I'm trying to remove and install a gas block and I'm having a hell of a time keeping my work from shifting. What methods do yall use?!

Random pieces of steel around the shop, then pennies to keep from marring the finish on anything.  You can use any number of pennies as spacers to keep the work straight and to protect the finish.



For removing the gas block, put a penny or two under the piston opening.  Then use a piece of scrap steel (with another penny) to support the bayonet lug.

For pressing it back on, the AK-Builder barrel press tool works wonders.


Thats my two cents (and two cent method, HAH!)

http://robertforbus.com/Kalashnikova_Tools.htm
His assembly bar and barrel pushing tools are awesome.

Another +1 for the Rforbus barrel tooling. Initially I used two pieces of 1 in. square stock and drilled two holes in each piece to allow them to be bolted together. Set those up on the press and placed the barrel in between each piece and slid the steel pieces against the barrel and run the nuts down on the bolts finger tight. This should give you two surfaces bearing against the barrel component you're trying to remove and make pressing it off easier.