First I wouldn't have done the front half conv. if I had to remove the fsb & gb. So I cut the retainer in two and jb welded together. It worked and has held as if it wasn't cut.

The finish is aluma-hyde, the furniture is Ironwood maple dyed and tung oiled. I welcome any questions or comments good or bad.

http://hometown.aol.com/mymimi43/myhomepage/photo.html

This is Major's wife.  Sorry, apparantly the photo link didn't work.  The photos are hosted on aol.  If you will copy and paste the address below into your browser address bar, you can see the photos.

hometown.aol.com/mymimi43/myhomepage/photo.html

Looks great, what brand is the muzzle brake?

Thanks for the positives Campy, Hank.
The mb is a preditor I got it from sksparts.com.I figured since the cal. of the rifle is U.S. that I didn't have to conform to the norm. The recoil on this rifle is so slight (less than an ar more than a 5.45) it's hard to tell if it made a differance but it does look nice.

Campy on your friends that you cut did you jb or metal weld it. I figure if the jb weld fails I'll get a friend to tig weld it.

Very nice job!

Nice Job!!!
if I can find a saiga cheap I would like to try this..

I am converting a Saiga also ( 7.62x39)what effects do you think not having the dimples above the mag well opening has? I guess they provide stability, but a 30 rd is pretty stable in mine without them.

hank2300
I hadn't given it much thought but since you ask I check all my mags. I've got 8 weigers this is my comfort zone in numbers. 7 of 8 fit tight the other has a slight wobble. Digital calipher shows a range of .959-.968 most at .962. guess which one wobbles.
I also did a 7.62 back half conv. for my sons bithday. After I gave it to him he commentted about a mag wobble. The same mag, wobbled in my sar1 so I didn't give it a second thought. I did the conv fit using a new Bulg. steel from cdnn, fit was good. What I gave him was the used commi bloc from cdnn. I have one of those mags and 6 bulg and did a calipher on them. They range from the commi at 1.016 to 1.027. Of the 7, 5 are tight, 1 bulg at 1.019 has a slight wobble the commi has a pretty good rattle. So I feel that the rifles are good it's the mags to watch for.
I'm unable to check my son's mags and rifle. Since I gave it to him he won't let me touch it, I think he's afraid he won't get it back. It shoots tighter groups than my sar. Only thing I can think of is it probably has a better crown.
Good luck on your conv. mine were fun and I learned alot.

WOW! I wish I could do that. What did you do step by step sir?

Thanks for the comprehensive study Major, It sounds like the dimples may be unnecessary for all but the most severe use. Then I guess the test would be if the bolt could strip a round if the mag is forced to one side.

I finally got to the range and the rifle handle great. The thicker Ironwood buttstock & forend made it really feel solid. 3rd mag 2nd rd. and my retainer went sliding down the cleaning rod. It had separated. Bummed, I went home and in the garage a mig welder has appeared. My boy had borrowed to do some autobody work.

So I cleaned the surface of the retainer to bare metal. Greased the barrel, fitted the retainer, put a tack weld on eachside. It was on straight and even, so my boy ran beads on eachside. Now the sucker is welded solid the grease kept any weld/splatter from getting on the barrel. This thing won't break again. My boy said that jb weld is ok, but at the dealership they use a product called Quick Steele for any repairs they can't weld, like gas tanks.
My bayo/cleaning rod lugs I made from a 3/8" sq.x 36" bar of steele from Home Depot. These held together using jb weld. If they fail as long as the mig welder is here they will get reatached with it. It's harder to clean up the steele welds than the mixes.
So for now my prize conversion is back to looking like s**t. Thanks for the encouraging remarks. I'm going to get this right yet.