THE DARK KNIGHT
Member
I wanted to make a custom "AK-47" project and I figured I'd make this one different. Taking inspiration from the gray finish on the Polish Tantals and the red wood on Russian AKM's, I decided to go about my own project to combine these two.
I started off with a RAAC Saiga in 7.62x39 caliber.
After the rifle is field stripped, it must now be disassembled even further for conversion.
The Saiga's original trigger setup must have the pins drilled out, and the forward two punched out.
With the four axis pins removed, the receiver can now be fully gutted out.
Due to various import regulations, the Saiga receiver features a "sporting plate" riveted to the bottom of the gun which covers the original grip and trigger holes and provides different ones for the "sporter" stock.
This must be removed to access the actual bottom of the receiver. The rivets are ground down with a Dremel tool, and then chiseled off of the gun.
The receiver is now converted back to pre-import configuration, and ready for the next steps.
At this point, the rifle could be reassembled and would be a functional basic conversion. But I've already done that and this one is going to be a whole different animal.
The gun is going to be re-finished with Brownell's Aluma-Hyde II in Parkerizing Gray. First, all of the small pieces are sanded with 100 grit paper to bare finish and degreased with Brake Cleaner.
Next, the receiver and barrel undergo the same process. I have no access to blasting equipment so all of it had to be done by hand with little squares of sandpaper. Ouch!
Now that the parts are ready for re-finishing, the insides of the receiver are masked off.
The re-finished receiver, as well as all the small parts, are heated for a while. No oven for this, but a hair dryer can throw a ton of heat and did the job fine. The finish doesn't need to be heated but giving it 3-4 hours of heat after painting does help.
The small parts are left to dry (under the watchful eye of Master Yoda)
Now, the Saiga receiver does not have a feed ramp, or bullet guide, and will not properly feed from regular AK magazines a result. This rifle was flat trunion receiver with no bullet guide:
I started off with a RAAC Saiga in 7.62x39 caliber.
After the rifle is field stripped, it must now be disassembled even further for conversion.
The Saiga's original trigger setup must have the pins drilled out, and the forward two punched out.
With the four axis pins removed, the receiver can now be fully gutted out.
Due to various import regulations, the Saiga receiver features a "sporting plate" riveted to the bottom of the gun which covers the original grip and trigger holes and provides different ones for the "sporter" stock.
This must be removed to access the actual bottom of the receiver. The rivets are ground down with a Dremel tool, and then chiseled off of the gun.
The receiver is now converted back to pre-import configuration, and ready for the next steps.
At this point, the rifle could be reassembled and would be a functional basic conversion. But I've already done that and this one is going to be a whole different animal.
The gun is going to be re-finished with Brownell's Aluma-Hyde II in Parkerizing Gray. First, all of the small pieces are sanded with 100 grit paper to bare finish and degreased with Brake Cleaner.
Next, the receiver and barrel undergo the same process. I have no access to blasting equipment so all of it had to be done by hand with little squares of sandpaper. Ouch!
Now that the parts are ready for re-finishing, the insides of the receiver are masked off.
The re-finished receiver, as well as all the small parts, are heated for a while. No oven for this, but a hair dryer can throw a ton of heat and did the job fine. The finish doesn't need to be heated but giving it 3-4 hours of heat after painting does help.
The small parts are left to dry (under the watchful eye of Master Yoda)
Now, the Saiga receiver does not have a feed ramp, or bullet guide, and will not properly feed from regular AK magazines a result. This rifle was flat trunion receiver with no bullet guide:
