So here we are at the end. All that was left was to install the buttstock, handguards, muzzle brake, optic and test fire the rifle.

Beryl Furniture

The Poles evolved the Beryl furniture over the years so I went with a particular handguard from Robert RTG that I liked, buttstock from Arms of America and one of our grips.

The lower handguard is what you would find on a kbs wz. 1996A Beryl. The upper is one I had in a box and pretty flimsy. I ordered a genuine Polish upper that I will install after I refinish the rifle.

The upper and lower go on the same as any AKM. I really like the lower – that lip you see makes for a very natural handstop.

Now the buttstock definitely caught my eye. The Poles went through some different models. The first model I see with this collapsing stock is the kbs wz. 1996C Beryl. What I like is that it connects to the receiver the same as any other AK stock so I can change if I ever want to. On the con side, it rattles. I prefer telescoping stocks that are solid. It’s not the end of the world and I’ll live with it to have the unique buttstock.

The grip is our second generation Beryl model. The earlier model Beryls I saw had an AKM-ish looking grip. The first model I have seen with this type of grip is the kbs wz. 1996C Beryl.

Click here if you would like to order one.

The Muzzle Brake

The Beryls were originally chambered in 5.56 NATO and have a unique brake. This rifle is in 7.62×39 so I had to take a departure and go with another brake. Justin McMillion of JMAC Customs makes some very cool effective brakes and ordered his RRD-4C “slim” brake. It looks and functions great.

Note – the Arms of America kit does not come with a cleaning rod so I ordered a Polish AKM rod from them and that is what you see in the photos.

Vortex Crossfire Optic

To round things out, I went with a Vortex Crossfire red dot. I had a few reasons for doing this:

• Vortex optics are solid
• The red dot is only 2 MOA whereas some are 4 and can obscure a small target
• It can sit right down on the rail and be closer to the bore than some red dots

I removed the riser, used some blue medium Loc-Tite on the screws to hold low-rise plate in place and installed it on the rifle.

I used a laser boresighter to sight in the Crossfire plus I lubricated everything and took it to the range with by buddy Niko.

Range Results

The rifle ran superbly. I did find that I need to tune the mag catch a bit to work with steel magazines. It works just fine with the WBP polymer mags you see in the photos and they have a noticeably thinner tab than my steel mags.

A fellow asked me how well the RRD-4C brake works and this video is of Niko shooting at targets – you can see how little the 7.62×39 Golden Tiger ammo is recoiling.

As it stands right this minute, I think this is both my most accurate AK and reliability has been exceptional. So, I still need to parkerize it and finish it but that needs to wait as I have a few other projects I want to line up and do them all at once.

Here’s how the rifle looks right now:

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With the 7.62×39 Polish Beryl inspired rifle otherwise complete, it was time to install the fire control group, optics rail and the furniture.  This post will focus on these elements.

The Fire Control Group (FCG)

For some time now I have heard how good the ALG triggers are.  I have grown very accustomed to Tapco G2 triggers over the years and know how to tune them but reports were coming in about their not being in accordance with Russian design specifications so this prompted me to try the ALG AK Trigger with Lightning Bow (AKT-EL).

The trigger comes with a spring booster if you want a heavier pull but I wanted the lighter pull.  Wow – this trigger blew me away.  It installed the same as any other AK trigger.

I would recommend something to them and to you though – make a quick slave pin or capture pin that you can use to assemble the trigger assembly outside of the rifle, lower it in and then press it out of the way when you install the actual pin.  In my opinion, ALG should supply one with their trigger but you can make one from an old trigger pin, an old drill shank, whatever.

6/29/23 – We do make and sell AK trigger slave pins in case you would like to buy one – please click here.

I didn’t even polish the FCG and just inserted it as-is.  Seriously, I will never go back to Tapco.  These ALGs are wickedly good.

I do not like the original shepherd hook wire for securing the FCG pins and instead now use our American made properly dimensioned AK fire control retainer plate.  Click here for the page in our store.

In the next photos you can see the giant over-sized selector lever.  It drives me nuts and will either get ground down or replace by a standard AKM lever.  It’s totally up to you but I will not buy the extended mag release and selector lever again – they just are not my preference.

