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View Full Version : Broken spot welds on Elk River receiver



stampederunner
09-16-2011, 10:02 PM
I recently purchased an ak47 built by special interest arms on an elk river receiver. It is my first ak and and I just got to shoot it yesterday. After just a few rounds it started jamming and I could not get it to feed properly so I packed it up and shot my other guns. I got it home and started looking it over for the problem. It would start to chamber a round and the bolt would stop about half an inch from fully closing. I noticed that the bolt was hitting the front milled part of the gun. I then noticed that the right bolt carrier rail on the right side was bent down. I field stripped it and that's when I realized the spot welds were broken and allowing the bolt carrier to drop and the bolt to hit the front trunnion. What options do I have to fix the rail? I do not have a welder available to me.

binky59
09-17-2011, 09:22 AM
1) How long have you had the gun
2) does it have a warrantee
3) I would get a hold of Special interest Arms and ask them what they will do for you
obviously it is a manufacturers defect and should be covered, tell them that you want
to send it back to either be repaired or replaced.
If none of the above works, find a gunsmith to straighten the rail and re-weld it, odds
are if one rails weld is bad, the other welds cannot be trusted, have them checked.

stampederunner
09-17-2011, 10:58 AM
I have had the gun about 3 weeks now. I bought it from a dealer I found on armslist. He advertised it to have a lifetime waranty through special interest arms, I checked their website and they no longer build AK's and there is no mention of any waranty. I guess I will email them and see what they will do for me.

stampederunner
09-20-2011, 12:32 PM
I haven't heard much back from SIA recently, but from the sounds of it they are taking the approach that it's Elk Rivers problem. What do you think about drilling 2 small holes through the spot welds and using allen screws to stop the rail from moving up and down?

stampederunner
09-21-2011, 10:58 AM
I just noticed that the owner of Elk River is on these forums. Do you have any advice on what I could do to fix your broken welds?

Schuetzenman
09-21-2011, 07:53 PM
I just noticed that the owner of Elk River is on these forums. Do you have any advice on what I could do to fix your broken welds?

I think you should send it back to Elk River and have them weld it again. Then they should pay for refinishing the weapon.

stampederunner
09-21-2011, 08:15 PM
I think you should send it back to Elk River and have them weld it again. Then they should pay for refinishing the weapon.

I will contact them tomorrow and see what they will offer to do.

stampederunner
09-22-2011, 05:53 PM
Guess nobody was in today. I tried calling multiple times throughout the day and left a voicemail.

stampederunner
09-24-2011, 12:49 AM
I got an email back from Hector at Elk River. His exact words were "Our receiver is covered under warranty for this so there isn't a problem." Sounds like he is going to take care if it! Hopefully I will be posting pics of a new or newly repaired rifle in the future!

l921428x
09-24-2011, 03:11 AM
Good deal. Something like this helps his rep. also. They know this and I am glad you did not yell before trying to solve a problem.

binky59
09-24-2011, 06:28 PM
Way to handle that one! Give Elk River a thumbs up. +10

Richard Simmons
11-23-2011, 04:56 PM
Did you get your gun repaired?

stampederunner
12-05-2011, 02:13 PM
Did you get your gun repaired?

He was quick to send the shipping info, and I sent my rifle. He confirmed that he recieved it, then after that nothing! I'm starting to get nervous. I have called multiple times and it goes to a fax machine now. My emails have been ignored also. I started looking around online and I'm seeing quite a few stories like mine and others saying the shop is now closed.

stampederunner
12-07-2011, 01:49 PM
I just got an email today saying that he can let me know next week what timeframe I can expect the rifle.

stampederunner
12-17-2011, 07:26 PM
Well he told me he would have more info for me at the begining of the week. Why am I not suprized that it's the end of the week and I havent heard anything from him.

imanaknut
12-17-2011, 08:18 PM
As nice as they seemed at first, and as fast as they responded to you initially, I am really saddened that it is taking this long to repair your rifle and get it back to you. On the other hand, when did you send it to them?

Thanks for keeping us posted, and I hope to hear soon that you have your rifle back and it has been repaired correctly.

stampederunner
12-18-2011, 02:29 PM
He has had the gun for nearly 2 months. The gun shipped on 10/21, on 10/31 he confirmed that he received it. On 9/26 he told me I could ship the gun then, but he was waiting on more receivers and it would be a few weeks. Thats why I waited nearly a month to ship the gun to him. I'm not wanting to rush the guy, but a little comunication would be nice. If anybody on here has a way of contacting Hector please PM me.

