Category Archives: Firearms Building and Gunsmithing

How to build and/or gunsmith on certain platforms.

ARBuilds

Assembling an AR Lower – Like Legos for Men with Special Comments on Pistol Builds

I have to admit that I like a lot of different firearms including both AK and AR platforms.  So I am not purely an AK fan though my business is largely built around that.  I have owned many, many different ARs over the years including tactical, DMR, snipers, pistols and flat out range toys.  I don’t have much free time any longer so the AR platform gives me a chance to tinker with different combinations and see what I like.

At the heart of the AR is a lower-receiver that can be made by just about anyone as long as it is Mil-Spec.  Now this is critical. Not all receivers are as accurate as they claim to be with their tolerances, hole positions and what not so ask around.  I’ve had very good luck with Anderson (my go to brand for several years now), Palmetto State Armory (PSA), Spikes and Del-ton.  I’ve not had a single problem with any of these brands.  You may not have as much luck with “Uncle Bob’s Lowers made in Podunk Nowhere” so just start with a good foundation.

For the two AR pistols that I will be assembling for the upcoming blog posts, I will be using Anderson lower receivers.

Assembling an AR for a rifle or a pistol is almost identical until you get to the gas tube.  At that point a pistol must use a pistol tube and a rifle will use whatever tube you wish.  I’ll point that out again in post #9.

I am not a lawyer and the following should not be construed as legal advice.  I’m just trying to explain my understanding on how to build an AR pistol legally:

One important item for guys making pistols, to be legal, the receivers must be transferred to use as receivers.  Your FFL must NOT transfer the receiver as a rifle.  There is an FFL notice that once a receiver is built as a rifle, it is a rifle.  If you change it into a pistol, then you are making a short-barreled rifle (SBR) that must be registered.  Oddly enough, you can build a receiver as a pistol and then convert it to a rifle.  [Click here for a link to the ATF letter]

My recommendation is to always take photos of the pistols built appropriately so you can show the paper trail of a receiver transfer from your FFL through to a built pistol.

Also, there is another issue to avoid – do not buy pistol-length uppers (meaning uppers with barrels shorter than 16″) and having them sit around without a pistol receiver waiting.  Buy the receiver first, then corresponding upper and put them together.  Why you might ask?  The concern is something known as “constructive intent”.  You do not want the ATF or others in law enforcement to assume you only have that SBR/pistol upper to put on one of your rifles.  That requires paper work and fees in order to have a legal SBR.  You absolutely can’t just put a sub-16″ barrel on a regular rifle – it will be illegal.  [Click here for the ATF letter about SBRs]

The ATF has ruled that braces do not make a pistol into a rifle.  I have carpal tunnel and can’t hold a heavy pistol so this is good news for me.  So, I bought my Anderson lowers first, my lower pistol build kits from PSA and then an 7.5″ upper from PSA and a 10.5″ upper from Ghost Rifles.  The blog posts that follow document my journey building these two AR pistols.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

AR Parts Sources

There are a lot of reputable AR parts vendors online but beware of eBay and bargain basement dealers that sell airsoft parts and tell you they will stand up to firearm use – they will not. At any rate, here are my top sources of AR parts:

AKBuilds

Video: How to build an AK-47, AK-74, AKM. Complete video tutorial by bfgmovies — Best Rivet and Virgin Barrel Build Video I’ve Seen!

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Folks, once in a while I find out a snap judgement I made is very wrong.  I was watching AK Build videos on Youtube and ran across this video with a very young man with long hair and anime shirt sitting down to talk about building an AK.  I almost snorted because it must be some kind of a gag.  Within the first five minutes I realized this young man was very knowledgeable, articulate and very capable at demonstrating how to build an AK.  I was floored.  I almost missed this because my snap judgement was so off.  Wow.

This young man assembled a 55:59 long video showing you how to do an AK build with a manufactured receiver using a virgin barrel and he explains things along the way.  To give you an idea of the quality, this video was posted in May 2013, has had 104,441 views, 1,114 thumbs up approvals and only 74 thumbs down.  Folks, that is remarkable.

I am sharing a number of photos from the video to get you to realize this is really good.  He steps you through everything including aligning the blocks on the barrels, the barrel to the receiver, drilling pin holes, headspacing, setting rivets and then final assembly, including installation of the fire control group (FCG), function testing, installing the furniture, and finally winding up with applying Alumahyde II from Brownells as the finish.  I’d honestly say it is the best AK build video I have seen thus far that takes you all the way through the process.  This is really worth your time.

P.S.  The music and anime at the end is a nice touch 🙂

If you want to learn more, check out these other two video by bfgmovies:

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

AR & Related Rifles and Pistols, ARBuilds, Gunsmithing, Shooting in General

ATF letter stating you can build an AR pistol from a receiver transferred as such and never assembled as a rifle

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Okay, I posted a couple of ATF letters and a guy sent me a message asking if I had the letter specifying that an AR pistol can be built from an AR receiver that was transferred as a receiver and never assembled as a rifle.  It just so happens I did save that one back when I built a couple of AR pistols a few years back.  I like to have the letters of anything someone may ask about and keep them in my case with the weapon when I take it shooting.  At any rate, here is the ATF letter in case anyone else needs it:

Please note that I am not a lawyer and this should not be construed as legal advice.