Our New Second Generation Polish Beryl Grip

At this point I installed one of our new Polish Beryl grips as well. They Beryl uses the typical grip nut that uses a 6mm diameter 1.0mm pitch grip screw.

Click here if you want to order one of our grips.

The Optics Rail

The Beryl was the first AK-platform that I know of that had an integral optics rail that ran from the rear sight block (RSB) to the rear trunnion.  It did not need the traditional AKM side mount optics rail.

Now the WBP kit I bought had a Weaver rail and they have since moved to the Picatinny standard – just FYI.  I believe my rail is known as the POPC III.

I really did not know what to expect when I ordered the kit and was blown away by how the Poles did this.  The rail is solid steel and built like a tank.  It attaches to the RSB via two small grooves that are machined into the back just below the rear sight leaf.

It then locks onto a cylindrical protrusion on the rear trunnion.

This did take some minor fitting.  I sanded off a bit from the front edge of the rail and rounded the cylinder just a tiny bit to help the above pictured hole slide into place.  I went slow and test fit over and over.  This thing locks up incredibly solid – literally zero play.

All that is left now is the furniture and the test firing.

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At this point we are getting into the home stretch. Once the barrelled kits dried up, virgin barrels required a fair amount of work to install the blocks. Personally, I never really enjoyed doing the blocks so now that completed barrel assemblies are available again, I’ll happily leave that work to someone else.

One quick comment on the WBP kit – I really like the crest on the rear sight block (RSB).  I didn’t expect it and it is so cool.

There are many methods to install a barrel – I have used two – my 20 ton press with an AK-Builder barrel jig and my IR air hammer.  Of the two, I mainly use the air hammer now and that is what I will document in this post.  Note, the AK-builder jig works just fine – I have found the IR 117 air hammer to be faster as I don’t have to do as much set up work.

You don’t have to use the same IR as me but I would recommend you get either a bigger air hammer like mine or at least a 4x air riveter.  An integral regulator in the gun helps with control.

Three Critical Tips Before You Begin

#1 – If you are new to air hammers, practice before you work on your rifle.  They jump around and you need to get a feel for how how control them.

#2 – Mr air hammer is not your friend.  Wear eye protection and do not get skin anywhere near punches, etc.  They can pinch the hell out of your skin.  I’ve had my fair share of blood blisters and cuts from not paying attention or being in a rush over the years.

#3 – DO NOT hammer right on your muzzle.  The crown, or end of the barrel where the bullet exits, is the last thing to touch the bullet.  If you somehow deform the crown you will negatively impact accuracy and you also risk your threads.  Use protection 🙂  I’ll detail that below – I use an old cut down muzzle brake as a protective cap.

Installing the Barrel

To install a barrel, I first install an old slant brake that I ground flat to protect the threads.  I have not used a muzzle nut because they do not seem to offer much protection to the front of the muzzle – they are mainly designed to protect the threads.  With the ground down slant brake, there is a plenty of material in front of the muzzle to protect it.  

You can see how it has mushroomed over time but that’s fine.  I’ve used it a ton and if I ever have a problem, I’ll chuck it and make another.

My best guess is that it came out of a Romanian G kit years ago.  I have a bunch of oddball parts like this that got replaced by US parts for the sake of 922r compliance.  You can use any slant brake you want – just grind the slant off so you have a flat surface to hammer on.

I thread the converted brake / muzzle protector all the way back on the barrel to engage all the threads possible and back it right against the front sight block (FSB).  The idea is that you want the threads to take the impact and not the muzzle.

To start the installation, I push the barrel assembly into the trunnion and tap it with a big ball pein hammer.  I keep sighting down the rear sight block (RSB) making sure it is true.  At the point, you can use a rubber mallet or other non-marring mallet to tap the RSB and angle the barrel slightly one way or the other to course correct.  It is really, really important to get the alignment right at the start.  You will not be able to adjust it once you get very far in.  If it turns out you have alignment problem later, I would recommend driving the barrel assembly out and starting over.

