I just received my OOW 5.45 receiver.  I sort of mocked it up tonight to see how everything fit together and I noticed a few things.  When I slip in the rear trunnion I notice that the dust cover is very tight fitting over the receiver.  It's so tight that I know it wouldn't take long to remove the finish once the rifle is complete.  Second with both the front and rear trunnion in place I have an extremely hard time getting the carrier to slide back and forth in the rails.  It is way too tight.  There is no way it would ever work at this point.  What is needed to fix these two problems?  Thanks.

uhm... I have not had that problem. Yes, it is tigher than a nun, but none of the issues you mentioned. (properly applied) gunkote doesn't scratch from that. Besides, since building it and baing done playing with it, which is probably only 1500 rounds through it so far, I've only pulled the gun apart twice- once to clear a shell mysteriously stuck in the chamber, and again to show the innards to a gun newb.

Perhaps the rails for your rear trunion are not properly seated in the grooves back there causing the back of your receiver to flair out some.  This would make the cover fit tighter and change the alignment of the rails for the bolt carrier.  It is a common issue with OOW receivers.  Just open up the grooves if this is your situation.

Quoted: Perhaps the rails for your rear trunion are not properly seated in the grooves back there causing the back of your receiver to flair out some.  This would make the cover fit tighter and change the alignment of the rails for the bolt carrier.  It is a common issue with OOW receivers.  Just open up the grooves if this is your situation.

What would you recommend to open up the grooves in the rear trunnion?  Thanks.

ETA:  Also, where can I find a template for the rear trunnion holes?

1.2mm

Okay, I figured out the problem with the tight fitting carrier.  I had to file roughly 1/200th of an inch of material off the length of the rails.  The carrier now glides nicely with no binding.

This has got me wondering though how much tolerance is needed for the finish.  I plan on having it done with the original bulgarian finish that AK-USA uses.  This seems a little thicker than park or bake on finishes.  Should I be worried about the carrier binding up again after it is finished?

ETA:  BTW the inside dimension from one rail across to the other rail measures approx. .975" from the widest part of the rails.  The groove in my carrier measures approx. .97" wide.  Does this sound about right?  Should I remove a little more material from the rails?  Thanks again for the help.