First Maadi Kit Arrived Today

The US barrel that I bought had the gas port already drilled, along with the groove for the handguard retainer. My Polish barrel does not, which is one of the reasons why I started with the US barrel.

I have pinned everything except the FSB. I don't trust my eyes to tell me it is straight, so I may wait until I test fire it before pinning it.

The barrel was easier to drill than I expected. Went through it like butter.

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While I wait for tools and supplies so I can continue with Maadi number one, I decided to work on number two. And after I got that out of my system, I started putting together my second Maadi.

It's easier putting on the barrel components with the press than it is banging them on with a pipe, though I still banged on the RSB because my pipe wasn't long enough to clear the barrel.

The second barrel will be a little more work because I have to drill the gas port and file out the notch for the handguard retainer. I still need to pin the RSB, gas block, and FSB, but I am done for tonight.

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The rivets are just stuck in to hold it together for the photo.
 
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I know what your thinking:

'Gee, it's been a while. I wonder how mclina's Maadi's are coming'
'What the hell is taking mclina so long?'

or the more obvious

'I hope mclina is OK'

I assure you that I am fine. I have been held up recently by a lack of tools and a complete lack of riveting experience. I have been doing some practice rivets, and working on my tool situation. I would have gladly paid the $70 for a set of genuine Tothtool rivet jaws, but they've been out of stock. I decided to try and make my own. I ordered a set of HF 24" bolt cutters and set about converting them into a set of rivet squeezers.

At first, the only tool I had to work with was my Dremel. It was a painstaking process which used up about a dozen cutting wheels and got me nowhere close to a finished product. Today I 'upgraded' to a $12 HF angle grinder, and I made something that resembles a Tothtool rivet squeezer. I'm going to keep practicing until I have some confidence that this thing is going to work, and then I'll give it a go.

If it absolutely fails, I will wait until the Tothtool jaws come back in stock in another month or so.

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You know shit has gone plaid when toth tool doesn't have jaws in stock. Jesus.

Good call on the angle grinder. Just keep grinding away until you have enough clearance to grab those rivets and squeeze.

For the rear ones, if you don't feel like making them pretty, you can always hammer them flat. If you do feel like making them pretty, you can get creative with a dremel and make some stricking punches that have concave striking surfaces. And slowly ping the head curved. Just make sure to rest the other side of the rivet with the round head in a steel plate with a concave cavity for it so it retains it's shape. And then clamp that steel plate (or aluminum) to the receiver while you strike the other side.

I've had limited success with this. It makes them look somewhat prettier. And you can take your time forming it. But they still don't look as good as a rivet head that is pressed with a long rivet jig and a shop press.
 
Well, I successfully riveted my first trunnion. The improvised tool worked pretty well. It left creases in the rivets that I need to dress up a bit, but this thing was never going to win any beauty contests.

I couldn't resist putting it together just to see how it looks and feels. I still have some work to do, like riveting the rear trunnion, securing the trigger guard, installing the FCG, etc...

I am cheating on the trigger guard, and using the AK Builder screw kit. I may rivet down the road if I ever get the tooling.

These will be the last photos you will see of this gun. Once I install the FCG I will be legally required to grind off the bayo lug and pin the stock. Of course I will absolutely do this, because it's the right thing to do for the children. I just won't post any photos beyond this point.

Now where can I buy an orange life vest in the middle of the winter?

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The slant brake is not screwed on all the way in this photo. I need to either adjust the FSB depth to get the clocking right, or install a crush washer. Then, of course, I need to pin it in place.

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PS: What would you guys do as far as finishing the receiver and/or barrel? I am inclined to leave it as-is. Do I run any risk of it rusting if I leave it unfinished? Maybe that would make it look even better. My other option is BBQ paint, or I could pay someone to coat it.
 
Now where can I buy an orange life vest in the middle of the winter?

i have one (of course).

PS: What would you guys do as far as finishing the receiver and/or barrel? I am inclined to leave it as-is. Do I run any risk of it rusting if I leave it unfinished? Maybe that would make it look even better. My other option is BBQ paint, or I could pay someone to coat it.

the barrel won't rust and any rust on my receivers is slight, slight surface rust. everything on my builds is the exact same as the day i put it together and nothing nasty has happened to any of them.
 
very great work! Very impressive to say the least- self populated and built. You are now the shit.

as far as finish goes, no finish works and so does paint. It's up to you, how you want it to look and perform. Anal builders will bead blast, park, and then paint. Very professional look afterwards. I've done this with a kit, and then the paint just faded with tons of rapid fire mag dumps, so it now kind of looks like hell anyways.

I've also just painted. Same result pretty much: sanded down the hard carbon made from heat treat, and then polished the receiver a bit, then painted. Holds up just fine, just like the park and paint. But anal people will say "IT'S GUNNA RUST!" and to that I say who gives a shit.

I've also sanded, polished, and blued. That looks pretty damn good. And then I took a scotch brite pad to it, dragged it in the alley outside my condo in the city, and then threw it down a flight of stairs after lighting it on fire with diesel fuel and a Mapp gas torch. Gotta say that finish is by far my favorite.

for paint, I've used Rustoleum appliance epoxy from HD or Lowe's. Costs like $5 a can. Then you can bake it in the oven after you let it air dry. That really pisses off the wife.
 
And then there were two. I really wish I had bought a few more parts kits while they were still around.


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It's a cat thread!
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There are two reasons why there is a Tapco PG on the second rifle. Since this one has an imported barrel, I needed the PG for 922r compliance. Also, when I showed the first rifle to my 16 YO son, the first thing he had to do was hold it out like a pistol, which caused the whole thing to list forward and the bolt head to pull through the PG. I gave him a load of crap for it, but it was kinda funny.
 
Have you thought of linseed oil for a natural finish that won't rust?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I hadn't heard of using linseed oil on metal. It's an option that I will consider. At this point, I don't see much risk in leaving them as-is. They aren't exposed to any moisture, and I don't see rust being a problem.

Thanks for the tip.
 
What is wrong with Tapco grips?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Nothing at all. They just look different than the original ones. I would have preferred to have both rifles look as authentic as possible, but I was willing to compromise on a couple of small items to meet 922r compliance, like using a Tapco pistol grip and slant brake on one rifle, so that I could keep the original buttstock and foregrip.

The Tapco PG is stronger than the original PG that came with the kit, so in that way it is better.
 
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