To do the actual driving, I use the IR 117 with the brass peening hammer attachment.  I put the brass hammer face right on the converted slant brake and drive it in.  I keep checking the barrel pin hole to make sure I stop just short of the final location and that it is aligned.  If the surfaces are not aligned, I would drive the barrel back out and start over.  In this next photo, you can see I stopped just short of where I need to be.

Now this particular kit was a headspaced Polish WBP kit and I had checked headspace before I removed the barrel.  If I needed to set the headspace, I would start checking it somewhere around here.

At this point, I drive the barrel in the rest of the way by tapping the end with a big ballpein hammer – or any BFH will do 🙂  It really doesn’t take a ton of energy.  You want to tap and test over and over.  Don’t get impatient and try and drive it in all at once or you risk overshooting where you want to be.  If you do overshoot, it’s going to take some time and you need to make that longer barrel backout tool and either use your press or your air tool (I’d use my IR 117) and push it back out just enough to then fine tune the location.

Do not use headspace gauges as barrel stops.  You may know this but just in case you don’t – gauges are precision instruments and you only install them to test the headspace and *not* as a way to stop travel.  I’ve heard of guys doing that and, for a change, I wasn’t one of them 🙂

Assuming you checked and confirmed the headspace before you began, where to stop is easy.  Once the channel is clear and you have one nice continous path from one side of the trunnion to the other it is time to reinstall the pin.

Installing the barrel pin

With I do is start the pin with a big ball pein hammer and then drive it in the rest of the way with an old rivet set that I use just for this purpose.  Years ago I bought a ton of used 0.401 shank rivet sets and rivet tools off eBay for a very reasonable price.  I use one that covers the pin nicely and drive it right in and let me tell you, it goes in fast.  You can stop short and drive it in the test of the way by hand if you want.  I tend to just drive it right into place with the air tool.

By the way, I’ve accumulated a number of rivet tools and bucking bars over the years.  Here’s a quicksnap shot of my toolbox:

That’s it – done.  I hope this helps you out!  In the next post we will go over the unique Beryl optics rail and installing the furniture.

By the way, here are used rivet tools currently on eBay.  Be sure the shank size matches your air hammer or air riveter (all of mine are 0.401″ for example)

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, riveting the trunnions to the sheet metal receiver is the proven method. As such, I’ll use rivets in this build but there is a fun thing to point out – there are tons and tons of ways to do the rivets. I’ve known guys who:

• Would fashion some type of bucking bar and hammer the rivets directly not really caring what they looked like
• Modified hand punches by cutting then down and drilling or milling an inverted dome into the end to create their own rivet sets for use with a hammer
• Modified the jaws of 24″ Harbor Freight bolt cutters to make rivet squishers
• Bought pneumatic rivet squishers like they use in the aerospace industry
• Purchased purpose built rivet tools from makers such as AK-Builder

I got into building rather late in the game in 2006. Fortunately for me, guys had worked out the building methods so I could learn from others. I also decided to buy the AK-Builder rivet jig that I still use today. It works great for setting the front and rear trunnion rivets. I do plan on trying the bolt cutter method some day and will just buy one of the pre-built jaw sets for the front trunnion rivets. I’m curious mainly for reducing the set up time.

Click here to go to the AK-Builder jig page.

Rivet Selection

The AKMs are assembled using soft steel rivets that deform under pressure. No heat is needed. The sizes can vary depending on the type of build you are doing. The easiest way to get the rivets of the right type, size and length is to buy them from AK-Builder.com. They take all the guess work out of it and it makes for an easy way to go plus they give you a discount if you bought their jig. Hint: Buy two packages for a given build. For an AKM, you have 13 rivets and you can readily sort out what goes where:

• The shortest rivet goes to the rear for the trigger guard strap. This makes sense because you are just riveting two pieces of sheet metal together.
• You will then notice 10 rivets of the same size but two will be different – they will be what are called “swell neck” rivets and are intended for the rear lower front trunnion rivet positions that are countersunk. Four of the rivets that are flat under the dome will be used for the front trigger guard and four will be used for the foreward two positions on each side of the front trunnion.
• The last two are the longest and thickest – they go to the rear trunnion.

