Any Tips on pressing a barrel pin without a press?

[Uranium238]

I can't seem to push the barrel pin further on my parts kit (from AK Builder). I have used everything from a hammer and punch to a c-clamp. I don't have a press available for use. Are there any tips on pushing it all the way through? It appears to be about 80% pressed in all the way.

[BrianWV]

you might drive it back out and see what it is binding on.

[Ytisfedup]

Bigger hammer.

[ronin]

It must be galling - meaning a small piece of metal is shaving off and it got to the point where you can't manually drive it out. If you don't have a press, then consider drilling it out, measure the part of the pin that came out and then make your own by cutting a drill bit down, ordering drill rod, ordering a replacement pin from AK-Builder, etc.

[Ytisfedup]

You trying to get it out or push it in? I noticed your in my general area and I'll be hosting a mini-build party in the next couple of weeks. Shoot me a PM.

[jdoming728]

Large hammer brass punch, hold it down with a vise...I think a press does less damage if you clamp it right.

[gunplumber]

remove, align barrel correctly, then tickle-trigger air hammer.

pounding with a BAH (Big-Assed Hammer) will simply deform the pin and then you will need a press to remove, or drill it out.

Your problem is that you are too cheap or lazy to get decent tools, then wonder why you get poor results (referring to other thread, this is a screw build).

You claim to have some experience in auto mechanics. Would you use pliers to set the bolts on your manifold?

[Jones]

Once you get the pin out, look for and clean up any burrs, both in the hole and on the pin.
Try shrinking the pin by freezing it in dry ice. I'd avoid liquid nitrogen as it can get the pin so cold that it'll be brittle. Handle the pin with tweezers or needle-nosed pliers to avoid warming it back up before the job is completed.
You could also warm the receiver to about 180 degrees F.

[TheGreek!]

Originally Posted by gunplumber

remove, align barrel correctly, then tickle-trigger air hammer.

pounding with a BAH (Big-Assed Hammer) will simply deform the pin and then you will need a press to remove, or drill it out.

Your problem is that you are too cheap or lazy to get decent tools, then wonder why you get poor results (referring to other thread, this is a screw build).

You claim to have some experience in auto mechanics. Would you use pliers to set the bolts on your manifold?

I wouldnt recommend the air hammer in case he slips and beats some dents into the trunnion or the side of the receiver with it...


To the OP, get a cheap Harbor Freight press dude, if you're into car mechanics you can use it on things like U-joints and A-arm bushings and make it pay for itself in no time. If you plan on building more than one AK you really should get a press anyway. Dont be in a big hurry to assemble it, get the right tools and do the job right or dont bother doing it at all.

[Dan FS71]

Beat the hell out of it and call it a kyber pass

[mrabolli]

the 12-ton H-frame HF press should work just fine for ya.

[bfgmovies]

damn i would go insane and kill myself trying to get a barrel pin out without a press. even using a press there have been times when I thought something was going to break under pressure just trying to get the barrel pin out because it was so tight

[gunnerdog]

I have removed and installed about 90% of barrel pins with a hammer and pin punch.Sounds like you don't have the barrel lined up properly or it is in either too far or not enough.You should also lube the pin and hole before installing.I suggest you knock it back out and see what the problem is.

[Uranium238]

I dug out the BFH and a set of punches again. I gave it one good clobber and saw movement in the pin! Smacked it two more times and now it sits even. My problem before was not a big enough hammer before.

[gunplumber]

Originally Posted by Uranium238

. My problem before was not a big enough hammer before.

Your problem is you don't know what you don't know, and you're too damn stubborn to learn anything.

While sometimes a bigger hammer is the answer, it rarely is when dealing with interference fit pins.

[Uranium238]

Happy to disappoint you.

[gunplumber]

You're not disappointing me.

Like "Goofus and Gallant" in the Highlights for Children magazine, you just give others a perfect example of what not to do. I couldn't make up a character for the "don't be that guy" role better than the one you play.

[flopshot]

i use a press for the pin either going in or coming out. i hate when they make that loud ass bang on the way out. do what GP said. i would only add that you might mic the pin at both ends to assure yourself it hasn't deformed. use a little anti seize. very little. they go back in a hell of alot easier than they come out of a de-mil. i assume this is the only build you have in progress and it's the correct pin ? had to ask,,,

[Uranium238]

Yup, this is a first time build an it's an AK Builder kit.

[bayoushooter]

This may be a dumb question, are you aware akbuilder dosent install the barrel pin completely because you have to drive it back out, then press the barrel out, to rivet the trunnion into the receiver?

