I picked up a project gun that needs some work to make right, it was built using a Romanian “G” kit, an Armory USA receiver and has all compliance parts (receiver, G2 FCG, muzzle device, and PG). I bought this gun as it is now, the previous owner had not fired it. I am not going to fire it until I get these issues resolved since I think some of them are serious.

I am pretty handy but this is the first time I will have had to rivet an AK and need some advice.


Problems:

1) Front Trunnion Rivets - it does not look like the rivets are fully crushed. They do not lay flat against the receiver, looking more like halfway between a uninstalled rivet and a installed one. I am guessing that if I get a pair of the HF rivet crushers I could fully crush them without having to drill them out and install new ones. Is this correct?

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2) Rear Trunnion Rivets – rivets are completely flattened on one side. It looks like I would have to drill these out and used new ones. What’s the best way to do this without trashing the receiver? I have access to a drill press, what size are the holes? Will the HF rivetor work on the rear as well if 4 short rivets are used? Or is is best to get another tool and use 2 long ones?

3) Rear of receiver – the rear of the receiver looks like it needs to be trimmed to the trunnion. Is this correct?

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4) Bolt comes out of the rear of the receiver, I am guessing that is related to problem #3. It does not look like the receiver rails have been messed with so I am guessing that it is either the holes in the receiver are off (do these receivers come with the holes drilled) or something else is wrong. I know a buffer would be a quick fix, but since I would like to reinstall the rear trunnion (to reinstall the rivets) I wouldnt mind fixing it right.

Image for #2, #3, and #4:



5) Magwell is tight- I am guessing that this should be a easy fix, the mag goes in easy until the catch engages - then it gets tight. Is it better to work on the front of the mag opening or the rear to give the mag more front to rear clearance.

After these issues are fixed I would like to use the Brownells spray on finish on the receiver and “weather” it to match the other parts for the used look.

Problem #1:
The photos are not good enough for me to see a problem with the rivets. Sometimes people do not countersink the trunnion holes in the receiver for the swellneck rivets, which makes them not seat far enough to look correct. Unknown if it could cause a problem. I have countersunk all my swell neck rivet holes. You may be able to further crush the rearmost front trunnion rivets with the modified bolt cutters, but the front four are behind the barrel. If you try to drill them out be careful not to drill into the barrel. I always pull my barrel to remove all of the front trunnion rivets. Again I can't see a problem that would justify redoing the rivets. You could "buck" the front four flatter against the receiver if you wanted to. The rearmost front trunion rivets are supposed to be swellneck rivets. So, if you think they are not you may wish to drill them out, dimple into the countersunk hole in the trunnion and then reinstall swellneck rivets with a jig or a modified bolt cutter tool.

Problem #2:
Rivets are 4mm & 4.5mm. The two rivets for the rear trunnion (fixed stock) are full length and go all the way through. I'm not sure why you want to remove them. When I drill out rivets with a drill press I use this. I use a 5/32" drill bit. Removing long rivets can be a PITA. I drill out about 1/2 to 2/3 the way through them, trying to be perfectly centered and lined up with the rivet and the beat the remainder out with a punch. Take a dremel or something and make the rivet head more flat before you start drilling to keep your bit from wandering. Rivets being flattened instead of rounded is just cosmetic. Many sidefolders have flattened rivet heads instead of round ones. As long as there is enough material to hold is all that matters. There are various rivet sets available for people to buy, most of them are crap in my opinion. Most have long rivets that are not quite long enough to form a good round head on the side you have to smoosh. That is probably what happened during this build. Curtis has good rivet sets with long rivets that are longer than the others here. You can not use 4 short rivets on the rear instead of the two long ones.

Problem #3: I can't see a problem from that photo. The back of the receiver should be about flush with the back of the rear trunnion (not counting the tab).

Problem #4: If the bolt carrier pops out or hangs during firing at the rear opening in the top rails then you obviously need to fix that. Perhaps a buffer would fix that. If the rear trunnion is about where it should be then this problem would probably be that too much material was removed at the opening. All of mine I built from flats so I am not familiar with the storebought receivers.

Problem #5: Does the magcatch fully engage up the "ramp" on the mag or halfway or what? How many mags have you tried? Other places to inspect are where the mag stabilzers (bottom "lip" off lower rail or rails that are spotwelded in) contact the mag when inserted, and where the top side of the back mag latch should bottom out on the selector stop. A tight mag is better than a loose one. I use a small flashlight to help find exactly where the holdup is. Try the mags that you have and notice where the mag catch stops on the "ramp" and trim the end of the catch just enough to get good lockup (where the catch comes up the ramp enough to be almost against the mag body).

Hopefully this helps.

If the rivets are firmly installed and the trunnions are firmly in place, I would just check headspace, put a buffer in it (if it pops out when firing) and shoot it. First shot or two behind a big oak tree, and inspect brass, primer sign and rifle after each shot until you get confidence.

ok prob 1
you can set the rivets down with an airhammer
but i would drill them out and redo

prob 2
flat rivet heads wont hurt anythang
not really a prob other then its ugly

prob 3
you can just file it down takes about 5 min
altho sometimes the wood fits better with alittle hanging off so make shure it actually needs to be done

prob 4
a small tack weld on the inside of the slot in the back of the recoil ass will stop the carrier from comming all the way back and fix your prob

prob 5
file alittle off the tg side of your magwell opening the other side will do nothang
you mag sits in the trunnion not in the rec

Here is a diagram I tried to draw of the rivets:  



It looks like that with a little more pressure to fully seat them they will be fine.

If I used an air hammer what kind of tools would I need on the end of it to keep the rivet from getting completly mishaped.

rivet set
its a shaft with a divet the shape of your rivet head

you can make 1 fairly easy but for how cheap they are its not really worth it  

What would be the place to get one. Is this a Sears or Harbor Freight type of item or would I have to look at a more specialized store.

I found them at here at McMaster-Carr, it looks like that the 5/32 one is closest to 4mm. Is this the correct one?