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Posted: 6/17/2007 8:46:48 PM EDT
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I have a Bulgarian SLR rifle I'm debating mounting an AK-74-type muzzle brake on. If I thread the muzzle, the brake will screw right on, BUT................. How do I lock the brake in position???? The front sight support on the SLR is not drilled for a locking pin. If I just screw the brake on hand tight, it'll probably vibrate loose. If I screw it on REALLY tight, every time it's removed then re-installed it'll screw on a little farther, and fairly soon it'll be misaligned. I've considered trying to hand drill the front sight support for a short locking pin and spring, but I definitely don't want to screw up the support. The whole idea here is to NOT have to remove or replace the support. Another, cruder option is to use a crush or peel washer between the brake and the support, but this is a little Mickey Mouse. Right now, I have a Tapco pin-on brake on the rifle, but someone gave me a very high quality Brownell's AK-74 brake, and I just like the idea of the screw-off feature for cleaning. Any thoughts on this, and on how I might solve the problem of no positioning system for the brake? |
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What do you have? Is this an SLR-105 or an SA-93(?) SLR-95/96? SLR-105 you have to replace the turned down FSB. SLR-95 type rifle came with a pinned on brake didn't it? If so you have to remove that and thread the barrel. You can drill out the FSB to install the detent pin or replace the FSB. FSB You would need the crosspins, detent pin and spring also. |
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This is an Arsenal SLR-96. It came with the factory pinned-on muzzle brake. It looks like threading wouldn't be a problem, even with the two cross slots used by the original factory brake. I've read on the forums that the threading die and TAP will guide right on and thread over the pin slots. I'm thinking that the way to go is to drill the FSB for a detent spring and pin, but I'm going to have to look long and hard at this. The FSB is a standard Bulgarian, only without the hole for the detent. It looks just like the Bulgarian FSB MAK linked to above, only without the cleaning rod detent on the bottom. The web area where the detent hole is, is just like mine. There isn't a lot of room there for a detent, although I've seen factory FSB's that are drilled. Due to the limited room, it'd be easy to drill too high and miss the FSB's cross pin hole, which holds the detent in place, or too low and make fitting problems for the detent and cross pin. This would call for some careful drilling with a hand drill, and I'm going to have to think about this. Mess up and I'd have ruined the FSB. I've considered various lock washers, peel washers, and crush washers, plus drilling the bottom of the muzzle brake for a set screw to prevent it from unscrewing, but these are not very "elegant" solutions. Any advice would be welcome. |
Drill it man. I know it's a little nerve-racking for a non-gunsmith, but you can do it. Just find someone with a drilled FSB and measure the depth of the hold. Then find the right size drill bit, mark the depth on the bit with a piece of tape, then have a beer to relax, then do it.  When you do it, and it comes out great, it will be a boost to your ametuer gunsmithing confidence. Worst case scenario if you mess up is you have to replace the FSB with a new one, which isn't all that expensive anyway.
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Thanks everyone. I AM A GUNSMITH, or at least a retired one. My specialty was Colt double action revolver timing, and I didn't do all that much drilling and threading. As gunsmiths age, we tend to get more and more careful, and more and more conservative as we get older. Finally, this afternoon, I got tired of thinking about it and drilled the FSB. Turned out OK, even after I broke a drill bit tip and had to extract that. One pointer: DO remove the front FSB pin BUT...... Put a SOFT pin in it's place. If you try to drill with the hole open, the drill bit will try to turn downward into the hole. Putting a soft pin in prevents drill drift and allows a good, straight hole. After the hole is drilled, re-install the original pin to hold the detent and spring in place. I emailed "wjm" on the AK File Forum where he's apparently still renting the threading gear. If I can rent the threading gear, I'll be good to go. Thanks to all for the help. Even pros are well advised to ask the people with experience. |
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