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.

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.