I have been looking into getting an Ak and don't want to spend too much, right now I can build an Ar for $450 so I want to keep the Ak in the same price range.  I have built a 1911 and Ar-15 so doing work on guns is nothing new, I know all the 922r laws.  Let me see your guy's input, I have found a few sites so far but I want to see what you recommend.  What is a good price for an 80%?  I am considering building the receiver from sheet metal.  I really like the look of a fixed wood stock.  Thanks

The AK files is where all the builders hang out.

You're going to need access to a couple hundred dollars' worth of tooling, at least. The easiest way is to use Toth Tool & Engineering tools. Search Youtube for the "kitchen table AK build" series. The guy there uses Toth tools and shows you how to do it. That's about the least tool intensive way to do it.

Be advised, you will need a parts kit with an already headspaced US made barrel to do it that easily, without a hydraulic press or a good drill press. Kits with original foreign barrels WILL require the use of a drill press to remove their barrel pins. Don't try to punch or hammer it out. You'll just ruin something. I learned firsthand, then I bought a press.

AK Builder is an excellent source for flats and headspaced parts kits with new US barrels. You will probably be able to get the barrel pin out of one of those because it hasn't been stuck in there for decades and AK Builder probably lubricates them.

You'll need a jig of some sort to bend the flat. Then you'll have to heat treat it and there will always be a risk of warpage when heat treating. It can't be avoided. The risk is there. If you're dead set on an 80% receiver, look into Childers Guns receiver blanks. They're already heat treated and they sell some tools to help you get the holes drilled right. That would be cheaper as far as tools go and, IMO, would yield a better receiver.

Either way with an 80% build, you'll need access to welding tools to weld the lower rails to the receiver.

Or you could buy a solid 100% receiver from NDS.

Build an AK for $450??
Not going to happen these days, you can barely buy a good kit &  922r parts for that price.
You will need about 3X that to buy proper build tools for a 1st build, or find someone doing a build party.
Thinking back I can't believe one of my first builds only cost me $80.

I will be surprised if you can pull that off for $450. You can  build a receiver from a flat but you can't sell the rifle without a serial number. The part kits run $240 - $350. A good U.S. barrel is $100 -$150, foreign barrels are $200+, a serialized receiver is $60 - $100, $30 - $50 for a trigger group. The proper tools are expensive. The trick is to build a few, make a few bucks on a few and then sell off the tools. My first build was frustrating but rewarding and the second was fairly easy. You build AKs for quality and satisfaction. I just bought a new unissued Hungarian kit to build off of. I plan on selling the under folder stock and getting a few bucks back. I shot an under folder a few weeks back. It's really uncomfortable so I decided to go with a Magpul stock.

Not true.

The BATFE says firearms made by individuals should be engraved in the same way as manufacturers, (law here: 27 CFR 478.92), but there is no federal requirement for individuals to engrave.



Selling a firearm without a serial number happens just like any 4473 transaction.  For firearms without serial numbers, the FFL logs "NSN" or "No Serial Number".  From the 4473:

It will be difficult to do a build for that price, its probably going to cost between $1,500 and $2,500 for all the tools you'd need.  Here is a link to my favorite article on The Cost of Building an AK47.


You should be able to find a completed rifle for $450 though.

AR and AK building have almost nothing in common

Like said there’s no way to do it for 450 bucks
I built almost all my own tools and I still had to spend around 300 on stuff that cant be made
Add to the part kit price and I was in like 700 to build the Yugo maybe more

Unless you're using an absolute virgin trunnion, the serial number already stamped into the front trunnion will work fine as the serial number for the rifle.

Just got done pressing the barrel into a build last week...If you think you might like the challenge or are considering building more than one, then the tolls are worth the investment. You can always use those tools to repair/rebuild an AK should the need arise. If you want it done right the first time with the least amount of hassle then get a 12-ton shop press from HF and pick up the riveting jigs from a vendor of your choice. Some good ones are AKMACHINIST over at the AKfiles along with Rforbus at the AKfiles, both make great tooling that does the job as intended. AK Builder has great tooling as well and could be called the "Cadillac of AK Tooling" and the price reflects that. Buy once, cry once...I went with AKMACHINIST tooling because he made tooling for the chinese AK's as well as for the regular AKM. The Romanian I'm finishing up was built with his tooling and I have no complaints and will be building a chinese AK next using the same tooling.

Not always, the BATFE only accepts Arabic numbers and Roman letters (see ATF ruling 2002-6).  So if you have a kit with Arabic or Cyrillic letters, or Roman numerals it wont be acceptable.

(sigh).

Any monkey with $100 in tools can assemble an AR.  It requires no special skill or talent.  An AK is not an AR.  It requires a lot of specialty tools, and quite a bit of practice.   In the days of $99 parts kits, before the Republicans banned barrel imports, your break-even point was around 5 rifles.  Now, you can never break even as the finished rifle is worth little more than the cost of the parts, and sometimes less.  

I'm in the same boat with the FAL market right now.  I can strip a FAL for parts and sell them for significantly more than the complete rifle.

You're going to spend several hundred on tools.  Then around $600 in parts.  That will be your practice one which will end up worthless, but educational.

Then you're going to spend several hundred more in tools after you figure out all the ways you goatf-cked the first one, then another kit and receiver.  So around the $1500 mark, you'll be ready to begin your first "real" build.

I produced a DVD and workbook on building AKs -  covers everything for the novice through gauging for the professional.  Perhaps that would be helpful in making your decision.  

btw, ato reiterate what's mentioned above,  "should" is not "must" and "Recommend" is not "require".  

There is no Federal law requiring a individual manufacturing a firearm not for purpose of resale to mark it in any way.  Nor is there any federal law prohibiting the subsequent sale of same, in unmarked condition.