[AndrewCampbell]

I guess all those arabs over in the sandbox with their hundreds of thousands of ak's they put together with a rock and a hammer 30+ years ago and still operating perfectly must all be completely wrong and idiots for not using a press and doing it the "right way". This rifle was meant to be thrown together using basic tools not super precise expensive shop presses and whatever else a lot of you deem necessary. I've met tons of guys out in my neck of the woods as of late who use screws, BFH's and that's about it. On rifles with THOUSANDS of rounds through them, tossed in the back of their trucks and rarely if ever cleaned and NONE of them have had problems..

[TheGreek!]

Originally Posted by AndrewCampbell

I guess all those arabs over in the sandbox with their hundreds of thousands of ak's they put together with a rock and a hammer 30+ years ago and still operating perfectly must all be completely wrong and idiots for not using a press and doing it the "right way". This rifle was meant to be thrown together using basic tools not super precise expensive shop presses and whatever else a lot of you deem necessary. I've met tons of guys out in my neck of the woods as of late who use screws, BFH's and that's about it. On rifles with THOUSANDS of rounds through them, tossed in the back of their trucks and rarely if ever cleaned and NONE of them have had problems..

Yeah and? Ok then, beat your AK together with a rock and hold it together with screws and let it slide around in the bed of your pickup truck among the empty beer cans and let it get even more beat to shit, thats YOUR perogative. I on the other hand care more about my equipment than that. Also, I view the quality of the assembly of the gun as a direct reflection of the builder of it. If all you know how to do is shoddy workmanship or if you're too lazy to do things the right way then you are the last person that I would want anywhere near ANYTHING that needs mechanical work, not just guns.

[flopshot]

what in the hell are you people talking about ? have you ever de-mil'd a parts kit ? ever actually assembled one ? i can see why GP gets an attitude. this is comical.

[AndrewCampbell]

Originally Posted by TheGreek!

Yeah and? Ok then, beat your AK together with a rock and hold it together with screws and let it slide around in the bed of your pickup truck among the empty beer cans and let it get even more beat to shit, thats YOUR perogative. I on the other hand care more about my equipment than that. Also, I view the quality of the assembly of the gun as a direct reflection of the builder of it. If all you know how to do is shoddy workmanship or if you're too lazy to do things the right way then you are the last person that I would want anywhere near ANYTHING that needs mechanical work, not just guns.

I wasn't saying that's how I assembled mine, it just seems some people think the ONLY way you can assemble one of these things is with uber precise high dollar tools.
With a little know how and a little thought even I de milled my romy kit and re assembled it on a receiver I bent myself. I didn't use anything other than a cheap harbor freight press (that I bought used on craigslist) a pair of $13 bolt cutters and a few misc. parts I had friends mill at work.
I will say that I gained most of my knowledge of what to do and what NOT to do on here and Gunco.com, I figured the collective knowledge of those that have done this a few to thousands of time has to be worth something.

[Fundump23]

It never ceases to make me laugh at the forum jester as he takes a comment about how people on the other side of the world may have built AK's 30 years ago and turns it into a personal/slanderous attack on the poster.

Butt shitslinging is what he does best.


To U-238;

There are a lot of posts on this forum by people who have knocked out the barrel pin with a hammer and punch and whole lot "magic words"

Here's a link recently posted by AK Shooter;
http://www.theakforum.net/phpBB3/vie...hp?f=7&t=16295

While the video shows him using his press to remove the barrel pin, the real secret is using the 3 different length pins.

Here's another tip that I got from this forum. It may or may not be relevant to your project.
While the barrel pin is "officially" the same exact diameter its entire length, when I was doing mine a few years ago, someone posted that you should mike the diameter of the pin on both ends. One end "might be " a little larger - by a few thousandths. This means the pin flared a little as it was pressed in and it would be easier to press out by pushing on the smaller diameter end.

For some people there are are only TWO ways to do something: MY way or the WRONG way.

[mbkrifleman]

What do you count as a BFH? I sent a weevil to the doghouse to get a hammer.When he returned I explained to him we were working on the pump, and we were going to need a hammer bigger than that.

[gunplumber]

Originally Posted by Fundump23

[b]For some people there are are only TWO ways to do something: MY way or the WRONG way.

And many times, they are correct. Sometimes a new approach comes from left field and is worth looking at. But 90% of the time, it's just ignorant fools, too stupid, lazy or cheap to learn the right way, who pathetically try to rationalize their crap as an equally viable alternative.


I understand the desire to obtain what one wants with as little effort as possible, but it is a fundamental principle of life, that you cannot get something for nothing. Like my neighbor's kid would amuse me by spending 2 hours trying to avoid 30 minutes of work. It is a character thing.

I have no interest in spending more time or using more expensive equipment than is necessary to obtain the high quality results I and my customers demand. After 700+ rifles, "my way" works. Do you really think I don't know all the shortcuts? I've tried them all. I've spent thousands correcting my mistakes. I have boxes of tooling and fixtures from bright ideas that didn't go so well.

