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Posted: 9/3/2026 5:36:23 PM EDT
| I have a Saiga that I want cut down to 12.5 for reasons. Also need a gas block changed out. Previous owner did a faux 104 with extended flash hider over the 16 in barrel. Who would you use for such work? Thanks |
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does the FSB have the 24mm threads? If so you can do the work easily yourself. I did it for my 105, tools required were 1-hacksaw 1-crowning tool w/ 90 degree, and 11 degree crowning tools. Took me about 1.5 hours to get it done. I have not found a good AK smith my last one I used retired. |
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I've done it before and it was rather easy. I had a Century AMD65 that had been cut incorrectly (surprise) causing bullets to impact several feet off at 50 yards. I cut off a bit of the barrel, re-threaded it and recrowned the end. My unprofessional gunsmithing fixed the problem. Sight base removal with a pulley remover (you work with what you have)  Good old-fashioned hacksaw barrel chop  Here you have the piece that was cut off compared to the TAT. The piece sits at an angle...not sure if it's that obvious here.  Rethread  Crown  Finished  Back together  What I don't have pics of is the relocation of the front sight portion. I had previously tried on an old barrel section to drill through the barrel for new pins and found the barrel roundness would cause the drill bit to walk into the sight - good lesson. So for the AMD, I used a tiny end mill through the sight pin hole to flatten two spots on one side just a bit, removed the sight and finished flattening the spots. I then drilled through the barrel with no problem. |
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Originally Posted By CarlosC: I've done it before and it was rather easy. I had a Century AMD65 that had been cut incorrectly (surprise) causing bullets to impact several feet off at 50 yards. I cut off a bit of the barrel, re-threaded it and recrowned the end. My unprofessional gunsmithing fixed the problem. ... @CarlosC How did you ensure concentricity of the external muzzle threads to the bore? |
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Originally Posted By CarlosC: The TAT (thread alignment tool) aligns the die with the bore so they're parallel. I've seen those tools but had my doubts who well they work. Do you turn the barrel to diameter first then thread? How much if any over diameter can it handle? Does it fit precise enough not to worry about being aligned correctly? |
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Originally Posted By GaryM: I've seen those tools but had my doubts who well they work. Do you turn the barrel to diameter first then thread? How much if any over diameter can it handle? Does it fit precise enough not to worry about being aligned correctly? Do you turn the barrel to diameter first then thread? No need to turn the barrel, it was the right diameter to simply thread as is. The normal AK barrel thickness is 15mm anyway and you're cutting to 14mm...an easy cut for a die. AK barrels also don't use a shoulder, so no need to worry about that either. How much if any over diameter can it handle? I don't know, but keep in mind the die has an adjustment screw that allows you to tighten the cut a little. If the barrel is ever so slightly thick, then run the first pass with the die open and just making the cut then tighten it a hair in the next pass until you get the thread thickness you want. Be sure to use lots of cutting oil, cut about 1/4~1/2 turn at a time, then back off to clear the metal shards, then go again. Patience. Does it fit precise enough not to worry about being aligned correctly? Mine did. I don't have any instruments to measure the concentricity, but it fixed the horrible accuracy my AMD had. For added accuracy, after you cut the length you want, crown the barrel to get the mouth as perpendicular as possible so the TAT has a flat surface to rest on, then thread. It's not absolutely necessary because the TAT will stay aligned anyway from the stem that goes down the barrel. After threading, re-crown for a finishing touch. I don't have any of those tools anymore or I'd let you borrow them if you paid the postage to/from. Unfortunately, I offered to loan them out years ago here on ARFCOM and one of the borrowers kept all the tools and I never heard from him again. Still pisses me off.  |
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Originally Posted By lew: That's helpful enough on its own. Do you have links to the tools you used? Thanks! Gimme until Wednesday. I’m out of town and I’ll have to look through my old paper receipts when I get home. As far as supplies go though, you’ll need the die, TAT, die holder, cutting oil. |
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Originally Posted By CarlosC: Gimme until Wednesday. I’m out of town and I’ll have to look through my old paper receipts when I get home. As far as supplies go though, you’ll need the die, TAT, die holder, cutting oil. Originally Posted By CarlosC: Originally Posted By lew: That's helpful enough on its own. Do you have links to the tools you used? Thanks! Gimme until Wednesday. I’m out of town and I’ll have to look through my old paper receipts when I get home. As far as supplies go though, you’ll need the die, TAT, die holder, cutting oil. No worries. I'm not in a rush. Safe travels! |
