Do Yugo M70's utilitize the same standard bolt carrier/piston as all other AK's. I know they have certain incompatibilities like handguards and stocks, but I'm not sure if that applied as well to the internals or was limited to cosmetics.
AK Bolt Carrier Question
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It should be the same as most other AKs.
I've swapped a Bulgarian bolt carrier onto a Rommy RPK (1.5mm receiver)with no problems.
I've swapped a Bulgarian bolt carrier onto a Rommy RPK (1.5mm receiver)with no problems.
There are a couple of things to check. The first is that the new piston is the same length as the old one. There are a couple of minor differences in lengths between models, though at the moment I can't remember which ones might cause a problem.
The second point is to ensure that, if your existing rifle configuration is using a US-made gas piston to be compliant with 922r, that your new carrier has a US-made piston as well.
The easiest answer in that case would be to remove your US piston from the old carrier and install it in the new one, as long as your total length stays the same.
-Sam
The second point is to ensure that, if your existing rifle configuration is using a US-made gas piston to be compliant with 922r, that your new carrier has a US-made piston as well.
The easiest answer in that case would be to remove your US piston from the old carrier and install it in the new one, as long as your total length stays the same.
-Sam
Unless the user gets an AMD-65 bolt carrier (with the short piston), the other country's bolt carrier lengths are negligible.Sam1911 said:
In this case, any stripped bolt carrier will do, as they are all the same size.Sam1911 said:
Right. "Easy", you say.Sam1911 said:
Seen one of Century's piston installs?
It's easier to buy a new piston and install it yourself.
Ok. I know there is supposed to be some difference between the AK-47 and AK-74 piston, but I really never sat down and measured either of them. The AMD would seem like a problem, of course.
Yup. I was specifically talking about the piston. I don't believe I've ever even seen a US-made carrier.
Ahhh, no. I've never been blessed with the opportunity to work on a Century gun. All I've worked on were in their Romanian or Bulgarian original condition. 10 minute job to swap, tops.
Why, does Century weld them on or smash the threads or some such idiocy?
-Sam
Apex (www.apexgunparts.com) has Yugo bolt carriers (with piston) for $35. I've bought from them before, and had excellent service.
Wow. They must be cranking them out at a furious pace if the few minutes saved by welding the piston on instead of drilling and pinning it saves them significant money! I mean, having to pay a skilled TIG operator to lay a fine bead around that seam would seem to cost more than a guy to pull the lever on a drill press and peen the pin in place!
Who knows, maybe the welding is not X-ray quality...
(Though I guess it does answer (to their satisfaction anyway) whether their should be any flex between the piston and carrier!)
-Sam
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Not necessarily. 922r compliance only depends on the number of parts. Swap out something else on the list with a US-made one, and you can use a complete bolt carrier.
A skilled TIG operator? It sounds like you either don't have any Century rifles, or you've been really lucky with the ones you have. Just as an example, the bottom of my RPK's front sight base, where the cleaning rod end fits, is all melted to hell from the welding. And yes, it would be cheaper to pretty much only have welders and welding equipment, than to buy a drill press and hiring a new guy, just to install one part properly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sNDTdKQNVU
Mikhail Kalashnikov made the first AK with flex between the bolt carrier and piston, therefore there's supposed to be flex. That logic works for 1911 fans, right?
Yes. I said "if." He hadn't indicated he wanted to change anything else so it seemed like a reasonable suggestion.
As I said before, no. Never been so "blessed."
Ouch! Sounds brutal! What were they welding up there?
I guess that's so, but I would have expected anyone building AKs to already have a drill press or 10 in their shop anyway. But obviously welding is what works for them. Sort of, anyway.
Yes. I concur. I always leave mine with a little flex. It really doesn't matter. They work just fine with some wiggle, but they work REALLY adequately with no wiggle. I was just pointing out that Century obviously isn't moved by the "flex" argument.
-Sam
Ah, I was just sorta skimming the thread, so I missed some of the details.
The welds on the FSB was the muzzle nut, I assume to make it not count against compliance. I'm probably going to need to eventually replace the entire FSB and get a US muzzle nut, if it starts to bother me enough. It took a lot of grinding to get the cleaning rod to sit properly, and to make the small lugs in the front no longer sharp enough to slice fingers.
Saying that Century "builds" AKs is giving them far too much credit. All they really do is dremel out the mag wells, and install compliance parts. Things like crooked front sights and other parts are all on the Romanians' shoulders, not Century's (though Century also does nothing to fix them).
So, let's see. What compliance parts do they put in? Weld on the muzzle brake (if my RPK is any indicator anyway) or replace it with a Tapco, weld on a Tapco piston, Tapco pistol grip, Tapco FCG, and I think that's it. So their minimum tool list is some kinda welder (I think assuming they use TIG welding may also be giving them too much credit, though I don't know for sure what process they use), screwdriver, pin punch, and dremel. Possibly a hand drill to get the piston pin out in the first place (or maybe they use the dremel for that, too).
IMO, the flex has little or nothing to do with reliability, but does help with long-term durability, as well as handling high temperatures, out of spec ammo, or anything else which may elevate pressures and increase the force on the piston. I'm really tempted to get a Yugo BC and swap out some other part on my RPK. No problems as yet, but I wouldn't put it past the Romanians to use a straight AK gas system, rather than the smaller port or whatever that's normally used on an RPK, to compensate for the longer dwell time.
The welds on the FSB was the muzzle nut, I assume to make it not count against compliance. I'm probably going to need to eventually replace the entire FSB and get a US muzzle nut, if it starts to bother me enough. It took a lot of grinding to get the cleaning rod to sit properly, and to make the small lugs in the front no longer sharp enough to slice fingers.
Saying that Century "builds" AKs is giving them far too much credit. All they really do is dremel out the mag wells, and install compliance parts. Things like crooked front sights and other parts are all on the Romanians' shoulders, not Century's (though Century also does nothing to fix them).
So, let's see. What compliance parts do they put in? Weld on the muzzle brake (if my RPK is any indicator anyway) or replace it with a Tapco, weld on a Tapco piston, Tapco pistol grip, Tapco FCG, and I think that's it. So their minimum tool list is some kinda welder (I think assuming they use TIG welding may also be giving them too much credit, though I don't know for sure what process they use), screwdriver, pin punch, and dremel. Possibly a hand drill to get the piston pin out in the first place (or maybe they use the dremel for that, too).
IMO, the flex has little or nothing to do with reliability, but does help with long-term durability, as well as handling high temperatures, out of spec ammo, or anything else which may elevate pressures and increase the force on the piston. I'm really tempted to get a Yugo BC and swap out some other part on my RPK. No problems as yet, but I wouldn't put it past the Romanians to use a straight AK gas system, rather than the smaller port or whatever that's normally used on an RPK, to compensate for the longer dwell time.
. . .as has been mentioned - you've been blessed.Sam1911 said:
1) Skilled tig operator? This is Century Arms we're talking about.
2) Lay a fine bead around the seam? See above. They fill the two holes made when the old piston got removed and call it good.
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