I have owned this SLR since 1996.  Purchased new for $299.  Earlier this year I decided to finally update it.  I installed a stock kit from K-var but did not install the tang and was never happy with it.  Two weeks ago, I went ahead an got the correct FSB and gas block as the lack of the cleaning rod always bothered me as well.

Well I finished last night.  I am not posting a blow by blow how-to but I have these observations......The lower tang is just time consuming and not terribly difficult.  I used a hand double cut file for the job and all it cost me was a sore arm.  The FSB and gas block was a real hassle.  I cut off the old ones (as well as the muzzle brake) with the dremel and that took 5 mins.  The new ones were not even close to fitting (I guess after countless heating/cooling cycles, the barrel diameter has changed significantly).  Since I do not have a press and I wanted to do everything myself, I used a brake cylinder hone chucked in my drill press and just worked them until the felt "close" and then just HAMMERED AWAY!  Again, very time consuming.  The last mod was installing a RSA trigger which took 2 mins.

I am VERY happy with the results.  I have never cared too much for this rifle and now I think it will be one of my favorites.  It now LOOKS like an AK!  I think my next mod will be to "carbineize" it by cutting down the barrel and moving the FSB back making the barrel 16" at the end of the '74 brake......am I a glutton for punishment or what!?!

I thought the  filing for the tang was a total bitch.  In the end, it is a very nice rifle.

Yours looks really nice.

Nice job.  Looks very professional.

take care,
Tec

Looks good.

Is that the Bulgarian FSB from K-Var with the 24mm threads? Is that the Bulgarian brake as well?

Quoted: Is that the Bulgarian FSB from K-Var with the 24mm threads? Is that the Bulgarian brake as well?

The FSB is from K-Var but I think it is Romanian.  It is an exact duplicate to the original Bulgarian except for the cleaning rod holder.  The Brake came from Poly parts.  I threaded the barrel with a 14x1 LH die and silver soldered it on (My neighbor is a jeweler and has the 1100 degree stuff).

It's all temporary until I cut the barrel down.

Sweet looking rifle!

That's a milled receiver right? How much heavier is it than a stamped?

Quoted: the bulgy bbl. has a .575" diameter and the fsb is a .002-.003" interferance fit. if k-var really did sell you a romanian fsb (doubtful), it is .517" for the ak-74 fsb and the same .575" for the akm fsb. as k-var specializes in bulgarian parts, i'm assuming they sold you a bulgarian fsb. besides, honing .517" out to .575" (.058" stock removal) is an all-day job with a hone!!!!). btw, roughing the lower tang cut with a dremel, then finishing with a file is the fast and easy way to go.

I wrote down the mic measurments before putting everything back together but I don't have them in front of me right now.  I have seen these numbers before but if memory serves, non of those applied to my barrel.

The FSB actually went on very easily.  I just used the hone to clean up some spatter inside.  After that, it slipped on without much hassle.

The Gas block was a different deal.  I spent about 2 hours off and on the hone before it got to the point where it would go on with a lot of hammering.  The size wasn't even close to begin with.

One thing I did though was rather than rely on scribe marks to align the gas block, I drilled an "indentation" through the hole on the bottom of the gas block before cutting off the original.  I used this mark to align the block both for straightness and position on the barrel.  Afterward, a little gun blue covered it completely.

As for the tang, I did consider using the dremel for the rough cut but decided against it because that metal is HARD and I was worried about burning up my nice dremel.

Thanks for the kind words guys and thank you Campy for all your info, it really helped.

A closing note about the SLR's:
I am in no way an expert but I had this rifle completely stripped and I scrubbed every inch with everything removed.  I have owned this weapon for 7 years and easily have 15,000+ down the pipe and everything looks new.  No heavy wearing on the rails, bolt looks new and the barrel is still mirror with sharp rifleing!  The Bulgarians sure know how to make a gun.  It's kinda nice to know that my now 11 year old son will probably give it to one of his kids some day.

Lookin' good!

Rick,  Your rifle looks great.  I took the easy way out and purchased a Ironwoods set for my SLR.

The FSB looks awesome!

I also have to agree with you that the Bulgarians know how to build a great rifle.

What is the approach you will take in cutting down the chrome lined barrel? Can it be done without the chrome lifting?

Called my 'smith, he says that chrome flaking off an AK barrel is not a problem especially a quality one like the SLR.  Thanks for the headsup though, I had not thought of that.

He says just cut it square, crown it and it is good to go.