filthy phil
12-19-2011, 02:12 AM
He has had the gun for nearly 2 months. The gun shipped on 10/21, on 10/3g 1 he confirmed that he received it. On 9/26 he told me I could ship the gun then, but he was waiting on more receivers and it would be a few weeks. Thats why I waited nearly a month to ship the gun to him. I'm not wanting to rush the guy, but a little comunication would be nice. If anybody on here has a way of contacting Hector please PM me.
I had some work done at their shop in pasa get down dena and their operation was a fiasco. Was global trades back then

stampederunner
02-04-2012, 12:53 PM
He won't reply to my emails, but he did reply to the dealer I had ship the gun to Hector. On 9/26/11 I was told it wold be a cople weeks until he had receivers. Now it's 2/4/12 and guess what, it's gonna be a few more weeks until he has receivers.

fordtrucksforever
02-09-2012, 01:53 AM
I find it odd he cant reweld the rail(s) back on the receiver and throw in the park tank. If they build them in house, it aint rocket science...

l921428x
02-09-2012, 02:06 AM
Damn i hate this for you, is there some legal way to force this?

stampederunner
02-10-2012, 12:22 PM
Damn i hate this for you, is there some legal way to force this?

I really don't want it to come down to that. All I really want is to get a riffle back that functions as it should. I understand that shit happens and he might be having issues getting a new receiver. All I'm expecting is a little communication in the meantime. It's been almost 2 months since he has updated me on anything. I have left voicemails and multiple emails.

Right after posting this I decided to try to call him. After 2 rings somone actually answered and it was Hector. I spoke with him for about 10 minutes about my gun. He assured me that it won't be too much longer and that the new receivers are going to be in production next week. He then went on to tell me some of the improvements to the new receivers. He also told me about a few other things that he has in the works and things to be imported. He apologized for the hold ups and was very friendly. In another thread there was a link posted where Hector explained on another site some of the things going on with the business and his personal life and it does sound like he has a lot going on. As long as I get my riffle back and it functions well and looks good I will be a happy customer.

stampederunner
03-19-2012, 03:14 PM
Called him today and left a message. He called back in a few minutes and I got the same old story. On Feb. 10th I was told that receivers are back in production and he would have them by the following week and he would begin building guns immediately. Now well over a month since our last communication and now the receivers are delayed again due to a broken spot welder. I have been dealing with this for 6 months now. How can a business that builds and sells receivers not have any in stock for over half a year?

fordtrucksforever
05-18-2012, 05:40 PM
Any update on your situation?

stampederunner
05-21-2012, 01:45 PM
Just got off the phone with Hector. A few weeks ago we spoke on the phone and he still did not know when his receivers would be finished so he offered to buy a competetors receiver and build my gun. When I spoke with Hector today he informed me that the gun is all riveted and all he has left to do is check the headspace and parkerize the gun. He says the gun should be ready to ship out by the end of the week. I'm looking forward to a little range time with it, then posting a few pics and telling everyone how it shoots!

fordtrucksforever
05-21-2012, 08:58 PM
Did you ask why he couldnt just weld the rail back on himself? If he actually "builds" them instead of just riveting some parts together, it should have been repaired back in October.

stampederunner
06-06-2012, 09:37 PM
I am very happy to say that I finally have my gun! I picked it up on Monday from my local dealer and made a little time for the range today. The gun looks great! It looks better than the day I bought it! The parkerizing is consistent and dark with no blemishes. I'm not sure because I have not asked Hector, but my bolt carrier appears to be duracoated or some other finish and looks great. Before it was parkerized and didn't look good at all. I was also happy to find a cleaning rod installed, because I did not have one.

I fired 120 rounds today and every round fed, fired and ejected as it should. I did not have a sight tool with me and I definitely needed one. Once I compensated for the sights I was shooting as well as I do with any other open sight gun I own.

imanaknut
06-06-2012, 11:02 PM
Thanks for the follow up and really glad to hear that the rifle was repaired and is in nicer condition than original considering what you went through.

Playing devil's advocate, there has been a run on AKs lately, and not knowing how long it takes for a company to stamp out a receiver, it is possible that the manufacturer had other obligations first before getting a receiver to Elk River, but I can't understand why they couldn't ship one to get a rifle fixed under warrantee.

At least you have it back and are happy! That is the most important thing, you did get it back!

fordtrucksforever
06-09-2012, 01:40 AM
Since the receiver was replaced then serial number would be different, so I might think. Do you think its the same gun or just swapped out with another? Its been so long since you have had it in your possession could you even tell?.

stampederunner
06-09-2012, 05:03 PM
Since the receiver was replaced then serial number would be different, so I might think. Do you think its the same gun or just swapped out with another? Its been so long since you have had it in your possession could you even tell?.

Yes, the receiver is different. He used a Nodak NDS-1 receiver, which from my understanding is one of the better recievers available. The front trunnion has a serial number stamped into it and the bolt and carrier have part of the number stamped on them as well and they all match and they are same number as when it was shipped.