Before I started working on my kit (which is my first gun parts kit ever, so...) I read everything I could on here on the best way to do things.
I got several of the rivets out just fine by drilling them 'til they spun out.  That worked fine for the holes that went all the way through.  But when I tried it on the rivets in the front trunnion that have the barrel behind them, they just won't spin out.  There's only a very tiny sliver of rivet left in there, but it will not come out.  Any ideas?
Also...  while trying to drill out one of the rivets, i drilled too deep, about 1/8" into the steel around the chamber.  That leaves plenty of steel for the chamber there, but it still makes me a little nervous;  should i try to fill it with JB Weld or something?

Seriously... would you trust your life to a gob of JB weld??  

I did the same thing.....if you have, or know of a good welder, they can probably make a puddle weld, to fill that 1/8" hole into the barrel.

Otherwise, I'd just buy another front assembly.  I believe Tapco has them for $30, or so......

Quoted: Before I started working on my kit (which is my first gun parts kit ever, so...) I read everything I could on here on the best way to do things. I got several of the rivets out just fine by drilling them 'til they spun out.  That worked fine for the holes that went all the way through.  But when I tried it on the rivets in the front trunnion that have the barrel behind them, they just won't spin out.  There's only a very tiny sliver of rivet left in there, but it will not come out.  Any ideas? Also...  while trying to drill out one of the rivets, i drilled too deep, about 1/8" into the steel around the chamber.  That leaves plenty of steel for the chamber there, but it still makes me a little nervous;  should i try to fill it with JB Weld or something?

An AMD-65 front end would be cool but I think K-Var and Tapco are out of everything now.  This market is rough because of the damn ban expiration.  WE NEED MORE PARTS!

When I was an Army mechanic we trusted our lives regularly to JB weld, duct tape, and ratchet straps! But seriously, you could spend a whopping $79 and get an entire AMD-65 kit from centerfire...use the current one for practice and spare parts.

Really?  I should have checked.......before 9/14, they had them for $29;95.....as I bought another front end, since I too drilled into the barrel, and didnt' want to risk my AMD blowing up in my face.....exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

Hmmmm.......how about Centerfire?

Quoted: An AMD-65 front end would be cool but I think K-Var and Tapco are out of everything now.  This market is rough because of the damn ban expiration.  WE NEED MORE PARTS!

Darn....everyone's out.

Oh well....I guess I should have bought more than 2 kits, when Tapco had them for $59.95......*sigh*.

I wonder what happened to the cargo vessel, full of 20k, or so AK47's, seized in Italy?

I hope they cut them up already.......:)  We need kits!

When I called centerfire just a few days ago they still had 65 kits in stock. $79.95 for your choice of wood or plastic grips in VG condition. $99 for "like new".

Better buy 'em quick! When I bought my AMD-63 kits, they had 2 left! (should have bought those too!) Their "as new" kits are just that.

Who needs one? Send me an email I can help you out.

Watcha got?

I wouldnt fret too much about drilling into the barrel. As long as you didnt go TOO deep it should be just fine. I bumped into my barrel a bit with my drill press and my AMD shoots just fine. I had to get my stock welded on cos I buggered the holes but the rifle looks great and shoots great.
AK's are quite forgiving. I shot 50rnds with the front assembly just held on by 2 screws to see if all was going to function properly.

Thanks for all your input.

Any suggestions how to get those stubborn rivets out?  Or should I just not worry about it -- I plan to screw the thing together anyway, but I'm a little worried that when i try to tap a hole with a sliver of rivet in there that it'll pick that time to come loose and mess it all up.  I really want to get it out, but I'd rather not drill the hole any wider for fear of cutting into the trunnion.

The correct way of doing it would be to remove the barrel from the front trunion and drill them out. If you have a press or vise you can do it . I use a air riveter/hammer with a flush head to drive the barrel pin out and then I put the trunion and barrel in the vise and I usually put a penny or two so I dont maul up breech and use a larger head and push the barrel out with, in fact I just did it this afternoon and probably took me a whole 5-10 minutes. Makes getting those front rivets out so much easier. Here is a link to a site that has a way of doing it as well .
Barrel Pin

Wow, thanks for the link.  I don't have a press, but I do have a vise -- I'll give that one a shot this week.
How hard is it to get the barrel out of the trunnion once the pin's out?  Would that be possible without any special equipment?

Tagged

Rivets are hard to drill out, even with a drill press and cutting oil.  Tried several speeds.  Broke several bits, around five bits: 1/16" on up in size.  

I broke a tap in the rear trunnion today.    I cannot get it out.  Tried shattering it, but it just sits there.  It is level with the trunnion though, so the piece MAY be salvageable.

I am DONE trying the screw together method.

When receivers arrive, I will talk with my welder.  If welding trunnions to receiver (rosette and bead welds) cannot be done, I am selling the kits and receivers for what I have in them.  It just isn't worth it.    The next kit (if there will be one), I'm building the [darn] thing the way I usually build things: over-built.  If it can be built, I'll over-build it.  

After messing with this, give me a M1A any day.  I can assemble and bed a N.M. rifle in two days.  This isn't a slam on the AK type rifles: its just not working out for me as I had hoped.  I assembled a G3 and semi-auto Mark II Sten without problems.  Maybe it has to do with that rain cloud hanging over my head.

If anyone has a need for it I have a 5mm 4 flute tap remover I will loan out. Works on 10-32 taps and maybe 8-32. It worked great on removing the broken taps ( yes I did it several times) in my front trunnion. Screw builds are actually really easy.

Email sent on tap remover.  I'll give it another shot.

I used a screw set files to a sharp edge and a patiently applied hammer to pry the little slivers of rivet from around the holes. I think it worked great but I have yet to fire it so who knows :-)

Tapping with them in there will cause you a world of pain. They'll come loose and gum up the works something fierce (ask me how I know).

Quoted: Thanks for all your input. Any suggestions how to get those stubborn rivets out?  Or should I just not worry about it -- I plan to screw the thing together anyway, but I'm a little worried that when i try to tap a hole with a sliver of rivet in there that it'll pick that time to come loose and mess it all up.  I really want to get it out, but I'd rather not drill the hole any wider for fear of cutting into the trunnion.

Looking up "tap removal" or "broken tap" on Yahoo brings up a lot of stuff on EDM removal of taps. Basically using specialized equipment to disintegrate it or erode it with electricity. Very expensive to buy yourself, somewhat cheaper to build yourself, but machinists and even garages do it for a reasonable fee. Probably not worth it on a $60 kit, but on a $400 kit????

Anybody try this on stuck taps?

Would it work on rivets?

Also saw a blurb about a liquid product called Tap Out, which dissolves it! Doesn't work if the tap is stuck in high carbon steel.

http://www.electroarc.com/image/BrTapSequence.jpg