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Carolina Shooters Supply has a full kit for threading: Threading kit It doesn't come with crowning tools, but brownells carries those (along with pilots). |
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You guys are awesome. Carolina Shooters even has 1/2-28. This is for my .223 SAR-3, so, if I can skip using a 14x1 -> 1.2-28 adapter, I will. The crown looks alright, and I'll be throwing a can mount on anyway, so I don't think I need to muck with that. |
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| Nictra is correct, you’ll have to turn down a standard AK barrel if you want to do 1/2x28 threads because the barrel is too thick. I was able to do my MAK at 1/2x28 easily only because the original 14x1 threads had been crudely removed when it was made ban compliant. The result was a thin enough profile to thread at 1/2. |
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You can use an annular cutter to reduce the size of the barrel to get it to the correct diameter for the thread you want to use. It's a cutter that trims the diameter of the barrel. It comes with a pilot that keeps it square to the barrel. You then use the threading tools to add in the threads. The Thread Alignment Tool (TAT) keep the thread cutter lined up when cutting the threads. Definitely have a muzzle device on hand to test fit the threads as you squeeze the thread cutter to set the depth of the threads. Ideally you may have a few muzzle devices so you can get the threads just right. It's not hard to do, I took more time researching how to do it vs. the actual work. It's like most stuff, you overthink it and take 4x times as long to do it the first time. There are a bunch of Youtube videos, which really help you see it done and gives you confidence in doing it yourself. I threaded one of the non-threaded AKs years ago to attach a muzzle break on it. I rented the tools, which was like $15 including shipping 20 years ago. It was right before I got into suppressors, so I didn't really think too much about alignment for a can. Later I had a company thread my .308 Saiga so I could run a can on it. It really wasn't worth it as the gun was very loud, but it was a fun project. With suppressors potentially becoming easier to get (over the counter with a 4473), keep thread alignment in mind. There are AK dedicated cans that are slightly over bored to account for bad factory threads. So take that into consideration. I can see small cans becoming pretty standard features on guns. |
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Originally Posted By ihon: You can use an annular cutter to reduce the size of the barrel to get it to the correct diameter for the thread you want to use. It's a cutter that trims the diameter of the barrel. It comes with a pilot that keeps it square to the barrel. You then use the threading tools to add in the threads. The Thread Alignment Tool (TAT) keep the thread cutter lined up when cutting the threads. Definitely have a muzzle device on hand to test fit the threads as you squeeze the thread cutter to set the depth of the threads. Ideally you may have a few muzzle devices so you can get the threads just right. It's not hard to do, I took more time researching how to do it vs. the actual work. It's like most stuff, you overthink it and take 4x times as long to do it the first time. There are a bunch of Youtube videos, which really help you see it done and gives you confidence in doing it yourself. I threaded one of the non-threaded AKs years ago to attach a muzzle break on it. I rented the tools, which was like $15 including shipping 20 years ago. It was right before I got into suppressors, so I didn't really think too much about alignment for a can. Later I had a company thread my .308 Saiga so I could run a can on it. It really wasn't worth it as the gun was very loud, but it was a fun project. With suppressors potentially becoming easier to get (over the counter with a 4473), keep thread alignment in mind. There are AK dedicated cans that are slightly over bored to account for bad factory threads. So take that into consideration. I can see small cans becoming pretty standard features on guns. @ihon Do you have a link to that annular cutter? I'm going to throw a .30 cal. can on, but I'm still going to try to get it the threads as concentric as possible. |
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Here is the one for a 1/2"-28 thread. They also have them for the other common thread patterns as well. https://www.carolinashooterssupply.com/1-2-x-28-Annular-Cutter-Kit-p/annular-cutter-kit-12128.htm I have a Mini-14 that I want to chop as well. I was going to just chop and pin a Choate M-14 clone flash hider on it. But with suppressors being over the counter with no tax, I'll probably get it done on a lathe so it's concentric to the bore. 5.56 cans are loud, but putting a short can on an SBR will take the bite off the noise & blast. |