 

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Flashlights and Lasers, Gunsmithing, Shooting in General, Shotguns

Remington 870 and Winchester 1200 Riot Shotguns

Ran across these photos of two riot shotguns I built – a Winchester 1200 I bought new in the early 1980s and a Remington 870 Express I got a good deal on from Gander Mountain in the early 2000s.  One thing I learned is that the Blackhawk recoil reducing stocks really make a difference.

 

To be honest, I think Remington makes a lot cheaper guns than they used to and their quality has suffered.  Some years back I picked up a Remington 870 express in great shape but one thing that drove me nuts was that the little orange plastic follower would spring out and jam the action.  I did some quick digging and found a machined aluminum replacement that I installed and never had a problem since.

Also, from a pure “keep it simple” angle, I have since stopped installing anything on a tactical shotgun other than a light.  It took to long to turn on the red dot plus worries around battery life, was it still zeroed, etc.

For lights and lasers, I really like the Streamlights.  I use a TLR-1 300 lumen LED light on my home defense 870 to this day.  They are rugged, simple, easy to operate and durable.  Having had a ton of cheap Chinese imports fail over the years, I only use proven lights and lasers on critical firearms.  To save on the CR-123 batteries, read my post on that topic.

The red fiber optic sight really worked out better than I thought.  It made target acquisition fast.  I eventually ditched the red dot optic, installed a side saddle shell holder and used just that sight.

The flashlight on the Winchester was a Hellfighter with a xenon bulb.  It was ok but I would only buy LEDs going forward and my preferences are Streamlight or Surefire.

The Blackhawk recoil reducing stocks do a very good job but make sure you buy the right model.  They sell stocks both with and without the recoil reduction system.  Also make sure you get the right model – they make them for Winchester and Mossberg.  The following is an automated search from eBay so you need to double check the product and that the buyer has plenty of trades and good feedback.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

AK & Related Rifles, AKBuilds, Gunsmithing

How to Install a Flat’s Lower Receiver Rails So They Align With The Front Trunnion

I heat treat the lower rails before I install them.  The best way I found to align the lower rails in a flat so they were both parallel with the upper rail and aligned with the trunnion was to use a drill bits of the proper size to locate the lower rail and I would then clamp the lower rail in place prior to spot welding.  This is one of those things where you want to check and double-check prior to and after each weld to make sure nothing shifted on you.

I use a Harbor Freight #45689 115 Volt spot welder with AK-Builder upper replacement tong and also tips.  It’s lasted me through quite a few builds over the years and is still going strong.  The tong makes it way easier to reach in and make the weld and the tips make the spot weld look a lot more like the real ones.  I have had to replace the tips once so far, just FYI.  You need to keep them clean to be most effective.

For beginners, there is no way to tell you how long to clamp and trigger the current for – many factors can affect how long it takes to heat the steel up enough for the two pieces of sheet metal to weld together.  You need to practice and you’ll notice the color, sound of the welder. the amount of time it takes to get a good weld and especially the feel of the clamps as they come together during the weld.  With practice you’ll feel when you have a good weld especially but it all adds up but you need to actually do it to learn.

Get scrap metal of about the same thickness to practice with.  AKM receivers are 1mm thick.  18 gauge is 1.02mm so it is good to practice with and old scrap receiver stubs are another.  With your first practice weld, go long and let the pieces really melt together so you can see.  You want to burn a hole to understand how long it takes, the sound and the feel of the tongs.  Then practice with less amounts of time until you find the sweet spot.  These welds should be pretty strong and not pull apart easy.  I do more spot welds than most and some guys look at photos of the rifle they are building and try to approximate the count and location, which is just fine.  One thing, if you do heat treat your rails before hand like I do, be careful you do not get the tongs up against the ejector and ruin the heat treat.  I’ve done it and the tell tale sign is that the ejector will be discolored from the heat.  If you do make this mistake you will need to heat treat the tip while it is in the receiver or else it will definitely peen over and be deformed in its softened state.  By the way, the steel should be relatively clean also and not have tons of grease or other contaminants on it either that might inhibit a good weld.

Just double check alignment very carefully before you spot weld and also that your welder’s tong does not get against the ejector and ruin the heat treat – assuming you did that before installation.

I hope this helps you out!

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

AKBuilds, Gunsmithing, Yugoslavia

How to Install a Yugo M85 or M92 Dust Cover Quick Takedown Pin from Ronin’s Grips

Years ago, I bought a barreled M92 kit from AK-Builder.com and assembled it.  I then installed a Stormwerkz rail and a Primary Arms M4-style red dot and the dust cover being attached to the rear sight block really got annoying fast.  After some careful examination, I figured out a quick release pin with a ball bearing detent to hold it in place would really make things easier.  It worked great and I have been selling the pins like crazy for almost two years.  I made a mistake though – I didn’t take step by step photos about how to do the installation and people keep asking for a how-to guide.  Thus, I recently bought a Yugo M92 PAP pistol imported by Century Arms from my good friend Scott Igert, who owns Modern Antique Firearms in Benton Harbor, MI, so that I could do some step by step how-to instructions with a lot of photos for folks.

