Building one's own AK?

[heypete]

Greetings all,

After reading http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2005/souptonuts1/index.asp, I've been tempted to build my own AK. Obviously, as I'm in California, I cannot...but it'd be nice to get all the parts and so forth so as to be able to build it later when I move out. I would hope that owning stamped metal would be legal, but if not, I suppose I can wait to buy everything.

The site has some information, but lacks the follow-up on how to properly heat-treat it.

Anyone build an AK from a stamped flat and parts kit? Any thing to watch out for, or pay special attention to?

 

[Commissar Gribb]

would it not be conceivably legal if you used the parts to make a neutered CA DOJ approved aK?

ex: a saiga sporter type rifle with a 10 rd magazine

 

[Preacherman]

In California, the AK action as such is banned - i.e. not only the AK, but all derivatives of it using the same action.

 

[Onslaught]

I used to work with a guy who built FALs. He really enjoyed building them and of course saved money in the process. Then he decided to give an AK a go...

After it was all said and done, he said that the hassle of doing it "right" was not worth the effort and cost and if he had to do it again he'd just buy one off the shelf.

 

[Bane]

Some friends and I just built AK's this weekend. We had an entire tool shop to use and the build was still difficult. If you don't have lots of tools and a fair amount of mechanical ability it would be very difficult to do. It was our first time doing a build like this and it took about 20hrs to build two functional (not pretty) rifles. Also, the amount of money that you can wrap up in doing a build can exceed what it would cost to buy a new rifle.

Parts Kit: $130
Screws/Rivets: $10
Shipping: $10
Flat w/rails (cheapest shipped): $20
Mag: $10
Total: $180

If you purchase even a small amount of tools you can eaisly bring the total over $300. For about $300 you can buy a WASR-10 or SAR-1 brand new. I do not want to try and discourage you from building an AK but I want you to be informed before jumping into an AK build. An AK build could be alot of fun if you take your time and already have all the necessary tools. Visit akfiles.com and do alot of reading in the Build it Yourself forum. I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions feel free to email me at [email protected]

 

[PAC 762]

It's not that hard. If I can build one, anyone can. The flats require a lot more work and tools. If you're only doing a couple, pre-made receivers and doing a screw build will make it less costly tool-wise.

ETA- Don't forget the US parts, too.