Okay, so I'm getting my receiver tonight and have everything else waiting.

Let me see if I've got this straight for a drive screw build:

1. Attach triggerguard.

2. Fit receiver and front trunnion, using a magazine as a guide.

3. Fasten front trunnion/barrel assembly.

4. Fit rear trunnion using dust cover as a guide.

5. Fasten rear trunnion.

6. Drop in remaining parts, fitting as necessary.

7.  Rock & roll.

Am I missing anything? hug.gif

Quoted: Okay, so I'm getting my receiver tonight and have everything else waiting. Let me see if I've got this straight for a RIVET build: 1. Attach triggerguard. 2. Fit receiver and front trunnion, using a magazine as a guide. 3. Fasten front trunnion/barrel assembly. 4. Fit rear trunnion using dust cover as a guide. 5. Fasten rear trunnion. 6. Drop in remaining parts, fitting as necessary. 7.  Rock & roll. Am I missing anything?

I fixed it for you
just jokeing sounds like you got it all setup in the right order for any type of build
good luck with your build
BLM

you boys play nice now

wowhinking.gif

 I have to agree with him.... rivit the thing if you can.  If you use the drive screws i would consider tig welding the inside of the rivets a tad to keep them secure for the long haul.

Well, I decided long ago to do a drive screw build after reading the "easiest AK build ever" thread at the top of this page.  It's too late, boys, sorry. I'm not set up for pulling/pressing the barrel or smashing rivets anyway.

It took me about 6 hours, because I had almost zero experience with AKs in general and I wanted to get it right. I've never even disassembled one before so everything was "learn as you go."

The easiest part of the whole thing was pounding in the drive screws. I loc-tited them up good and just tapped them in with a 2# hammer.  The DCI NDS-3 reciever was a PERFECT match for my trunnions and almost everything worked perfectly.

The only part that actually was frustrating was installing the trigger group. I've never even seen an AK trigger setup before to night, so it was all trial and error.  It turned out that of the three trigger pins, only one was small enough to fit in the holes in the NDS receiver. The others were too big around at the head to fit all the way in. Easy fix: chuck one up in the drill and dremel it down as it's spinning. Took 5 minutes and it fit perfectly.

Then getting the shepard's crook in was a pain, of course.  First, again, the trigger axel pin was too close to the bottom of the receiver to allow the crook/spring to go under it. I did the same drill/dremel trick with that and after trying it about 5 times and then taking off more, it finally fit.

Everything went together then and I thought I was golden -- but then it jammed up on me and I couldn't pull the bolt carrier back. I opened it up and saw that extra little coil on the shepard's crook was being smashed by the hammer and it wouldn't allow the hammer to cock.   I thought about it for a while and then realized that in all the photos I've seen, the shepard's crook didn't actually have that extra coil.  So I'm guessing that is an auto feature that isn't needed?  I cut it off and put it back together -- now it works slick and doesn't bind at all.

I only have a half of one mag (17 rounds!) of x39 right now, which is a HUGE bummer. But I'll try it out tomorrow if I have time. Pretty pumped at how easy it all was.  Couldn't have done it without this site, though, that's for sure!  hug.gif

Pics man, where are the pics??  Show off that bad boy.

Maybe pics later. It's ugly right now, as the handguard and buttstock finishes don't match, and the screw heads are shiny. The receiever is fully heat treated and actually looks pretty good as it is, but I'll paint it anyway.

That is, assuming it works! I'm off to shoot up what little ammo I do have right now.

I just fired 17 rounds (all I had ) and everthing worked fine. It fed Wolf HP and FMJ's without a hitch and threw the empties anywhere from six to almost 20 feet. The mag locks up really tight (almost too tight... almost) and I have no complaints. (Gun show tomorrow to hunt for more ammo/mags.)

Except that a bit of my sloppiness from last night has shown up. Two of the front trunnion holes I drilled weren't lined up perfectly and were off from the receiver holes by a fraction. Those two screws are now tilted in the direction of the misalignment a tiny bit. They didn't back out at all from what I can tell, but it makes me nervouse anyway. I think I'll try to get some larger drive screws (for a better bite) and egg the receiver holes a little if I need to and drive them in.

I'd also like to try pressing the drive screws in rather than hammering them.

This is a "for the experience" kind of project so I'm not too worried. This summer when I'm out of school and finances are more liquid I might get set up to do rivets. For now it's not really an option.

Those cheap Yugo kits sure look tempting now, though...

Dont forget the headspace.

FREE

Quoted: Dont forget the headspace. FREE

The numbers match and I didn't pull the barrel. I though headspace was a non-issue in these cases?

In most cases, you should be fine if it's a matching kit. However, it's always a good idea to check the headspace, even if everything matches, especially on the Yugo kits that have been through war and back. I've also heard of the headspace being off on matching kits, so I always check it. $50 - $60 on a set of Go/No Go gauges is a small investment for your safety.

Finally here's a photo.

I'll refinish it after a couple hundred more rounds when I'm more confident that the screws won't start to back out.

ETA: I know my mags are ugly, but they were $10 apiece. heap

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/skywarp989/Rifles/Romanian%20AK47%20drive%20screw%20build/RomyGAK47002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/skywarp989/Rifles/Romanian%20AK47%20drive%20screw%20build/RomyGAK47008.jpg