The work will be done with a Dremel tool with a cut off wheel, a few small punches, hammer and a rubber gunsmith block.

SAFETY STEP – MAKE SURE THE WEAPON IS UNLOADED.  NEVER ASSUME THAT IT IS – VERIFY IT IS UNLOADED BEFORE YOU BEGIN WORK.

1.  Look at the hinge pin/rivet.  On the side opposite the charging handle, you will see a big rivet head.  On the right side, you will see an odd looking head it is actually the rivet just slightly peened over into a concave washer.  It is that side that we will grind the peened over portion off with our Dremel.  By the way, it is really a pin but it has one end peened over like a rivet.  A rivet would swell into the hole and lock everything up – a pin does not.

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2.  If you don’t use a Dremel tool, take a few minutes and do some practice cutting with a cut off wheel.  It has a tendency to scoot around and you need to get a feel for it so you can control it.  Please, please, please – do not take your Dremel out of the box and try to do this for the very first time.  I like the cordless Dremel as I can work anywhere and lately I have become very fond of the EZ Lock bits.  Of course you can use whatever tool you are comfortable with but this step by step explanation should make the work required more clear (I hope).

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3.  If you are still learning, put a couple of pieces of tape with a slit over the pin’s head that is peened into the washer.  With some tape in place, if your hand slips you will be less likely to mar your finish.  Folks, the secret tip is to do very light cuts.  Let the weight of the tool or even less do the work.  Do NOT push down hard or you will snap the bit.  I also rest my hands on any surface that I can to have more control.  You’ll notice I have a rubber gunsmith block to support the pistol – you could use a piece of pine, a hockey puck, or another non-marring surface.  You want the weapon to be stable when you work on it and you will need to lightly tape the hinge pin/rivet free once the head is ground off.  I used pieces of wood for years and years before bought the block – the key is to have the support and use something that will not scratch up your finish.

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4.  You are just removing enough metal get get rid of a small lip on the rivet.  The next two photos show you the slightly concave look I put in the rivet and you can barely see the shaft.  I then used a small pin punch and a tap from a small hammer to get the pin moving.  It will take very little force to get it to move.  If it doesn’t readily move, then you may need to grind it a bit more.  The only thing holding that rivet shaft in place is the peened edge – it is not swollen in the hole.

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5.  This is a photo of the removed rivet and the hinge rivet/pin starting to slide backwards.  I then used a small punch pin to push it out.  The fourth photo shows the original pin and washer so you can see the end result.

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6.  At this point, the dust cover hole is clear but do not try to push the new pin in.  The cover cams shut and it will be needlessly difficult to push the pin in.  For comparison, our pin is shown next to the original.  The pin with a groove in it is something you do not want to lose!  The angled portion is face up towards the dust cover and the round end goes towards the gas tube.  When the dust cover closes, the pin slides forward and holds the gas tube is locked in place.  It’s very simple and does the job just fine.  This locking pin is held in the rear block by the dust cover pin so every time you remove the pin, it can come out.  Just keep track of it each time you clean your M85 / M92 as you will need it.

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7.  Now, to install our quick takedown pin, install the dust cover, lift it up and align the holes.  At this point, there is no pressure and our pin will slide easily into the hole.  When the dust cover is closed, the resulting pressures lock everything in place.  That is why it works so well with hinge mounted picatinny rails.  My favorite these days is the hinge mounted frail from CNC Warrior by way and we’ll right up an installation guide for that as well.

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So that’s it!  Again, the key is to use light pressure when grinding the peened over portion of the original hinge pin/rivet away. Then, install the new pin with the dust cover open so it can readily slide in.

If you are interested in buying a pin, please click on this link to go to our online store.

 

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

AK & Related Rifles, AKBuilds, Gunsmithing

CNC Warrior Brake and Replacement Detent Pin for the Zastava M92 PAP

To be imported, the M92 has a muzzle nut, or muzzle cap, installed over the threads with a single big weld.  It’s obvious where the weld is and guess what?  It can be easily removed and if you look close that will also then clear the detent spring hole as well.

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There are a few brake options out there for the M92.  Bear in mind that like many Yugo rifles, the designers made the size and thread of the M92’s muzzle unique.  It is left-hand 26mm wide with a 1.5mm pitch thread – definitely an oddball.   At any rate, CNC Warrior makes a four piece Bulgarian style brake that really cuts down on muzzle flash that I have been drooling over for a while plus they make a number of other brakes, adapters and fake cans that can fit that thread.

The following are more detailed photos for you.  By pulling the small locking wire down, the end cap can be unscrewed and the brake disassembled into its four parts – the body, cap, cone and spring.

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They also sell a detent pin kit so you can have the original method to retain the brake as well and it can be installed in literally less than five minutes because the PAP comes with all the holes drilled:

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Click here for our post that shows how to install them.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.