The following photo shows the two types of rivets you will use on the front trunnion. The top is the swell neck rivet that is used for the rear two countersunk holes on the front trunnon. The bottom one is a normal rivet and is what is used for the four front rivets to secure the selector stop and front trigger guard strap to the receiver as well as for front-most four (two on each side) rivets:

This next photo shows one of the swell neck rivets next to the counter sunk hole it will go in. They require a couple of extra steps to install in terms of crushing the receiver material into the recessed area first before setting the rivet and I’ll explain your options to do that later:

Last comment, you can buy rivets in bulk if you want to. McMaster has some and firms like Hanson Rivet have a huge variety. You basically need to know the dome type and diameter. You get rivets longer than you need and trim them using the formula that the rivet must stick out 1.5 x diameter to form properly. If it is too long you will have problems also. So, you measure the depth you need and then add that to the overall length.

AK-Builder now also sells their rivets in bulk if you are interested – click here.

If you were building from a receiver flat or a tube without a center support, you could consider that as a rivet too but you need to buy that separate as it usually comes with the center support tube it passes through as a set.

This post will be mainly me giving you an overview of what to do and tips based on my experience. AK-Builder has a nice set of instructions you can review by clicking here.

Setting the Front Rivets

In a previous post, I explained how I start with the trigger guard. Next up then is to install the front trunnion rivets.

The AK-Builder rivet jig basically uses an arm to transfer downward force from the press to the rivet to squish it. The domed part of the rivet is held by a small cup and two pieces of thick high density rubber help you stabilize the receiver assembly during the operation. In the next photo you can see the parts plus that I have a 5/32″ drill to help keep everything aligned during squishing.

Now for some tips:

1. Make sure the arm is as short as you can make it. The longer it is, the more likely it will bend. Note AK-Builder sells replacement arms and I am on #3.
2. Make sure the little set screw anvil is out far enough to squish the rivet down far enough. These will deform over time and replacements are available from AK-Builder – there are replacement parts for everything from them except for the main body which is built like a tank anyways.
3. Use the little blue rubber blocks to adequately support the receiver. You want the arm to push down straight. The domed rivet to be sitting squarely in the above cup and to be pushing straight down on the rivet. The little blocks can help support stuff so you can focus on alignment.
4. When you are positioning the trunnion, make sure the arm isn’t going to press on part of the trunnion.
5. If you have an air-over hydraulic press, only use the air to run the ram down to the jig. You will not hear a difference before stuff bends. By hand, it is nice and slow and you have time to hear, feel and adjust. I turned an arm into a deformed banana right after I got my air-over-hydraulic jack/bottle. They are a great time saver but know when to switch to the hand pump for the fine work.
6. It does not take a ton of force to squish a rivet. If your rivet is not squishing make sure the arm is not sitting on part of the trunnion, that the set screw is down far enough and that the bottle’s release valve isn’t partly open.
7. The last two rivets I do are the countersunk rear lower rivets on the front trunnion. For the countersunk holes that use the swell neck rivet, you can either use the conical stubby press tool from AK-Builder after drilling an 1/8″ starter hole and then 5/32″ as a final step to prepare for the rivet. Important: The little tool is sitting on the base of the jig and you are pushing the receiver down on it. I’m not a fan of this because I can’t see what is going on. Your second option is to do what I do – drill the 5/32″ hole, use a 1/4″ ball bearing and a C-Clamp (on the same side reaching in through the mag well) to push the receiver material into the countersink. This really adds strength and I would recommend you take the time to do this. After you have squished the material in, drill with the 5/32″ bit again to clean up any material blocking the hole.
8. Last tip – when you are doing the counter sunk holes, do not use the long rear punch – that is just for the rear. The reason for this is that the rear trunnion is solid and you can safely do that. However, with the front trunnion – the counter sunk rivet holes are not connected by solid steel and, instead, the mag well is there. You need to pick a method wherein the trunnion is supported or you risk either bending or breaking the rear “ear” of the trunnion.

Note – you will only see replacement parts for your jig if you bought it direct from AK-Builder and are logged in. I bought mine ages ago and Lonnie had to look up my order and manually turn on the part of the website for me to order parts so just FYI.

