What fresh hell is this - AK wood furniture on an AR

Warhammer said:
The irony on this project is how hard other people work to AR-ify their AKs. For all of it's benefits, the AK is not nearly as modular and easily changeable as the AR.
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Right but most of that doesn't apply here, since I've got the AR receiver and no hassles with optics, I'm not intending to hang GWOT gadgets all over it (don't need handguard rails/slots) and I am mostly doing this because spacegun build had horrific ergos and needed recycling.

Plus whim and brain leakage into reality.
 
Warhammer said:
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This is my AK that went the opposite direction as your build. Some in the AK community think anything other than a bone stock, all wood AK is an abomination to the memory of Mikhail Kalashnikov. Personally, I want useability over aesthetics.
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I had a nice set of NATO length Kvar polymer on mine. Miss that rifle.
 
Update! Woodworking tools, various bits of poplar wood and the rank hubris of me showing people my execrable woodworking are all acquired. The handguard extension and dong creation may now begin. For the few enthralled by my dementia, expect some rough fit info later.

Also, found a much better (and more importantly a LOT shorter) name for this folly:

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To the point, on the nose and much easier to carve.
 
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Yes, I realise I went about this entirely the wrong way but I genuinely hate working with wood. You'll see why.

So, I "need" to extend the AK wood handguard so it covers the ugly barrel nut. So, I did this.

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Got it shaped pretty nicely, that line on the side is visible but I can't feel it when I run a finger over it, so I'm OK with it.

But as you can see my dumbass glued it onto the handguard before shaping the interior so I could merge the two spaces.

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I started out cutting the verticals with a hacksaw that I kept bending, but got pretty far. Got a little further with a large cut wheel before remembering you could chisel out bits between cuts. But no chisels..... Well a big screwdriver is like a blunt chisel right?

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Apparently not. This isn't the end of the world, the AK handguard just needs a little epoxy sanded off..... But I can only sand the two parts into one part so many times before I run out of handguard. I guess I'll have to rough cut the interior gap, attach it to the handguard then blend the two together, because cutting it after attachment is something I don't have the tools for.

I was trying to avoid forming the interior with a dremel, but I don't think anything else I have will fit in there. I'm going to drill a series of holes through the block to remove the large mass and then finish it with a rasp and a sanding drum on the dremel.

So one step forward, one and a bit steps back. I really wish I still had my baby bandsaw right now, it would be handy for cutting this to size rather than sanding it because I make it look jank with a hand saw.
 
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Just seeing this for first time. AK15 build. Too bad laser engraving is out of budget for this build. Now you need to use a rusty nail to engrave it.
 
Timfoilhat said:
Just seeing this for first time. AK15 build. Too bad laser engraving is out of budget for this build. Now you need to use a rusty nail to engrave it.
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I've got an electropencil somewhere for that proper "perpetually drunk guy forced to be armorer because he can read and write" vibe.
 
OK, I'm not showing you the barrel under the front sight block, and I realised I don't have any pins for pinning it.... But it's on and it's straight enough down the sights that I can't tell if it's crooked.

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Yes I know it would be cleaner if I'd let someone lathe it, and I can't get the edge behind the sight super clean and square but I'm hoping bluing will hide that and I can't really get anywhere to ship a long barrel.
 
First test of Fakelite mag paint.

IMG_20231009_130018642_1.jpgI don't think it's dark enough so it's getting another coat of stain to try and darken it up, hopefully it doesn't do anything weird on top of the matte sealer.

Real Bakelite grip shows the absolute lie of Fakelite.
 
So, I'm not happy with my awful barrel reduction and want to smooth it out to be one diameter the entire reduced area. No lathe, so I went hunting for a way to do it that my abysmal skills can handle.

Apparently I need an annular cutter.

gunsmithtalk.wordpress.com

Annular Cutter. (turning your barrel for a brake without a lathe).

This is a tool that was designed for a different purpose. Most of the references that describe there use talk about using them with a magnetic drill. So this would be more common in a large fabri…
gunsmithtalk.wordpress.com gunsmithtalk.wordpress.com

Since I don't need threading on the section I want to reduce I just need to figure out which cutter has an interior cavity that is 15mm across to clean up my crooked dremelled mess so I can fit that sight block on straight.

Anyone clue me in how to pick the right cutter? I'm finding it a puzzle.
 
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Never did find a cutter but maybe found an alternative. Got to set up the drill press and try it this weekend.

The wood however is killing me. I got an oscillating cutter to try and make removing the interior volume a little easier and it worked, but now I find the cutout in new section is too wide to match the original handguard. So I either need to find a new super slim barrel nut or figure out something. I could make a handguard of the needed volume from scratch but I suspect it's going to look awful with me doing it lol

Hopefully I'll have better news for the next update. Then oscillating cutter was awesome though, can't believe I never used one until now.
 
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BlueGecko said:
Got an updated pic?
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It was all I could do not to commit an anti-wood violent hate crime lol

I'm going to try and find a skinnier barrel nut and give it another try, I'll take pics of that. I knew wood was gonna be a PITA, it just doesn't work out for me.
 
The handguard is going to scupper this damn project lol

However got the perfect optic for it from a member here. Actual Russki red dot. And better yet, despite looking as tall as the Commie stuff usually is, I can get a decent cheek weld and see the reticle fine.

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@BlueGecko

Stock is done bar finishing and I mounted new PK-AS optic, which is shockingly much more comfortable to to use than it looks. Zeroing it is apparently going to be a pain in the arse, with some weird Russian dingus adjustments and having to get at the bottom of it for the turret, which means I'll likely have to hang the arse off the back of the receiver and then move it forward a few notches, or grind off a couple rail keys lol

The front sight needs a little more work because it's canted forward a bit, I just dug out the drill press and the milling head and they actually fit together so the plan is to clean that up shortly.
 
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I should have thought of this earlier, but... You can get a combo gas block/front sight that clamps on the barrel. That's what I used on my AK. That might be easier to fit, since it's not a press-on piece. Plus, it would serve as a retention point for the handguard and lend to an authentic look, since it has the fixture for the gas tube.
 
Warhammer said:
BTW, great job on fitting the stock! It actually looks much less odd than I was expecting.
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Yeah, I could grind down the 1913 adapter to match. But I'm not gonna, since it works as is.
 
Warhammer said:
I should have thought of this earlier, but... You can get a combo gas block/front sight that clamps on the barrel. That's what I used on my AK. That might be easier to fit, since it's not a press-on piece. Plus, it would serve as a retention point for the handguard and lend to an authentic look, since it has the fixture for the gas tube.
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I've got a handguard retainer, it's just not on there right now. I did look at the gas blocks, but the gas tube is higher than the receiver rail and looked weird.
 
Well this project isn't dead, but my patience is. Tried and failed to make the handguard extension. Again.

Managed to avoid throwing the whole upper at the wall just barely. This is driving me nuts.

So no progress currently to report except more busted wood.
 
I'm still working on this, but the handguard is absolutely kicking my arse. I need magical wood erasing tools lol
 
Back from the dead with a new dong handguard!

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Stock will get stained and finished to match.

Fake Bakelite mag looks bakeliteish.

PKAS optic looks Rooski and I can get a decent cheek weld using it.

I need to design and have fabricated a spacer to mount over the barrel nut and provide a slot for the rear handguard lug to slot into to make everything firm. Maybe a big barrel nut replacement block with a handguard retainer slot, timed with shims.

After that it's just a muzzle widget and a top cover for the dong and to drill pin holes for the front sight block.

It's coming along!
 
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