need some quick help with saiga restoration...

[david8613 69]

i started my saiga restoration last night, and started the second half today, i was able to take it apart got the trigger gaurd off, put the pistol grip on, the problem started when after i drilled the hole for the bullet guide which was easy but when i went to tap it, i went a little too fast and bit broke off inside the hole, how do i get it out with ruining the thread? any help would be appreciated...

[NJgunowner86 0]

The short answer is, you're probably boned.

 

That is why it's very important to use a lot of oil, and go very slow, and back up every 1/4 turn or so while tapping. Removing the tap from the hole is possible but it's probably going to ruin the threads.

 

Best you can do now is simply drill the tap out, and then try to rivet it in. Or, once you drill out the hole, JB weld the guide to the trunion and the screw into the hole. That will hold it fine. The proper method is obvious preferred but it's kinda late for that now.

[david8613 69]

before i do that, im gonna try wd40 and some long nose pliers and see what happens. there is little bit of the bit sticking out. i got to excited the build was going so smooth, and i wasnt thinking, i should have done it by hand, duh!

[NJgunowner86 0]

Uh, the only way I'm aware of tapping a hole is by hand....you put the tap in a drill LOL?

[Guest]

definitely tap by hand.. can you take some pics of where you are at right now with it? the problem you face is a tap is pretty hard steel.. so getting that thing out is going to be a PITA

[david8613 69]

love wd40! got it out, but the thread didnt make it all the way through, the screw goes in but not all the way...whew that was close! i have to go get another tap. yup did it with the drill when it broke i was like SHIAAATTT! i was supposed to that by hand! too excited i guess!

[Guest]

further... be VERY careful when taking it out.. you are working in a pretty critical area and you do NOT want to damage it more.. IF you can get the tap out without really damaging anything.. you can probably continue to use Saiga specific mags?

 

riveting MIGHT be a good suggestion? i just dont know how much abuse that feed ramp really takes .. rivets can be kind of weak depending on HOW force is applied to them...

[Guest]

thank god.. TAKE YOUR TIME!!!!!!!!!! lol

 

pics as soon as you are done!

[NJgunowner86 0]

Yes, tap by hand please! Lots of oil, 1/8 turn, back up, repeat all the way till through. Slow but it will always work! You got damn lucky with the tap That thing isn't a drill bit!

 

Yeah rivets and even JB weld work. The bullet guide takes very little stress as it wedges itself under the barrel, especially flat trunion guides are kinda trapped in place too. It takes slight vibration from recoil and cycling and a "gentle" push forward from every round. So in case of bubba, JB weld or rivets can sub fine.

[david8613 69]

everything worked out, thanks guys, that was a close one! just so everyone knows this job is not hard at all, just take your time, take little breaks in between, and think about what your doing each moment dont rush, that was my mistake :doh: i got too excited. i dont want people to get discouraged from doing this job, its really very easy... check the pics. now to put in the new trigger group! to be continued!

[david8613 69]

that bolt hold open spring is pita! any tips?

[NJgunowner86 0]

Go on that website I gave you, Carolinashooterssupply.com he has videos on how to do the BHO the easy way. Dental floss to hold it down is very headache saving too.

 

EDIT: If you re use the Saiga bolt hold open lever, remember to shorten the lever portion a bit as if you leave it at factory length it will usually get in the way of your finger when shooting not to mention engaging itself when you don't want it to.

 

Not to mention, you could also just forget the bolt hold open anyway (makes cleaning easier as you can just remove the FCG and douche the whole rifle and parts in brake cleaner for a deep cleaning every 2-3,000 rounds and not have another pain in the ass bolt hold open to put back in again) and just grind a notch in the safety lever to hold the charging handle back.

 

Do it at the proper angle and you can have it like a ramp that to disengage the BHO all you do is toss in a magazine, and yank the charging handle back and it'll throw the lever into fire mode.

 

I've done both methods, I prefer the Saiga factory bolt hold open for operation, but the other makes cleaning easier. Up to you really, that's what these guns are all about!

 

Here's kreb's notch. That's the right angle and placement, but I prefer the rear to be a 45 degree angled slope.

[Guest]

that bolt hold open spring is pita! any tips?

 

did you get the one from Dinzag or the just a regular Tapco G2

[Guest]

Go on that website I gave you, Carolinashooterssupply.com he has videos on how to do the BHO the easy way. Dental floss to hold it down is very headache saving too.

