Tag Archives: Kalashnikov

Russia and also USSR

Kalashnikov AK-308 Promotional Video

This is a promotional video hosted by the Kalashnikov Concern of the 7.62×51/.308 AK-308 rifle.  It looks pretty slick and borrows quite a bit from the AK-12 but some noticeable differences are the 20 round magazine and different muzzle device.

Here’s the Video

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and remain the property of their respective owner(s).

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Russia and also USSR

Really Interesting Overview Video of AK-12K, AK-15K and RPK-16K at the Army-2017 Defense Exhibition Outside Moscow

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In 2017, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation held their annual international military-technical forum known as ARMY-2017 outside of Moscow.  There were over 1,000 exhibitors and over 500,000 visitors.  It was an ideal spot for the Kalashnikov Concern to show off their short AK-12K, AK-15K and RPK-16K weapons.

In the video, Vladimir Onokay, a technical consultant with the Kalashnikov Concern, does a great job showing the three weapons and giving an overview of each’s design points.

AK-12K in 5.45×39

Some things he pointed out were:

  • Free floating handguard
  • It has Picatinny Rails for mounting accessores
  • Front sight on the gas block and with the rear sight at the end of rail, the sight radius is longer than traditional AKs
  • The muzzle device is more for controlling flash during night operations
  • He showed the windowed magazine for quick round counts
  • The rear stock is adjustable

AK-15K in 7.62×39

The AK-15 is simply the AK-12 but chambered in 7.62×39.  He does make the interesting comment that they found a sweet spot in weapons weight of 3.2-3.3 kilograms for controllable fire in 7.62×39.  They try to make the weapons as similar as possible and this is really a family of weapons that can be made in different calibers.

The RPK-16K in 5.45×39

This light machine gun sports a 95 round drum and has swappable barrels.  A short one for close quarters battle (CQB) that requires a shorter weapon and a longer barrel for other use.

The Video

It’s an 8:00 video and has some great footage.

I hope you enjoyed this!

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.

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.

Russia and also USSR

A Fascinating Video Showcasing The Adoption of Quality at the Kalashnikov Concern in Izhevsk, Russia

I always find turnaround stories interesting.  While we often focus on the older AK rifles, there is a fascinating story about how Kalashnikov Concern modernized and developed world class capabilities.  They produced the video that spurred me to write this post to share with you.

In the 1990s, Izhmash and Izhvesk were in tough shape.  They were only using 10% of their capacity and government orders were reduced.  By 2010, they were in a deep crisis.  In 2012, the two groups were consolidated into the Kalashnikov Concern as part of RosTec — I’ll just say “Kalashnikov” going forward.

Kalashnikov leadership embarked on a large scale improvement journey leverage lean quality management concepts, CNC automation,  and significant IT investments (ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning, MES – Manufacturing Execution System and WMS – warehouse management system are mentioned or briefly shown).

Kalashnikov wisely focused on their people — and I think this last part is key.  They addressed a poor work environment with medical facilities, a cafeteria and training in modern methods.  They even have a university that produces 300 graduates each year.  Getting people to learn and change are always the hardest things to  do yet also the most critical.

As a result, they improved productivity by 2.5 times, shrunk their time to market and removed a considerable amount of waste.

This video is a few years old but is a fascinating 8 minute journey starting with their origins through their turn around story.  There are a lot of photos of CNC systems, brightly lit and clean factory areas, the warehouse, class rooms and more.   It’s very impressive.

If you are interested in more information on the Kalashnikov Concern, click here.

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Russia and also USSR

Video of Larry Vickers Touring the Kalashnikov Concern Factory in Izhvesk

In April 2018, Larry Vickers visited the Kalashnikov Concern factory in Izhvesk, Russia.  Given that armory was established on the orders of Russian emperor Alexander I in June 1807 plus most Westerners having mental images of antiquated machines and dimly lit dirty facilities, one might make some very, very wrong assumptions about the modern JSC Kalashnikov Concern.

