PSL Build Heads Up

[tac-40]

I just finished building my Centerfire PSL kit. I used the Romy receiver they sell and I figured to let you know about some of the problems.

First of all, the kit from Centerfire was primo and looked to be in unfired condition with all matching numbers except for the front trunion and barrel. There were no numbers on the trunion and barrel that I could find. The kit did not come with a bolt hold open, but I read where some do and some do not. Since I am used to an AK, that didn't bother me.

The receiver came with all the holes drilled and the center support and scope rail installed. The scope rail was held on by several spot welds and one rivet. All of the holes lined up perfectly with the trunion holes with no misalignement.

Now for the problems. Two biggest problems were the receiver appeared to be a little longer than it should be, and the installed scope rail. I say that the receiver seemed to be tool long because after I installed the rear trunion, the dust cover barely engaged the groove over the chamber and popped off when test firing. The dust cover groove in the rear trunion was very wide, almost a quarter of an inch, so my fix for this was to lay a weld bead on the back edge of the groove and dress it up with a dremel. This forced the dust cover further into the front groove and kept it in place while firing. As to the scope rail, apparently the factory does finish machining of the rail after the barrel is installed so they can align it with the bore. I didn't find this out until I completed the build and tried to install the scope. And of course, I didn't have the tooling available on my buddy's mill to properly set it up and do it the way the factory does. So I spent several hours fitting it by hand. What a PITA.

Next, the long through rivets (one in the front trunion and 2 in the rear trunion) are much larger in diameter than the normal AK rivets. They are also longer than the normal AK rivets due to the thicker receiver metal and the reinforcing plates on the rear trunion. The rivet set I ordered specifically for the PSL were a little loose in the trunion holes and that made it hard to set them straight using my air hammer. I had to start the head using a hammer and backing plate to keep them straight. Once they were started, I could use my air hammer to properlys set them. I recommend getting some of the proper diameter from McMaster Carr and turning down the heads using your drill press and dremel.

One side rear reinforceing plate was spot welded on cockeyed. This kept that side of the dust cover from seating properly and I had to enlarge the notch with the dremel to give it clearance for the dust cover.

The mag well cut out was off center (lip on one side and flush with the vertical side of the receiver on the other) and slightly undersized. I had to dremel it a little to center things up and get it where the mags fit perfectly. The mag release had to be fitted to allow full contact with the mag pad even though I used the mag catch that came with the kit.

Everything else was standard AK build - fitting the ejector so it didn't hit the bolt, tweaking and polishing the rails for smooth operation, straightening the rails and receiver for smooth operation and knocking down the sharp edges.

Test firing proved to be enjoyable. Recoil was about that of an M14 or Garand. Accuracy with the standard iron sights was around 3-4 MOA at 100 yds, however I did notice it tended to vertically string as the barrel got hot. But this could also been from me since I have a hard time picking up these type of sights (tired old eyes and trifocals). We'll see what it can do now that I have the scope fitted and installed.

You'll most likely have to work on your mags to get them working reliably. I have found some issues with mine that I think a little polishing on the feed lips and mag feed ramps will take care of this. This was not unexpected as it is well documented that the PSL had all of its mags hand fitted at the factory for each rifle.

Hope this helps somebody getting ready to do one of these builds. It was a bit of a challenge but the end result is satisfying.

[LESchwartz]

Originally Posted by tac-40

Now for the problems. Two biggest problems were the receiver appeared to be a little longer than it should be, and the installed scope rail. I say that the receiver seemed to be tool long because after I installed the rear trunion, the dust cover barely engaged the groove over the chamber and popped off when test firing.

Yup, PSL's require much more fitting than the normal AK build.

Originally Posted by tac-40

As to the scope rail, apparently the factory does finish machining of the rail after the barrel is installed so they can align it with the bore. I didn't find this out until I completed the build and tried to install the scope. And of course, I didn't have the tooling available on my buddy's mill to properly set it up and do it the way the factory does. So I spent several hours fitting it by hand.

See my post on finishing up the scope rail: http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26477. Feel free to contact warbird and bug him to post the rest of the photos for his method. (I forgot to take photos when I did mine.)

Originally Posted by tac-40

Next, the long through rivets (one in the front trunion and 2 in the rear trunion) are much larger in diameter than the normal AK rivets. They are also longer than the normal AK rivets due to the thicker receiver metal and the reinforcing plates on the rear trunion. The rivet set I ordered specifically for the PSL were a little loose in the trunion holes and that made it hard to set them straight using my air hammer. I had to start the head using a hammer and backing plate to keep them straight. Once they were started, I could use my air hammer to properlys set them. I recommend getting some of the proper diameter from McMaster Carr and turning down the heads using your drill press and dremel.

There was an extensive post about PSL rivet sizes a year or so back: http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48370.

Larry

[FloridaAKM]

Very good write up about the FPK kit on a Romy receiver; I built several of the kits on different receivers, with the Romy being the hardest because of all the metal work involved. The US receiver, a Nodak Spud, was the best to do the builds on because it was a plug & play from the start. In order to use the original stock, the rear of the US receiver had to be cut away to match the romy so that the stock could be utilized. The bolt hold open feature was also lost on this receiver for some reason, but not a game stopper. The scope rail on the US receiver required no filing or milling & is right on the money for attaching the scope firmly with no play!

[AKBLUE]

Nice write up. The PSL builds are similar to a milled build on say an ORF receiver in that some fitting and light mods are sometimes necessary. Unfortunately for some folks this creates a whole area of whining and bad internet ju ju. I suppose frustration can do that to ya!
Looks like you found the rough spots and fixed them and moved on

I'm not sure how or why the oversized optics rails were on some receivers and not on others. I'm guessing they were all sourced from Romania and perhaps they get final finish on the rifle but some were good to go and some not on the NDS receivers. A 60 degree file or horizontal mill cutter fixes it.
Long rivets are different and I used the special order bulk rivets with larger diameter and turned down the heads on a drill press chuck with a file.

Post some pics of your build.

[marktc223]

The receiver from TG International that I got for the reason of assembling PSL de-milled kits is in need a lot of work before it is a functioning receiver. The first thing I noticed is the BHO is missing from the center cross support. If it's not included in your PSL kit with the left side cut out of the receiver, you’re out of luck. You'll have to buy that piece from TGI for $15 to 20 bucks on top of what you already paid for a "Good condition receiver". You will also have to either change out the trigger guard assembly with the magazine catch or take the magazine catch and spring off the one in your kit and install it on the TGI trigger guard. Next, I find out my scope will not fit on the scope rail. The scope rail needs to be milled down to the proper dimensions and be done properly to insure scope alignment. I strongly recommend the milling over trying to replace the scope rail. It's already firmly attached (spot welded and riveted) and the replacement rail won't be as strong by just riveting it on. Any competent gunsmith can accomplish this milling procedure to make sure the scope rail is properly aligned. Now, the upper rails that the bolt carrier rides on are too narrow and they will also need to be properly machined for the proper clearances and alignment. That means more mill work. Lastly, when I put the bolt in the carrier, I found out I need to trim down the ejector on the left side of the receiver just until the bolt clears it and no more. Enough said. Hope everyone enjoys their PSL kit builds.

[jasch]

the only number i found on the front end of my kit was under the rear sight. i thought it was unmarked but found numbers while cleaning cosmo.