Newbie barrel and trunion question

[mountainman28542]

Hello Everyone :)

Ok just starting on my first build ever and i need some info. I purchased a polish PKMS kit and got a polish barrel that is brand new. the barrel seems to meet up with the normal diameter ( .908 ) but my trunion is only . 901. someone told me that i should get the barrel down to about 1-2000th's bigger than the trunion. what im wondering is should i take the material off the trunion or off the barrel? and if so whats the best method for doing it without using a lathe? ( cause i dont have one lol) thanks for any info!

[Klawndyke]

I have built a few kits over the years and there fun to build and the first shoot is a rush.

The one thing is you want the best fit.
I would have some one turn your barrel if you can.. i bet if you do some looking you will find some one here that could do it for you at a good price with out breaking the bank.. Dont think about taking a dremil to it bad bad idea in my opinion..

Good luck on the build and have fun...

[mountainman28542]

Thanks for the info! so i guess ill have to ask around the gunsmith forums for someone that has a lathe and can do it :) ill have to post pics when i get it rockin :)

[Mark Ducati]

Hello Everyone :)

Ok just starting on my first build ever and i need some info. I purchased a polish PKMS kit and got a polish barrel that is brand new. the barrel seems to meet up with the normal diameter ( .908 ) but my trunion is only . 901. someone told me that i should get the barrel down to about 1-2000th's bigger than the trunion. what im wondering is should i take the material off the trunion or off the barrel? and if so whats the best method for doing it without using a lathe? ( cause i dont have one lol) thanks for any info!

Good luck to you... Don't sell yourself short, if you already know dimensions in terms of .908 vs. .901 you have waaaaaaay more skills than I do. I've built 2 AK's with zero experience... first rivet build was FUGLY, that was back in the day when you could rent/borrow the rivet tools from JoeKen (don't ask, these guys got a bad rep for some reason, been so long I forgot now, although I had nothing but positive experiences with them)... second build, I had a member here offer to drill and tap my trunions for me.

Sounds like you already have some machining skillz... Hope things go well for you.

First time you shoot YOUR home build is a rush! Cuz you don't know if its going to blow up in your face or not! Hahahaha.

[mountainman28542]

thanks! lol i took some machining way back when i was in high school, but most of that went in one ear and out the other lol how did you like the tapped ak build? was it any better than the riveted one? I've just been trying to collect info for the last three months so i know what im gettin into before i go, so any info is good to me :)

[deth502]

some emery cloth and little elbow grease and a few thousanths will be gone in no time.

[Mark Ducati]

The Screw Build was waaaaaay prettier :) Some worried about the strength of the screws vs. rivets... but the screws I got were from JoeKen, they're heat treated and strong. However, I degreased the crap out of those trunions... I washed them down with gasoline to get the cosmoline out, then soaked with Isopropyl Alcohol, then I used non-chlorinated brake cleaner, then washed with "Purple Power" degreaser... even baked in an oven a few times to drive off ALL the oil.

Yeah, this was very anal-retentive... but someone here recommended using Loc-Tite to place the screws before I painted it... I used "RED Loc-Tite" which is supposed to be permanent...

I've only put about 1000 rounds through my Ohio Ordinance receiver used to rebuild an AMD-65... ALL the screws are rock solid, and show no signs of wear or loosening.. Half of those 1000 rounds BTW, I've bump-fired the tar out of it :)

If you're worried about screws vs. rivets... if you get a good set of steel rivets and red-loctite them in... I don't think you'll have any problems.

I "think" the only way to get this apart now is to use a torch to the hex screws to melt the loc-tite to remove them... this is one strong build AND it looks pretty :)

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/188590_210561212288839_100000048865791_838909_2214 23_n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/190299_210563202288640_100000048865791_838922_6279 175_n.jpg

You can't tell by the pictures, but the paint is some kind of custom moly coat that's got kind of an olive drab/brown tint (not black) which is why I chose the red bakelite mags... I'm using Tapco internals, a US made muzzle extension to bring it to legal length, and a US made follower and spring in the mag for full US parts count.

Anyway, she's mine and she's pretty to me.

[mountainman28542]

wow! thats a beaut! there is just nothing quite like a nicely done ak :) ill have to try the rivets on this build and the screws on the next one. ive seen a few ppl try it out and they look just as good as yours and there has been no complaints on them loosening over time :)