The very modern Kalashnikov Concern facility is brightly lit, clean and using world class machines.  I thought it was interesting seeing all the quality boards and neatly arranged tooling.

Also worth noting was Larry’s observation that with many AK manufacturers trying unsuccessfully to product cast trunnions and bolts that Kalashikov still forges those parts and there is a reason for it – durability.

At any rate, it’s a cool but brief 6 minute video.

Here is the link to Larry’s book on AK rifles that he is selling directly and not through Amazon.

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AK & Related Rifles, Military

Video: Inside the Kalashnikov Factory: Home of the World’s Most Reliable Weapon AK-47 – In Russian With Subtitles

There are some great scenes of machinery and firearms in the Kalashnikov factory by Russian Insider.  This was released in March 2017 and is pretty cool.  You’ll also see a lot of firearms we never get to see over here.  I’m fascinated about the evolution of the Russian arms industry.  Growing up we heard about how backwards they were in terms of processes and equipment but in these videos you see a fairly modern plant with well laid out work centers, clean, a lot of CNC equipment and so forth.

The Video

If you are interested in Kalashnikov firearms and manufacturing, then you’ll want to watch this video.

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and remain the property of their respective owner(s).

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

Video: Legendary Kalashnikov: Story of AK-47 Rifle (RT’s Documentary)

I have a number of books both about the Kalashnikov rifles and also biographies of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the chief designer.  I always find documentaries of either the rifle or the man very interesting.  This particular video combines some fascinating footage about current use, manufacturing and testing with historical information and perspectives on Mikhail Kalashnikov vs. Stoner.

The video was released in 2013 and is 25:57 minutes long and is well worth the time.

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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!

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AK & Related Rifles, Gunsmithing

Converting a Milled M70 Front End for a Sheet Metal Receiver Using Screws

Let me open this article with a comment for people new to building AKs – the best proven method is to use rivets.  The Soviets did a lot of testing and the best mechanical join of the forged trunnions to sheet metal was a mechanical rivet.  To this day, all commercial and military AKs are built using rivets.  In my journeys, I have built AKs using welds, screws and rivets – all have pros and cons.  What would I build an AK with that I care about?  The answer is easy – rivets.  This blog post documents my building a prototype using screws.  Has it held up to casual non-military non-full-auto use?  Yes.  What would I recommend to you to build your AK?  The answer is rivets.

In a previous post I described taking a milled stub and welding it to a sheet metal receiver.  Another approach is to drill, tape and use alloy screws.  So, let’s talk about that a bit.  I did this build back in 2010 also.  I actually still have the rifle and it’s one of my most reliable AKs.  It takes about any ammo I stuff in it and I don’t recall ever having any issues.

For those of you who are wondering why I didn’t do rivets – I was bored and wanted to try something different plus this is a range gun and not something mission critical.  Here we are 7 years later and it’s still doing fine – no cracks, no loose screws … but it isn’t stressed either.  When in doubt, do rivets or a milled gun.

Also, bear in mind that the front trunnion was made from the milled receiver stub so screws made it real easy.

In terms of this build, I milled the trunnion down the same as I did for the weld build.   I used my Hungarian AMD trunnion as an approximate guide for locating the holes and used two #10 screws for the front top and a 1/4″ for the rear.  In both cases, I opted for national fine.  10-32 and 1/4-28.  So, for 10-32, I used a #21 drill bit to make the hole  and for the 1/4-28, I used a #3.

For drill locating and drilling the receiver holes, I used the AK-Builder trunnion rivet locating jig.  You just put the trunnion on the jig, locate the hole, slide the receiver on and drill the hole.

Now for tapping, being square is a good idea.  I squared my table to the drill press’s chuck and used it to hold the tap.  I use Tap Magic cutting fluid to lubricate everything.

For the screws, I used alloy button heads and secured them with red thread locker.  I reached in with a Dremel and ground down protruding screws.

So there’s the front.  I used an air riveter to do the trigger guard.

End Result

Here’s a link to the AK-Builder Trunnion Hole Jig.

 

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