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Thread: WASR reciver qeustion: what can be done?

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    Senior Member Sergi762's Avatar

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    WASR reciver qeustion: what can be done?

    OK as soon as I sell off some of my tube radios I will have enough to buy a WASR including the annoying mark ups they imposed but I can't think of an answer for this one so I ask you good folks here. Gunsmiths: what can be done on a WASR( or any AK) receiver to close up the mag well assuming they open it up too much? CAN anything be done? I mean a ball peen hammer might not work long term and heck if I know the laws regarding receivers... or is it a "Get an new part" moment if it happens?

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    Administrator imanaknut's Avatar

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    Many people have used JB Weld to secure plates inside the receiver to hold the mag in place.

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    Conributor 09/13 slamfire51's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by imanaknut View Post
    Many people have used JB Weld to secure plates inside the receiver to hold the mag in place.
    Ditto
    There's no problem an AK can't solve...........


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    Senior Member Sergi762's Avatar

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    JB weld? that works?? definitely not what I expected but I can't discount it either..how long will that hold up? I'll go along with this but I dunno..sounds fishy.

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    Team GunsNet Bronze 07/2011 OzarkRecluse's Avatar

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    I doubt you'll have to resort to JBWeld. The odds are that your WASR will be just fine. It's not something I would worry about too much. The best thing you can do is hold it in your hands before buying and check it out yourself.

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    Contributor 05/2012 TomO's Avatar

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    JB Weld lasts for ever....it's what holds these things together.


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    Conributor 09/13 slamfire51's Avatar

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    Off topic, but then again, not.

    I used to have my doubts about JB Weld until the battery in my daughter's Camry rubbed a hole in the A/C high pressure line. (aluminum)
    A line was going to cost a bundle so I decided to try some JB. I cleaned and roughed up the damaged area, mixed some steel JB and put it on. I then took a piece of vacuum cleaner belt and a small hose clamp and clamped the tube.

    An hour later, I purged the system and filled it with 134a.
    No leaks to this day. Great stuff!!
    There's no problem an AK can't solve...........


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    Senior Member Sergi762's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by slamfire51 View Post
    Off topic, but then again, not.

    I used to have my doubts about JB Weld until the battery in my daughter's Camry rubbed a hole in the A/C high pressure line. (aluminum)
    A line was going to cost a bundle so I decided to try some JB. I cleaned and roughed up the damaged area, mixed some steel JB and put it on. I then took a piece of vacuum cleaner belt and a small hose clamp and clamped the tube.

    An hour later, I purged the system and filled it with 134a.
    No leaks to this day. Great stuff!!
    fair enough but for a gun? with considerable vibration/shock and heat? no to mention this is a beater gun not a safe queen..hmmmm

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    Conributor 09/13 slamfire51's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sergi762 View Post
    fair enough but for a gun? with considerable vibration/shock and heat? no to mention this is a beater gun not a safe queen..hmmmm
    If you prep it correctly, I don't see any problems down the road.
    There's no problem an AK can't solve...........


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    Moderator circuits's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sergi762 View Post
    Gunsmiths: what can be done on a WASR( or any AK) receiver to close up the mag well assuming they open it up too much? CAN anything be done?
    Too MUCH is not something I'd worry about, since it's far more common for century not to open the magwell quite enough to take all com bloc magazines. Not enough can be fixed by dremel or hand file.

  11. #11
    The answer is to try before you buy. that is, buy some magazines say 3 or 4, and tell the people at the gunshop your intentions. You may be buying a rifle off the rack of the store, or they may have to ship it from inventory for you. So tell them you're concerned about the magazine wobble and that you want to try your magazines in it first.

    i say check your gun in the gun store BECAUSE I would not count on any warranty help from Century arms, or the gun store for that matter, AFTER you pay for and take delivery of the gun! i have heard Century Arm'sr warranty service described as either horrible or non-existent. If your gun turns out to have too much mag wobble, i'd ask them to order another gun before you accept the gun and leave the store with it!

    You are the customer, it is your money, you have the right to a new AK that does not have ridiculous amount of mag wobble. If the gun shop has problems with that, maybe you should go to another gun shop that cares about pleasing their customers.

    You may have mag wobble with some brand mags and not others (the plastic ones are often just a wee bit wider then the steel ones), if this is so then you simply know which mags to buy and nothing wrong with that (its a low end AK it is probably not going to be perfect, but it will probably shoot just as reliably, and accurately, as an Arsenal AK that goes for twice the price!)

    The finish on mine had small scratches on the barrel and some other finish imperfections, also it was missing the cleaning rod and the buttstock tool kit. The WASR furniture was unfinished that is, nothing applied to the stock not even stain or varnish. I bought the rod ($12) and cleaning kit ($10) from brownells and midwayUSA, and i simply refinished it myself with Gunkote. I refinished the furniture with a dark walnut stain ($6) and 6 coats of Formby's tung oil finish ($10 for a can) from Home Depot, and i really enjoyed doing this. It looks better then new now.


    The WASR is supposed to be a shooting rifle after all and not a gold-plated treasure you buy to sit and look at. So the JB weld shim idea is not a bad one; I did not have to do this with my rifle but i have had lots of experience with JB weld. It will hold if you prep the surface and clamp the parts as the JB weld dries - (get the slow-drying kind of JB weld, it is stronger i think.) I had a gearshift knob on my Nissan manual transmission pickup that would not stay tight no matter what, so i JB welded it in place and let it dry overnight. 14 years and 200,000 miles later it was still holding.

    I own a California single stack WASR i got for $480 OTD and it has very little mag wobble...I assume you'll be getting the double stack model though, and if it does have mag wobble, but just a little, its possible to pad some jaws of a vise and squish in the mag well a tiny bit to eliminate the wobble.

    But pick the right one and you'll have no problems, wobble or no wobble it will almost certainly shoot without a hiccup. When you get it, clean the barrel and the shipping grease off - that shiny stuff is for rust prevention not lubrication - lube the bolt rails with grease and the bolt and FCG pins with a few drops of CLP and go shoot it!
    Last edited by Makasaurus; 07-15-2011 at 12:33 AM.

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    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Unless the mags fall out of the weapon while firing it, there is no such thing as too big of a mag well on an AK. Armchair commandos seem to have this bizzare fantasy that AK mags are not supposed to have any wobble in them, so get over it already! A tight mag well is a slow to insert a mag weapon.

    If you want a no wobble mag well weapon try an AR15 or a G3 clone.

  13. #13
    Senior Member vit's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Schuetzenman View Post
    Unless the mags fall out of the weapon while firing it, there is no such thing as too big of a mag well on an AK. Armchair commandos seem to have this bizzare fantasy that AK mags are not supposed to have any wobble in them, so get over it already! A tight mag well is a slow to insert a mag weapon.

    If you want a no wobble mag well weapon try an AR15 or a G3 clone.
    Listen to this man, he speaks the truth

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