I do enjoy this hobby. I've built several AR's and tinkered with my SKS and "production" AK. I wanted to build an AK, so I ordered a kit. I did the usual research; read the forums here and at other sites. After the kit and assorted other parts arrived I looked at the ensemble... and discovered I could get better looking parts from another source than I had used. I tallied up the reciepts. If I had to do it again (or was doing just one), I'd go DPH Arms. They have the kits competitively priced, the compliance parts (grips, fcg, fh, piston). I would have saved on shipping, too.

... but then I wouldn't have the fun of searching and tinkering. My parts box doth grow! I see a closet-cleaning sale on the horizon.

BTW, there's more actual building invoved in AK's than in AR assembling (but yall already know that). Both are an addiction.

buckmeister

DPH is a great place to get stuff. I enjoyed dealing with them!
I have over a dozen kits stashed now. Everything from mint Romy's to near mint Polish UFs all the way down to a Yugo "fixed" stock which was actually a UF with a fixed stock bolted to it! But hey! It'll be a challenging project.
The fun of building is that you get to make it just the way you want it! When you look at tooling and time, you really don't save money building them yourself. But it IS satisfying as heck to take your creation to the range and have it work perfectly and then have folks asking all about it.
I park mine and  then guncoat them and refinish wood too. You can tell right off they aren't Century builds. Folks zero in on that right off.
I had my Polish UF that I built from a SG kit and a AKBuilder flat and some compliance parts at the Marine range in Norfolk Va. this morning. That was fun. I ran another 120 rounds through it flawlessly. It's a great shooter and though it's an UF, I find it comfortable. And two guys made me offers on it!
I'll never sell it, but I did enjoy the professional compliment of the offers.
You just can't have that much fun with a store bought rifle.

Quoted: You just can't have that much fun with a store bought rifle.

And the choir said, "AMEN!"

+1

It is a sickness.hat
Oh yeah,   MORE

Everyone says "you don't save money building," but they always compare prices to Century WASR's. The fact is, if you are building right, you get something better than that when you're done.

So no, you don't make one for less than $300, once you count tooling and all that, but you get something a whole lot better than a Century AK for about the same price. I have never examined Aresenal or Vector AKs firsthand, but I think a fairer cost comparied would be $500 or more, in which case, you do save a lot of money by builind them yourself...

Of course, I didn't save money on my first one no matter how you compare them, since I had to buy the press, some jigs, extra rod to make a new barrel pin, a $20 reamer to adust the pin hole, and broke my vise trying to rivet with it...

I would have saved a few more bucks had I investigated a little more. I stumbled onto DPH's site looking for pistol grips... and found they had everything. Copes and others offer similar packages, but the bottom line pointed to DPH. I will, however, use wood grips (go figure!?!).

We wouldn't have "This Old House" or the myriad of DIY shows and publications if the true worth were only in the final product. There is nothing more satisfying than to use or view something made by your own two hands!

buckmeister