 

EDIT: If you re use the Saiga bolt hold open lever, remember to shorten the lever portion a bit as if you leave it at factory length it will usually get in the way of your finger when shooting not to mention engaging itself when you don't want it to.

 

Not to mention, you could also just forget the bolt hold open anyway (makes cleaning easier as you can just remove the FCG and douche the whole rifle and parts in brake cleaner for a deep cleaning every 2-3,000 rounds and not have another pain in the a** bolt hold open to put back in again) and just grind a notch in the safety lever to hold the charging handle back.

 

Do it at the proper angle and you can have it like a ramp that to disengage the BHO all you do is toss in a magazine, and yank the charging handle back and it'll throw the lever into fire mode.

 

I've done both methods, I prefer the Saiga factory bolt hold open for operation, but the other makes cleaning easier. Up to you really, that's what these guns are all about!

 

Here's kreb's notch. That's the right angle and placement, but I prefer the rear to be a 45 degree angled slope.

 

lots of good info here.. i also prefer the Saiga one once used to it.. but both are good!

[david8613 69]

oooooooh that look nice with that notch, i think i will do that before i get her painted. i did finally get the spring on, i used very small zip ties to hold on the bho and it was hard but worked, i got big fingers. i have a new problem, i noticed that when i charge the charging handle and pull the trigger everything is good, but after pulling the trigger my trigger seems to be freewheeling, like it loose, like i can move the trigger foward and backwards, but when its charged its doesnt move at all, unless i pull hard to fire. if this discription doesnt sound right, let me know. did i miss something? i have this one longer spring that i didnt put back maybe thats the problem? i dont know where it goes...heres a pic.. i picked up everything from carolina, great service and great prices.

[NJgunowner86 0]

Yes, your FCG is going to walk itself out of the rifle and fall apart since you don't have a retention device.

 

E clips or a Shepherd's Crook work well, you could also modify and reuse the pictured spring that was in your gun to start with

 

Best of all though, just get an AK retaining plate. $6, slides in and out of place in seconds, and holds it in. TAPCO makes one

 

If you want to re use the spring that came with the gun, you'll have to bend it into a shepherd's crook. It goes in the pin notch over the hammer, under the pin notch of the FCG and hooks around the safety lever. Pain in the ass to install, if you aren't trying to hit the range this weekend just order a plate.

 

http://www.novarata.net/Linx310/fcgremoval.htm

[Guest]

i THINK that this is the SUPER complete video.. you should really watch the whole thing.. watching someone convert one of these guns EVEN if you have already pretty much finished.. might explain a A LOT..

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/rjs3484#p/c ... 0386C4C639

[david8613 69]

something else is happening, after i dry fire her, since the trigger is not going all the back foward, the safety doesnt engage, i have push my trigger foward a little and then i can put in saftey... something is wrong, i must have missed something? its probably something simple. :doh:

 

here is the kit i have, i think it contains everything like the plate you speak of..

 

http://store.carolinashooterssupply.com ... GER/Detail

[NJgunowner86 0]

If you bought that kit you have everything you need and it should work flawlessly. Got to be an installation problem. Check the legs of your hammer, are they hooked onto the legs of the trigger properly? A picture of your internals would help a lot too.

[david8613 69]

that link helped alot, i put the hammer spring upside down! all well i like a challenge! here is a pic, its on wrong for sure.

[Guest]

If you bought that kit you have everything you need and it should work flawlessly. Got to be an installation problem. Check the legs of your hammer, are they hooked onto the legs of the trigger properly? A picture of your internals would help a lot too.

 

i have had to bend them a tad to get them right...

 

 

honestly.. WATCH the video.. its long but it can clear up SO many issues!

[Guest]

yup that looks to be an issue.. LOL

[david8613 69]

that was it! she is done for now, feels so much better than that sportser stock. next on the list, ak mag pinned of course! forearm, and new stock. gonna post the original stuff i dont need in the market place... ill post pics when, further down my restoration... oh thanks for links, that really helped...man now i wanna go shoot! :twisted:

[NJgunowner86 0]

Awesome, nice job. The stock is straight up bubba but hey, if it works it works man!

 

I would suggest getting cut down magazines instead of pinned ones. That's just me. I don't see the point in having the large size that interferes with shooting stance if it only holds 10/15 anyway. But to each his own.

 

By the way, I have a bunch of nylon hole plugs if you wanna plug up the holes from where the factory pins were, let me know if you want some.

