in to it. Check out Bad Element for some cool mags that would fit the aesthetic nicely. Also, dig up some bakelite and early plum colored magazines.

If it were me, Soviet 1980s AK74 all the way. The pine tar on Soviet wood furniture smells heavenly.

 

[Red]

Yep its a toss up to where I want to take her, I do like the plain jane well worn look of the Soviet AK74s from their time in the Stan. I also like the gucci out AKs we would capture out there. Thing is I noticed mostly important taliban had the 74s, your run of the mill jihadi had a 47 in all sorts of wild configs. For sure gonna pick up at least 2 bulgy brown slabsides. One to modify with the Afghan "bullet window" the other to keep if decide on keeping it a Soviet clone. I guess either way the styles are easily interchangeable, just the Muj version has more home grown stuff on it like the tape, charms, bullet window in mags, picture of warlord on buttstock.
I know I am rambling, I am just super juiced that I got this rifle running good. I'll have no problem scuffing up the WW receiver to give it a worn look thats for sure.

 

[SAWMAN]

We captured some AK's the were single shot only. Some would not even take a mag.
Hey . . . you fight with what you got. You get 'em to launch a bullet in the right direction . . . they kill just fine. --- SAWMAN

 

[Fear21]

Yep its a toss up to where I want to take her, I do like the plain jane well worn look of the Soviet AK74s from their time in the Stan. I also like the gucci out AKs we would capture out there. Thing is I noticed mostly important taliban had the 74s, your run of the mill jihadi had a 47 in all sorts of wild configs. For sure gonna pick up at least 2 bulgy brown slabsides. One to modify with the Afghan "bullet window" the other to keep if decide on keeping it a Soviet clone. I guess either way the styles are easily interchangeable, just the Muj version has more home grown stuff on it like the tape, charms, bullet window in mags, picture of warlord on buttstock.
I know I am rambling, I am just super juiced that I got this rifle running good. I'll have no problem scuffing up the WW receiver to give it a worn look thats for sure.

You could get authentic with it and treat it like the dirty girl it is - throw it around, toss it on the gravel, drag it through sand, clean it with vodka, rinse it off and repeat the process; use metal tools to take it down, slip on purpose, throw it on top of other metal tools...

Or you could do it the boring way with a scotch brite pad

 

[Red]

You could get authentic with it and treat it like the dirty girl it is - throw it around, toss it on the gravel, drag it through sand, clean it with vodka, rinse it off and repeat the process; use metal tools to take it down, slip on purpose, throw it on top of other metal tools...

Or you could do it the boring way with a scotch brite pad

The first option sounds like the most fun way to go, and authentic. I'm just a boring guy though, scotch brite and a lil light sanding and polishing is probably what I'll do. May strip and restrain the stock a more correct color then let it fall down some stairs to ding it up. Lol. It's gonna be a fun project. Even better now that the rifle functions as it should.

 

[Red]

Gotta see if it fits in the ol airborne weapons case. I'd love to jump her lol.

 

[Dan1612]

Re-reading the thread, I now understand the problem.
Congrats on the bandaid, seriously impressive workmanship!
I hope it holds up.

Still shitty to be in the situation in the first place. Still no response, huh?


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[Cstokes91]

Sorry to hear that man. Yeah, I saw this AK and kept wanting to get it but refused to do it since I kept reading all the issues with the brand... shame that the seller wasn't honest and that appears to not be the first time. Hopefully he gets IP banned.

 

[Red]

Nope no response from the seller besides him offering to pay for shipping to warranty work which for this rifle does not exist. This after telling him the issues on the same day of the sale, its not like I waited months and then tried it out. I went straight to the range after forking over the money. Oh well, gotta keep on keeping on. It was a learning experience. After hours of working on the rifle and some good advice I got the rifle going. Ran thru 3 different mags this morning as fast as I could pull the trigger and it ran like a sewing machine. So in the end its a shame the gun was misrepresented, its a shame the seller did not attempt to make things right, but sometimes gotta make lemonade I guess. I learned a lot about the AK platform and was able to fix the issue myself with garage tools. The parts are in really really awesome condition and if this receiver craps out on me or the opportunity presents itself to upgrade to a nice AK receiver, I'll go that way. In the meantime I got a terrific parts kit, a perfect for a clone project that after much work and sweat actually runs

 

[Red]