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Originally Posted By ihon: Here is the one for a 1/2"-28 thread. They also have them for the other common thread patterns as well. https://www.carolinashooterssupply.com/1-2-x-28-Annular-Cutter-Kit-p/annular-cutter-kit-12128.htm I have a Mini-14 that I want to chop as well. I was going to just chop and pin a Choate M-14 clone flash hider on it. But with suppressors being over the counter with no tax, I'll probably get it done on a lathe so it's concentric to the bore. 5.56 cans are loud, but putting a short can on an SBR will take the bite off the noise & blast. Do you think that turned up when I searched their site? Hell no!  Many thanks. The AK's gonna still be loud, but I've yet to find a shot timer that will pick up the report from my 12" XCR-L (5.56) with a Thunder Beast Ultra 9. It'll at least soften the blast considerably. |
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You can rent the tools from 4D as well. https://4drentals.com/products/tool-rentals/crowning-tools/ |
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Originally Posted By ihon: You can rent the tools from 4D as well. https://4drentals.com/products/tool-rentals/crowning-tools/ I was trying to remember their name. I also didn't search that hard. I like buying the tools in case I need them later, but on this project, renting is worth strong consideration. Y'all have been very helpful. Thanks, mates! |
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Originally Posted By lew: Do you think that turned up when I searched their site? Hell no! Many thanks. The AK's gonna still be loud, but I've yet to find a shot timer that will pick up the report from my 12" XCR-L (5.56) with a Thunder Beast Ultra 9. It'll at least soften the blast considerably. Originally Posted By lew: Originally Posted By ihon: Here is the one for a 1/2"-28 thread. They also have them for the other common thread patterns as well. https://www.carolinashooterssupply.com/1-2-x-28-Annular-Cutter-Kit-p/annular-cutter-kit-12128.htm I have a Mini-14 that I want to chop as well. I was going to just chop and pin a Choate M-14 clone flash hider on it. But with suppressors being over the counter with no tax, I'll probably get it done on a lathe so it's concentric to the bore. 5.56 cans are loud, but putting a short can on an SBR will take the bite off the noise & blast. Do you think that turned up when I searched their site? Hell no! Many thanks. The AK's gonna still be loud, but I've yet to find a shot timer that will pick up the report from my 12" XCR-L (5.56) with a Thunder Beast Ultra 9. It'll at least soften the blast considerably. @lew @ihon No annular cutter was needed when I did an SAR-3, the barrel diameter was good to go as manufactured. So while it would be required for 7,62 guns if going down to 1/2-28, it is not needed for the SAR-3. Think some folks above got confused on which barrel was going to which thread size maybe. Go check your barrel with a micrometer- buy a micrometer if you don’t own one. I have used an annular cutter on a Mini-14 barrel chop for an SBR. Worked great- but with Ruger, it is common for the bore to not be concentric with the barrel OD, and let me tell you, it certainly was not centered on mine…something to keep in mind. It has caused some issues when zeroing as I need a vertical shim under my Samson gas block sight. |
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Originally Posted By tac556: @lew @ihon No annular cutter was needed when I did an SAR-3, the barrel diameter was good to go as manufactured. So while it would be required for 7,62 guns if going down to 1/2-28, it is not needed for the SAR-3. Think some folks above got confused on which barrel was going to which thread size maybe. Go check your barrel with a micrometer- buy a micrometer if you don’t own one. I have used an annular cutter on a Mini-14 barrel chop for an SBR. Worked great- but with Ruger, it is common for the bore to not be concentric with the barrel OD, and let me tell you, it certainly was not centered on mine…something to keep in mind. It has caused some issues when zeroing as I need a vertical shim under my Samson gas block sight. @tac556 Good call. I was going to measure barrel OD and concentricity before I ordered anything. Good to know you didn't have to trim yours, and I don't think I will just eyeballin' this one. |
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Originally Posted By nictra: depends on the tool, and depends on how close to the front site you want the threads. I usually pop mine off because I want the threads to butt up to the FSB. Yeah, there's going to be some standoff from the sight base due to how the tap is held, but there's plenty of exposed muzzle otherwise. Basically, aside from aesthetics, it's not going to matter? It's getting a suppressor mount, so the muzzle device detent will not come into play. I do have a hydraulic press, so removing the base and getting new pins wouldn't be the end of the world. |
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| which mount? There are the type that index to the muzzle, and then there are some that just thread on. Personally on an AK I would get the kind that indexes to the muzzle, you can then play with the crown to make it concentric if your bore ends up not being concentric to the outside of the barrel. |
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