hydraulic presses are not only useful to jack up tanks to change tracks, they are also useful in building AK rifles. The problem is that a 20 tonne press is hard to hide under your bed for those comrads who are living in bondage to their capitalist landlords. Most bigger, cheap presses tend to have a few problems: 1. ram usually wobbles before engaging 2. ram is usually not perfectly square to the pressed work, so some sides are higher than others 3. whether building a Krink or PSL, most large presses press down, so they have to be very tall to accommodate work pieces, hence the size of them. I had some luck building an AK with a few jigs made from two steel plates set apart by 3/4" threaded rods, so that's how I came by this idea.
I was rummaging through my scrap pile when I noticed these, left from changing brakes this summer (they are car rotors):
I figured, they could serve real nice for a better AK press. I drilled 3 3/4" holes in each of them. After some sexy time with wire wheel, grinding all the fresh rust, I laid as many layers of paint as I could before impending rain. My stash of golden-sickle and hammer-black paints was running low, so I had to do with blood-red paint:
I also had a 20 tonne hydraulic press with an optional air pump which comes handy when you trying to position a bunch of things with both hands (so you can use a foot-switch) or getting ready to crank up thousands of AKs. I haven't used it in ages because of the awkward air hose that I'm always afraid of damaging. Luckily the paint matches as it came from commie comrades from China (HF).
Ok, let's get it on ...
first, I'm bending a receiver, using my earlier bending jig:
I never used the press to get the barrel pin out, comrade Stalin tool is best suited for this. Here I'm pressing the barrel out with common, bolt-nut against the barrel:
meanwhile elves heat-treated and finished the receivers:
now it's rivet time:
I'm using this jig to get into tight places:
basically it's just a bunch of bits of scrap metal, hastily welded together:
I decided to use steel rivets ($6 for 100) in popular imperial dimensions as oppose to golden rivets sold for $10 a dozen in some weird commie minikilogrammz:
They look a bit too large, which is fine, because I will not allow anyone to make fun of my rivets that weigh more than the receiver. 20 tonne press has no problem crimping them as flat as I want them to be. At least I'm sure that they will never fail. I'm using an Al block to keep heads nice and round:
with the receiver all done, I'm pressing the barrel back in using the same jig I used in my first AK build but adapted to rotor-press:
To drive the barrel pin back in, I'm using a flat bit to push against:
well, morning did pass rather quickly:
shoots OK:
... these f-ing commie rifles displacing more air out of the gun safe
I was rummaging through my scrap pile when I noticed these, left from changing brakes this summer (they are car rotors):
I figured, they could serve real nice for a better AK press. I drilled 3 3/4" holes in each of them. After some sexy time with wire wheel, grinding all the fresh rust, I laid as many layers of paint as I could before impending rain. My stash of golden-sickle and hammer-black paints was running low, so I had to do with blood-red paint:
I also had a 20 tonne hydraulic press with an optional air pump which comes handy when you trying to position a bunch of things with both hands (so you can use a foot-switch) or getting ready to crank up thousands of AKs. I haven't used it in ages because of the awkward air hose that I'm always afraid of damaging. Luckily the paint matches as it came from commie comrades from China (HF).
Ok, let's get it on ...
first, I'm bending a receiver, using my earlier bending jig:
I never used the press to get the barrel pin out, comrade Stalin tool is best suited for this. Here I'm pressing the barrel out with common, bolt-nut against the barrel:
meanwhile elves heat-treated and finished the receivers:
now it's rivet time:
I'm using this jig to get into tight places:
basically it's just a bunch of bits of scrap metal, hastily welded together:
I decided to use steel rivets ($6 for 100) in popular imperial dimensions as oppose to golden rivets sold for $10 a dozen in some weird commie minikilogrammz:
They look a bit too large, which is fine, because I will not allow anyone to make fun of my rivets that weigh more than the receiver. 20 tonne press has no problem crimping them as flat as I want them to be. At least I'm sure that they will never fail. I'm using an Al block to keep heads nice and round:
with the receiver all done, I'm pressing the barrel back in using the same jig I used in my first AK build but adapted to rotor-press:
To drive the barrel pin back in, I'm using a flat bit to push against:
well, morning did pass rather quickly:
shoots OK:
... these f-ing commie rifles displacing more air out of the gun safe