AK47 Wood Furniture
- Thread starter Xividium
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Telekinesis
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It’s pretty easy. So easy that I wouldn’t bother taking it to a gunsmith.
It depends a little bit on what type of AK you have, but if it’s a standard AKM pattern, the stock should just be 2 wood screws at the rear trunion (where the stock and receiver meet).
The front is a tad more involved, but not hard at all. Strip the gun and remove the gas tube. You’ll see the front handguard retainer (a metal piece around the barrel at the front of the handguard, where the sling attaches) and on the right there’s a little lever. Rotate that upwards and that will release the handguard retainer and slide forward. Sometimes the lever can be a bit stiff, so I’d recommend having a pair of needle nose pliers on hand just in case. Push the lower handgurd forward and it will come off. Reverse the process to install the new one.
The gas tube can be a little tricky the first time so it may help to watch a YouTube video, but basically rotate the upper handguard 180 degrees around the gas tube and it will come off. Slide the new one on, rotate 180 degrees, and you’re done.
Make sure that the new wood you buy is for the type of AK you have. For example, Yugo guns need different wood than normal AKMs, milled receiver vs stamped is different as well. There might need to be some fitting (using sandpaper or files) to get a perfect fit, but in my experience it’s not too difficult and isn’t needed on all of them. If any place requires fitting, I’d expect it to primarily be at the back of the front handguard where the wood goes into the receiver. Sometimes on a new handguard this area is made a little on the big side so that it can be made to have a perfect fit for whatever gun it ends up on. It’s just a rectangle so it’s a really easy process. Try sliding it in, if it doesn’t fit remove a little bit of material and try again. Repeat until it fits.
If you didn’t want to do it yourself, I have no idea how much a gunsmith would charge for swapping out furniture, but hopefully not a lot.
It depends a little bit on what type of AK you have, but if it’s a standard AKM pattern, the stock should just be 2 wood screws at the rear trunion (where the stock and receiver meet).
The front is a tad more involved, but not hard at all. Strip the gun and remove the gas tube. You’ll see the front handguard retainer (a metal piece around the barrel at the front of the handguard, where the sling attaches) and on the right there’s a little lever. Rotate that upwards and that will release the handguard retainer and slide forward. Sometimes the lever can be a bit stiff, so I’d recommend having a pair of needle nose pliers on hand just in case. Push the lower handgurd forward and it will come off. Reverse the process to install the new one.
The gas tube can be a little tricky the first time so it may help to watch a YouTube video, but basically rotate the upper handguard 180 degrees around the gas tube and it will come off. Slide the new one on, rotate 180 degrees, and you’re done.
Make sure that the new wood you buy is for the type of AK you have. For example, Yugo guns need different wood than normal AKMs, milled receiver vs stamped is different as well. There might need to be some fitting (using sandpaper or files) to get a perfect fit, but in my experience it’s not too difficult and isn’t needed on all of them. If any place requires fitting, I’d expect it to primarily be at the back of the front handguard where the wood goes into the receiver. Sometimes on a new handguard this area is made a little on the big side so that it can be made to have a perfect fit for whatever gun it ends up on. It’s just a rectangle so it’s a really easy process. Try sliding it in, if it doesn’t fit remove a little bit of material and try again. Repeat until it fits.
If you didn’t want to do it yourself, I have no idea how much a gunsmith would charge for swapping out furniture, but hopefully not a lot.
OP
OP
Xividium
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- Jan 27, 2021
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Thank you for such a detailed and informed message! I will definitely do this myself, I do like diving into gunsmithing activities.
Telekinesis
Member
No problem! If you want to get into more AK work, Jim Fuller has a really informative DVD. Not the greatest production quality, but there’s a whole bunch of good information on how to work on AKs.
My only word of caution is that these little gunsmithing projects have a way of turning into “well, that’s a really good deal on a lathe...” and before you know it you’re working on a full machine shop in the basement so you can do even more gunsmithing projects
Coyote3855
Member
I have five thumbs on each hand but have changed the furniture on a couple of AKMs without any problems. Telekinesis gives good advice.
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