Range update. I was able to load up 8 good mags with 2 different types of ammo to see if all those hours of work paid off. Well gents I am happy to report that it blasted thru all 8 mags like nothing. It did not slow down. ejection was a consistent 6-7 meters to the 2 o'clock. Ran like a sewing machine. So unexpected part 1 of project complete. Get the rifle up and running like it should, check. Next. I have decided to give it a "battle worn" or distressed" look so I am slowly highlighting the high spots around the rifle. The original finish was good but nothing to really brag about. After I get the finish where I want it. I am going to polish the action and trigger to smooth it out a bit more. The G2 trigger it has now is staying. Wood will come off next with a fresh light degrease, very light sand and restain, then smooth it out with a couple strategic dings. in the wood. Repro sling is ordered and US bakelite pistol grip.
One last mechanical issue I am running into is the muzzle break is seized at the moment. Gonna soak it in PB or WD for a while and hopefully that does it. Not a big deal if does not come off just bugs me that it wont. Front sight moves just as it should using a AK adjustment tool. I centered it and it shoots dead on for me, so that's awesome.
Pics to follow soon.

 

[Fear21]

Range update. I was able to load up 8 good mags with 2 different types of ammo to see if all those hours of work paid off. Well gents I am happy to report that it blasted thru all 8 mags like nothing. It did not slow down. ejection was a consistent 6-7 meters to the 2 o'clock. Ran like a sewing machine. So unexpected part 1 of project complete. Get the rifle up and running like it should, check. Next. I have decided to give it a "battle worn" or distressed" look so I am slowly highlighting the high spots around the rifle. The original finish was good but nothing to really brag about. After I get the finish where I want it. I am going to polish the action and trigger to smooth it out a bit more. The G2 trigger it has now is staying. Wood will come off next with a fresh light degrease, very light sand and restain, then smooth it out with a couple strategic dings. in the wood. Repro sling is ordered and US bakelite pistol grip.
One last mechanical issue I am running into is the muzzle break is seized at the moment. Gonna soak it in PB or WD for a while and hopefully that does it. Not a big deal if does not come off just bugs me that it wont. Front sight moves just as it should using a AK adjustment tool. I centered it and it shoots dead on for me, so that's awesome.
Pics to follow soon.

Yeah, they will seize up BAD if you don't take them off occasionally and clean the threads on the 24mm FSB. I wonder if byrd put some 7n6 through it at any point; it could be corroded underneath the brake if he did. But yeah, your plan is the way to go (soaking it). Hopefully that will do it. Glad to hear it's running good.

 

[Big Shrek]

Just think you saved a cool $500 on a Armorer's Course
by learning how to fix the extractor during this project

The hint that it was the extractor was is pics
1, 3, 5, & 6...see that chip cut out in the back of the shells?
Remember that for helping others out as you travel thru life

This kind of thing is why I love picking up project guns at
pawn shops & yard sales...you learn so much interesting
stuff that way

Example, someone once put the firing pin in the wrong slot
on a Calico 110 Pistol...which made it impossible to load a shell
into it...so the Gun Show Guy sold it to me for $300...took
me all of a minute to take it down, put it in the right slot,
and go BANG BANG BANG

So Always carry some snap caps to test with...
it can make the difference when you see little cuts made
by a bad extractor in the plastic
At least, it leads to way more haggling downwards...lol

 

[Red]

Yeah, they will seize up BAD if you don't take them off occasionally and clean the threads on the 24mm FSB. I wonder if byrd put some 7n6 through it at any point; it could be corroded underneath the brake if he did. But yeah, your plan is the way to go (soaking it). Hopefully that will do it. Glad to hear it's running good.

I am thinking some 7n6 was ran thru it but can't be sure. The piston and tube look corrosion free. The bolt face shows the tiniest amount of evidence but will likely buff out with a steel wheel.
Distressing the finish is going well. It is really starting to look like some of the rifles I have encountered overseas. I found something interesting on eBay. It's a 9v premade Izzy etch. They come in small for the trunnion and a large for the receiver. But I already have a circle 10 on the trunnion and I cannot recall ever seeing an izzy marking on a real Russian receiver besides Saigas. I also have to modify the selector grooves since hey are shallow and oval. Easy fix with a small dremel wheel. Also thinking of modifying the S and P markings to the correct Cyrillic markings. Not sure how tuff that would be. I really like that the WW make and SN are all under the receiver in front of the mag well so there are no billboards on the sides of he receiver