So, I pressed out the barrel pin and barrel without a hitch and had only minor galling on my M70AB2 parts kit.  I got the other rivets out of the front trunnion after a lot of grinding and hammering.  Now I am down to the front rivet of the front trunnion.  I have tried using a punch and hammer, but the rivet metal is so soft, my punch just seems to sink into it without budging the rivet.  I am thinking I am going to have to drill it out. Any suggestions?  I imagine I am going to have to do the same with the the long one in the rear trunnion as well?

Yep you gotta drill'em out. I did mine and my buddies yugo trunion today.

Its easy just take your time.

Be careful to drill straight, you dont want to drill into the trunion.

That would be bad.

FREE

i galled my barrel on my yugo also.

i have been seeing alot of this on the yugos.

i just cleaned mine up and filled in the galling.

looks pretty good, hopefully the next one will come out clean.

I've been using a 1/8th drill bit and drilling them all the way through before using a 5/32 punch to punch them out.  Yes, you will have to do the same process to the revit on the rear trunion as well.  Once they've been drilled, it's a breeze to take them out.

I used a 5x32 drill on mine and my buddies trunions today.

He broke a bit off in his front trunion so I puched it out.

The only problem was the 15mins it took to punch the stuck punch out

Rear trunions were a breeze, just take your time.

FREE

Quoted: i galled my barrel on my yugo also. i have been seeing alot of this on the yugos. i just cleaned mine up and filled in the galling. looks pretty good, hopefully the next one will come out clean.

Did that with my 1st two pulls.  After that we put a little lube in the pin hole.  No gauling since.

i am going to try that on the next one. i will try a quick file job on the inside also.

LOL, HAHA.  I am sorry, I am totally ready to give up and sell the kit.  If they used any softer rivets on the yugos they might as well have used lead, that way I could just melt them out.  I tried drilling out the front long rivet in the trunion, broke the drill bit.  Tried comming in from the other way, then I reached the other drill bit.  So, I should be able to just punch out the broken drill bit the other way right?  Yeah right.  Broke my punch. Tried pressing it out, bent the crap out of the pin I was using to press it out with. Ok, what else can go wrong?  I gave up on that rivet, moved on to some smaller normal rivets.  Now, normally, most rivets I have worked with, all you need to do is grind off the smashed side or any side for that matter, smack it a few times with a punch and it should pop right out.  NOT YUGO RIVETS!  At least not the ones in my kits.  I tried getting the ones out on the trigger guard, ground them flat, even ground into the trigger guard metal.  Beat on them with a punch, won't come out.  Tried drilling through them, and then knocking them out.  Still won't come out.  I am out of ideas and patients.  

Sorry to hear that,

I used a industrial drill press with a 5/32 drill bit to get mine and my buddies out.

The first one came out and what was left came out wrapped around the drill bit.

He too had broken a bit off in his so I just used my 5/32 punch to get it out.

Dont get me wrong it was easy until I found out the hardened steel punch was stuck in his trunion.

Luckily enough I hit it with another punch and 15 mins later it was out and all was good.

For the trigger guard I gring them down, pop off the cut piece of the old receiver and then  use a broken hex head  and my press to get them out.

I have not had any luck using hammer on the Yugo(could be the operator), thats where the 12 ton HF press shines

My recomendation is to get 2x 5/32 DASCO PRO punches to pound the long rivots out.

The second one is for pounding out the first when it gets stuck.

The Yugo's are a bit of a challenge and thats why im building mine.

The greater the struggle the sweeter the prize

Good luck,
  FREE

Quoted: LOL, HAHA.  I am sorry, I am totally ready to give up and sell the kit.  If they used any softer rivets on the yugos they might as well have used lead, that way I could just melt them out.  I tried drilling out the front long rivet in the trunion, broke the drill bit.  Tried comming in from the other way, then I reached the other drill bit.  So, I should be able to just punch out the broken drill bit the other way right?  Yeah right.  Broke my punch. Tried pressing it out, bent the crap out of the pin I was using to press it out with. Ok, what else can go wrong?  I gave up on that rivet, moved on to some smaller normal rivets.  Now, normally, most rivets I have worked with, all you need to do is grind off the smashed side or any side for that matter, smack it a few times with a punch and it should pop right out.  NOT YUGO RIVETS!  At least not the ones in my kits.  I tried getting the ones out on the trigger guard, ground them flat, even ground into the trigger guard metal.  Beat on them with a punch, won't come out.  Tried drilling through them, and then knocking them out.  Still won't come out.  I am out of ideas and patients.

Does someone make a chuck or something to hold the pin straight while using the press?  I have a harbor freight 12 ton press, and my biggest problem is keeping the smaller pins I use to push out the rivets with straight.  Anyone know where to get an adapter to slide onto the press to keep the pins straight?

lonerunner
heres something you could do if you have access to the tools, on me press I welded a 1.5''rdx1.5''l piece of stock that I'd bored a 1'' hole through, next I took some 1''rd stock about 2.5'' l and set differnt sizes of dowel pins into them works pretty slick

AK builder.....You don't have to buy it but it can give you an idea..
I have his press kit and the pin is ALWAYS straight.
http://www.ak-builder.com/ak/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=10
I too have a HB 12ton press and AK-B's set up works SWEET!!!

The secret to drilling the rivets out is to use lubrication.  I learned the hard way by breaking lots of bits.  Keep the drill bit nice and oiled up and it will drill through the rivet like butter.  Clear the metal chips away often also.   When you drill without oil the bit quickly gets hot and brittle/dull then breaks easily which causes you to throw tools around the shop in anger.  I drilled the rivets out of two M70 kits this moring and it only took about 5 minutes, (no tool were hurt by throwing).

I'd also suggest using a cobalt drill bit.  About $3-4 at Home Depot, but in my experience better than standard bits. Despite lubricating and cleaning the shavings away after each pass, I broke so many regular and titanium coated bits I had to change.  Drilling out the center all the way through relieves the pressure, followed by a few whacks with a larger punch and out they come.

Well, I did my other trunion with a titanium bit, easy as pie.  My RPK trunion hole is royally F#$% up.  It am going to try to find some stonger bits and try that, but if that does not work, I am just going to use a mig welder on that hole to secure it to the receiver.  

colbalt drill bits...
a drill press, even a cheap ass 39 buck china charlie model beats a hand  drill
LOTS OF LUBE, if it is smokin it is dry, lube  it up
a drill press vise, even a cheap 4 inch one
a light so you can see where you are drilling
I have done 10 long rivets with the above combo, worked well every time

I am going to cheat and use U-drive screws on my long rivets

Watch those cobalt bits.  They are good, actually a little too good.  I got a little off and it drilled through my trunnion like it was butter.