So yeah, there are a few different ways of accomplishing a result. Bolt cutters? No problem. I have a box of them. My pneumatic ram is 10x the cost but 10x faster - I made my money back on it after 30 or 40 rifles. Not cost effective for the home builder.

When someone who makes his living doing something gives me specific, detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to do something, and there are hundreds of examples of the results, I have a choice:I can follow his step-by-step instructions and get the same results. Or I can make up my own shit on the way, pretend without understanding that my variations are "equally viable alternatives" and then hope that it doesn't really make a difference. I might get away with it, that time. And since fortuitous results reinforce bad behavior, I may think my alternative technique is vindicated. Until the time it doesn't work because my project was just a little more challenging.

[akma]

You can build an AK anyway you like but this hobby has come a long way from its beginning with tools, jigs and techniques. Why are you building and what expectations do you have for your builds and what skill level do you posses? It takes a lot of work to get your tools and jigs together when you're new at metal working short of just dumping a boat load of cash into it.

I have found it is not that hard to build if you are a mechanical type person. The hard part is to do it right without destroying your parts and costing even more money. Unless you are desperate or only want to just get a taste of building an AK there is a lot of work and money invested to get it done especially if you don't have any tools.

I have found going slow and feeling your way through your build is the way to go. Forums are a definate plus to get knowledge from those who have done it before.

This is not for against anybody here it is just what I have found to be true and for each to decide for themselves what their goals in this hobby are.

[Bingo]

Try using a small amount of case lube on the pin(s) before re-installing it. It works wonders.....

[motorhead]

nevr-seize. if you dinged or musroomed it you'll need to smooth.

[jdindadell]

Originally Posted by AndrewCampbell

I guess all those arabs over in the sandbox with their hundreds of thousands of ak's they put together with a rock and a hammer 30+ years ago and still operating perfectly must all be completely wrong and idiots for not using a press and doing it the "right way". This rifle was meant to be thrown together using basic tools not super precise expensive shop presses and whatever else a lot of you deem necessary. I've met tons of guys out in my neck of the woods as of late who use screws, BFH's and that's about it. On rifles with THOUSANDS of rounds through them, tossed in the back of their trucks and rarely if ever cleaned and NONE of them have had problems..

Ok, where do people keep getting this idea that all of aks floating around were NOT made in factories with factory equipment?

russian, bulgarian, romanian, egyptian, iraqui, yugoslavian, and all of the others were made in factories, with the correct tooling that you need to mass produce guns like this.

Sure, aks have been fixed and modded by some guy in the desert with camel poo on his pants, but i doubt he is carving a rock up to be used a broach to cut barrel rifling...

And just because your backwoods budies have had good success with their "builds" just means that the ak is a good design that can handle alot of abuse. Anyone can put together a shitting looking gun that functions, the ak design lends itself to that better than most other guns.

[sparkz]

I know some guys in Cuba have Cast an Iron Chevy water pump in his back yard,
and some guy in the sand-box may have made a tool to make a gun or part with a wood fired forge,
But we here in the west (esp those on this fourm) have some resorce like tools basic as some may have can still work,,

But why work like a cave-man if you need not?
if you start the job (What ever that job may be) like a cave man finished part, or in this case gun WILL show that workmans ship..

I know these guns are not super crazy tolrance but just same in my mind (whats left of it) If you start like a cave man you will wind up with a rats ass looking peice of " Workmans ship"

I dont have a million dollars of tooling But I still belive in the finishd whatever it is
Is and will reflect on the builders skill, and knowlage, workmans ship

I my self might use a hammer if thats what job needed, but as a last resort
esp on a gun part that i might distroy more parts or parts of higher value then that tool might cost..

look around on this fourm theres tons of guys that have walked this path and odds are they steped in the hole that has you stumped,, ask and they will tell you how the steped around the shit, or how in hind-sight they would had done it.


I my self have learned
"Never fail to listen to the other guys Idea, it may be better then your idea and save many hours of labor and money in runed parts or tooling, but you will not ever know if you dont set pride down long e-nuf to hear him out"


I would try to look around here, ask those that have done a million kits.
ask how they might had done it before they had the higher priced tools
you might find some very good answers and ideas..

but at end of the day.
the gun you hold at the range or show inyour case
is a direct reflection of your workmanship & pride in a job well done..
and to ones outlook, I would try to do nicest job I could
But thats my way,,

I hope you overcome your delemma
and find the best answer you can
there are some very good part-time gun smiths here and some very good full time what they do and thats all they do gunsmiths. some where between the two
is where your answer lays,,



Good luck in your endevors

Sparkz

[Dick]

So did you ever get the pin?

[Uranium238]

Yup.

[I.Oak47]

When ever i get a bbl pin that just wont move i shoot through it with 7.62x39 and use oversized pin afterword