The following photo shows me reaching in with the arm and squishing a rivet – the goal height is to squish the rivet body low enough that you can press the barrel back in and it not hit a rivet:

If all goes well, your rivets will look like the following or even better:

I am happy with rivets where the dome is firmly against the receiver. If I mess up, I will drill out the rivet and do it again. Note – The center support rivet was done by Childers and I cleaned that up a bit with my rear rivet set up of the AK-Builder jig.

Setting The Rear Rivets

Next up is to squish the rear rivets. This requires more careful positioning and also support. I have messed up a fair number of rear rivets over the years due to one of those things being wrong. The first thing to do is to remove the arm and install the rear trunnion rivet “bridge”. You will still use the little cup to cradle the rivet head and the rubber strips to help with positioning.

In this next photo you can see the jig set up for the rear rivet. In hindsight, I should not have taken this example photo yet because you first need to use the countersink tool at the bottom to press the receiver material into all four holes and then chase the holes with the drill press to clear any receiver material out of the way before you can install the rivet.

Here is an important tip, after you press the receiver material in, have cleaned up the holes and are getting ready to do a rivet, do some careful alignment and work holding. The piece of metal with a U-shaped cut out goes between the large screw body in the middle and the receiver. Bring that main screw down by hand because you next use the alignment tool – a punch with a hole in the middle to make sure the rivet forming tool (the one with a recessed dome in it) will come down square on the tool. Once it is aligned, use a wrench to bring the main body of the jig firmly down on that metal with the U-shaped slot and make sure nothing moves. Double-check it again with the alignment tool and ensure the rivet head is still squarely in the cup. In my experience you need to use a wrench to bring the body down – it requires more than being hand tight but not so much that you are deforming stuff. The words to think of are “securely aligned”.

Now, use the punch / rivet set with the inverted dome to form the rivet head as you apply pressure from the press. When the tool gets even with the surface of the receiver, stop. If you keep going you will mar the receiver and leave some portion of a telltale dent around the receiver.

Done!

And with that, you should be done and ready to reinstall the barrel.

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In the previous post I removed the front trunnion from the barrel assembly and was then ready to install the front and rear trunnion into the receiver that I had already riveted the trigger guard on. This post will focus on drilling the rivet holes needed for the front and rear trunnions.

Front Trunnion Rivet Hole Drilling

The AK-Builder Trunnion Rivet Hole Drilling Fixture makes locating of holes much easier than the methods I used when I first started. I mainly used the Post-It method where you would rub a Post-It note over the holes and then stick the note on the trunnion as a rough guide as to where to center punch and start drilling. Some guys also make little locator tooks out of spring steel but I never tried one of those.

This jig is awesome. There is one very, very important thing you must do when using this jig – make sure you drill press table, column and the jig itself are secure. If the work can shift while you are sliding the receiver on or off, you are hosed and will drill a hole ut of position. I can’t stress this enough.

The jig is on an X-Y table on my drill press. An X-Y table gives you crank knobs like you have on a milling machine and allows for precise drilling. I use it all the time for drilling grips and other items. Basically you secure your item and then use the X-Y table and a spotting bit or whatever to get you right where you need to be. I wrote a post a while back about the table if you are interested. An X-Y table is not mandatory but boy does it help if you do a ton of drilling.  Note, when you buy the table it will not come with any kind of fixture/clamp set. You will need to buy one that matches the size of the T Slots of the table you get.

If you look at the next photo, you will see a red mandrel sized for AKM-type trunnions. You will slide the trunnion on to that all the way and turn the knob in the back to expand the mandrel and secure everything in place.

So you basically install the trunnion, locate the hole with your press, slide the receiver on and then run the drill down and make a hole in the same place. It’s that easy and that reliable as long as everything is secure. Again, that is the key part here.

I should point out that I prefer to use a center 135 degree cobalt drill bits and cutting oil when I do drill the holes.

Once I have all of the front rivet holes drilled, I move on to the back trunnion.

Rear Trunnion Installation

The rear trunnion is held in place by the other side of the fixture and the tab fits int the part of the rear trunnion where the operating spring guide would normally sit.

Again, make sure everything is secure or your hole locations will be messed up.

With that, it is now time to proceed to riveting in the next post.

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