Here are a couple pics.  I'll eventually plug the old rivet holes with weld and file them flat...it's wearing a half-ass coat of Krylon on the bare spots now.

This is an older S12...without the bolt hold open.  It took me forever to do (5 hours?), because I'm anal and like to take my time.  The trigger guard took alot of grinding/filiing.

I used a dremel to remove the old pins and drove them out.  I had to cut the pistol grip hole (dremel again).  The trigger guard is made from a chopped up demil set from Kvar.  It would have been hella easy to just bend and re-use the original guard, but that looks half-ass IMHO.  I contoured it to make it look like a factory 12c guard.

The riveting is courtesy of a AKbuilder.com jig and a modified 4" grade 8 bolt.  The jig can't do the side guard rivets as-is.  The Saiga has clearance issues with the beefy center support.  I had to fudge a bit and grind a bolt to clear the support, and then use rear of the jig as a bucking bar, bolt, and 5lb sledge.  Had this been a regular AK, I would have it riveted in 5 minutes, but as-is, this part took hours.  Rivets used were Tapco, and they suck.  They're *just* long enough to go through the receiver, selector stop, and guard.  Next time I'll use Kvar or order some longer rivets from MSC/McCarr Master.

I used a dremel and needle files to fit a double-hook FSE HTS, because it's what I happened to have on-hand.  I had to dremel the hammer a bit to make it fit, as the S12 uses a slightly modified hammer for clearance reasons.  Not tough, but something to be aware of.

The PG is of unknown US origin...I think it's a Century.  I will eventually upgrade that to a TDI or SAW grip....I'm not fond of the usual AK grips on a shotgun.

take care,
Tec

dude, can we see some full frontal nudity?

I love saiga 12 gauges

Tec:

What'd you use for a pin retainer? Did you use an AK shepherd's hook?  I got the one pictured below from K-VAR, and I can't for the life of me figure out how it's supposed to go in there.

I'll get some better pics once I can get some natural light.  I used a RSA retaining bar...it's one of the antique ones from when Charles worked at RSA and was still developing prototypes.  I had to modify it pretty extensively.  I don't think you'd have any problems with a current model.  I'm not sure how the heck that Kvar version is supposed to work...I'm guessing the loop goes over the trigger pin, and the long arm goes under the hammer pin, but I'd have ot play with it to see if that would work.

take care,
Tec

Thanks Tec!

I messed around with the K-VAR wire a few different ways, cussed at it a bunch, and I think I got it!  Loop goes in the hammer pin groove with the open end (hook) facing down. Long arm goes under the trigger pin with the little tail facing down.  I can't push the pins out from the right side, even by tapping on them with a hammer and punch. We'll see how the next range trip goes.