building a ak-47 is easy as an fn-fal??

[JAVIER]

hello: today is my first day on this forum. I have been a member of the
fal-files since december 2001. this is my question:
you can buy receivers at the gun-show from a ffl dealer but the
tought of installing all those rivets gives me the chills. do you need a special tool to install them rivets, to make them look like that factory installed rivets? also to install the barrel on the receiver, how is the steps and how complicated is this job and also the rails for the receiver.
thank you for your support. I do own a romanian ak-47 warsp 10?? and is a nice rifle, I have taken it all apart, and is easy to clean. I just want to go in the adventure and try to put a kit together, but firts I want to know the involment of what special tools, gauges you'll need, and how do you install barrel into the receiver??? etc. best regards to all of you, and thank you for your time.
Javier.

[CAMPYBOB]

no.

the ar15 is an erector set.

the fal is an erector set that requires a few more tools and a little more thinking.

the ak requires skills and tooling that most folks do not have. this is NOT to say that the skills, like riveting and headspacing a pressed/pinned bbl. cannot be mastered and a safe weapon built. heck, many of us are living proof of what can be acomplished wit a little dedication and a pile of money.

nor is this to say that some shortcuts can't be taken to save buying some tools and tooling.

however, the level of difficulty and the investment in tools/tooling will vary far more widely for the ak-building crowd than the ar/fal building groups. i have a polish kit and a nearly wrecked itm/oow receiver that came from a guy that tried and gave up. i think i can salvage the receiver.

i've seen guys that had absolutely NO mechanical bent do a perfectly fine ar build in a few hours and using only a few specialty tools.

an ak, on the other hand, not only requires a level of proficiency in riveting, bbl. pressing and headspacing, but a selection of tools not usually owned by the average kitchen-table gunsmith.

regardless of ALL the above, we CAN get you thru the build process. i've done it with lots of rookies! it just takes some desire and some dollars...heheh!

[justashooter]

rivets? who uses those.

[Packrat]

Unlike the FAL or the AR, the AK was designed as a throw-away item. It is rugged and can take more abuse than about any other rifle, but when it broke, you turned it in, and Ordnance threw it away. They may have been able to replace a spring or something like that, but mostly, AKs don't wear out. If you do something so they won't work, the gun is probably seriously f**ked up. ARs, on the other hand, seem to always have something wrong with them, and I've never touched a FAL that just worked, like an AK does. (I'm not looking for arguments. I know that "good" ARs work forever under any conditions, and all the FAL parts are so their owners have something to do during the winter.)

That being said, putting an AK together required jigs, presses, dies, and other things which are reasonable when you're going to be building millions of rifles, but are difficult to make or expensive for the builder who wants to build 1 or 2 AKs. (No one builds 1 or 2 AKs--once you build one, you think of ways "the next one" will be better, and you want to try the things you learned. Be worried--be very worried!) Now you can find guys that have branched out to building and selling jigs for pressing the rivets all at once, bending the receivers, etc. These are nice, but by the time you get everything you need to build one, you could buy 2.

If you can find someone that will rivet the trunions in the receiver, rivet the trigger guard on, and press and headspace the barrel, the rest is easy. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone that will do a "partial build" like that.

I've got a suggestion for you--get a Saiga 7.62x39 (which was going for about $200) and convert it to make an AK. It will give you more of a feel for the rifle than just taking one apart and cleaning it, but it's still somenting that can be done in an evening if you have everything you need. And if you get the rifle for $200, you can complete it (with all legal parts) for about $350. If you can find a cheaper US-made stock set or FCG (fire-control group--trigger/sear, disconnector, and hammer), or you want to put the AK forearm on, it will be cheaper. Plus, you'll have a firearm you put something into.

Otherwise, you need to go carefully, because you'll hear many stories about ruining receivers (the most common fatality) or making an AK that just won't shoot. And unlike an AR or FAL, many of the steps can't easily be undone.

[JAVIER]

thank you for all the help... I will concider building one... I will check at
the gun-shows for tools and jigs... I will ask for more help later on when I get the parts-kit and the us. made parts. again, thank you very much... javier.

[Makman]

If you want a real easy AK build, and don't mind spending the extra money, you can go with a Milled, press and pin receiver. I'm new to this forum so I don't know if there is any discussion on milled AKs. This build needs no special tools, since you can press the barrel onto a properly supported receiever (a block of 4x4 cut to the proper angle and drilled for the two tangs. No riveting, just drop in the FCG after properly headspacing. Its even easier when the kit has the FSB & RSB already pressed on.

[Packrat]

The milled receivers are a dream to build an AK on. It's too bad that Arsenal isn't making them for sale in the US; apparently the discovered they could make more money building them into rifles than just selling them. A few years ago you could get Bulgarian (Arsenal) receivers for about $150.

The milled guns are heavier, but have a good feel to them. There are discussions about the accuracy/durability of milled vs. stamped guns, but most people seem to prefer milled. The only milled receivers I know of at present are US-made, and cost about $300.

[fal fiend]

oh i think theres several of us that have fals that work everytime,,and unlike the ak,,they hold open :)