I guess here is where I can find expert advice for a 1st time build...

I just purchased aBulgarian Parts Kit from Centerfire which is advertised as an AK-47, but looks like a milled SLR-96, if I'm not mistaken.

I haven't bought a receiver, but will probably choose a stamped one because the original milled is just too expensive (and I've had a difficult enough time convincing the wife to let me spend a few hundred dollars on "a toy"). I haven't decided whether it's better to spend ~ $175 for complete receiver with trunnion blocks installed or buy blank + trunnions seperately, since I don't want to FUBAR this project.

I also have no clue as to "headspacing" and whether it's something I must do in order to avoid a terrible disfiguring accident (which is what the wife thinks will happen if I build my own rifle!).

Any comments and suggestions are greatly welcomed.

Thanks

Call Lois at Centerfire and exchange it for an AMD 63 kit. (or 65)

It's already been shipped. Any particular reason why the AMD 63 (which I prefer) is better than the SLR???

The AMD-63 would be an ideal gun for first build.  The parts kits for them are starting to get hard to find though.

For starters it will be a whole lot easier to build for a first timer. The 63 has a standard rear trunion which will allow you to switch over to various foreign and US made folders.  It also has a traditional pistol grip configuration compared to the SLR's thumbhole stock that's cut for a milled receiver.  Why buy a milled kit and adapt it to a stamped receiver when you can buy a stamped kit for the same (or less) money? My first build was a 63 and I have since put a few more under my belt. If I could go back and do it all over again I would have still started with a 63.


Then you will want a 65 to go with that 63.

Makes sense, but kit arrives tomorrow, so I guess I'm stuck unless I incur the additional cost of sending it back.

According to your first post you're going to be spending $100 extra to get a receiver that has the trunion blocks that the 63 will already have. You will also have to buy or rent headspace guages to install the barrel. You will also want to buy a new pistol grip and buttstock (or folder) since the SLR came with a milled thumbhole. I think I would chalk the $10 in shipping up as a learning experience.

i would keep the slr and just buy an amd kit also
i agree that building an amd would b a better starter
but when it comes right down to it the slr is a way better gun (i have both)
the kits are starting to get hard to find so id keep it and buy another1
if the wife gives u any lip tell her you cold build 3 guns and still not spend as much as 1 nib

if the wife gives u any lip tell her you cold build 3 guns and still not spend as much as 1 nib

You obviously don't know my wife! She's a non-believer in gun ownership, but the is great!

Anyway, my father is a retired machinist and used to build automatics in a clandestine machine shop in his youth, when he fought the commies in Cuba (got caught and served 15 years in Castro's jails). Those were mostly Thompsons, but he has agreed to help me and my 14 year-old son work on this project (yes, 3 generations of right-wing warriors).

What really concerns me is the headspacing issue, as I have no clue how this is done (isn't the barrel already assembled and just needs to be attached to the front trunnion block?).

yes the barrel is a press fit into the front block fairly easy

Headspace is set when the barrel is pressed into the trunion. It also requires the bolt to be locked in the trunion and a headspace guage in the chamber. Since you don't have the original front trunion, you will have to have a guage to set the headspace.

Thanks for the info, this is starting to get complicated for a first build. I've seen the headspace gauges and it looks fairly straighforward, but pressing the barrel into the trunnion - does this require any special tools?

Unlike Kerry, I don't have a plan.

any1 know what type of front block will work on the slr and where i can find 1
im thinkin id like to build 1 also
will a rom  block work or do i have to get a bulgi ?