[david8613 69]

Awesome, nice job. The stock is straight up bubba but hey, if it works it works man!

 

I would suggest getting cut down magazines instead of pinned ones. That's just me. I don't see the point in having the large size that interferes with shooting stance if it only holds 10/15 anyway. But to each his own.

 

By the way, I have a bunch of nylon hole plugs if you wanna plug up the holes from where the factory pins were, let me know if you want some.

 

thanks, im gonna do the pinned mags only because i really like the full ak look, anyone know where to get usa made wood furniture, maybe unpainted, i would like to do it myself. im going to sell the stock, forearm, old trigger set up its off the rifle already. since i have the bullet guide in place my factory saiga mag doesnt fit so that might go up forsale also, anyone know what my stuff is worth i have no clue? sure ill take some of those plugs that would be cool, ill pm you my address.

[Guest]

Awesome, nice job. The stock is straight up bubba but hey, if it works it works man!

 

I would suggest getting cut down magazines instead of pinned ones. That's just me. I don't see the point in having the large size that interferes with shooting stance if it only holds 10/15 anyway. But to each his own.

 

By the way, I have a bunch of nylon hole plugs if you wanna plug up the holes from where the factory pins were, let me know if you want some.

 

thanks, im gonna do the pinned mags only because i really like the full ak look, anyone know where to get usa made wood furniture, maybe unpainted, i would like to do it myself. im going to sell the stock, forearm, old trigger set up its off the rifle already. since i have the bullet guide in place my factory saiga mag doesnt fit so that might go up forsale also, anyone know what my stuff is worth i have no clue? sure ill take some of those plugs that would be cool, ill pm you my address.

 

 

NOT being rude just being honest.... the STOCK stuff is useless imo... i have NEVER seen someone REVERSE a restoration.. lol i would just throw it in a box and hang onto it on the off chance that you have a use for it down the road.. the only thing worth a couple bucks is the mag and maybe the hand guard..

 

good job on getting it done.. i sent you a VERY important PM.. might want to check it..

[NJgunowner86 0]

You can re use your factory magazine by cutting the tab off the front of it with a dremel. Here's a picture I drew forgive the artwork. Only takes two seconds to do and you have a nice high quality russian magazine. If you look at the front of an AK magazine and the front of your saiga magazine it will be very obvious what has to be removed.

 

Also I'm guessing he PMed you about 922r...

 

http://thegunwiki.com/Gunwiki/BuildAkVerifyCompliance

 

It's easy just use the checklist. Use USA made trigger group, buttstock, and pistol grip and you're fine with magazines of any national origin. If you wanna go for foreign made wood (which is almost 1/3 the price of US made wood) you could swap your gas piston for a USA made one. Ironwood Designs sells USA made AK wood sets of all different styles and wood types for like $125 for a blank 4 piece set. Make sure you order AKM furniture. Also you will need a handguard retainer and gas tube to mount the furniture, Carolinashooterssupply.com has those too. If you want foreign stuff, I've done some beautiful foreign made sets for people.

[david8613 69]

thanks for the tip on the mags, i got a question im doing my build with wood, and i noticed that when doing this look, ak47 owners have the cleaning rod attached to bottom of the barrel, i would like to do this how do i go about it? my saiga doesnt have anything to really hold the rod like that.

[Guest]

thanks for the tip on the mags, i got a question im doing my build with wood, and i noticed that when doing this look, ak47 owners have the cleaning rod attached to bottom of the barrel, i would like to do this how do i go about it? my saiga doesnt have anything to really hold the rod like that.

 

 

the front hand guard retainer will hold it.. but i think you need a different one for it to be snug.. im not sure..

[NJgunowner86 0]

thanks for the tip on the mags, i got a question im doing my build with wood, and i noticed that when doing this look, ak47 owners have the cleaning rod attached to bottom of the barrel, i would like to do this how do i go about it? my saiga doesnt have anything to really hold the rod like that.

 

 

the front hand guard retainer will hold it.. but i think you need a different one for it to be snug.. im not sure..

 

yes, your retainer and handguard will hold it, but not snug. It will rattle around when fired and maybe come loose and even fall out sometimes. On a normal AK the gas block's bayonet lug has a hole through it, and on the bottom of the front sight block there is a piece that holds the head.

 

Standard AKs have a 16" cleaning rod, some Saigas come with a 16" one others come with a 20" one which will just look stupid sticking out the front of your rifle.