Building An AK - Thinline Weapons Wiki (2024)

Building an AK

So the time has come when you decide that just owning AK is not good enough and you want to get into building them. Let's take a look at what all is involved in making that happen and the tools that are required. Somethings to consider before building your first AK.

• These days to build an AK will cost you at least $1500 to just build one if you are just buying the AK specific build tools and you have all of the other general hand tools required.
• Your first AK build is not going to be great, it would be highly suggested you either take a build course or find someone to help you.
• If you are doing this thinking you are saving money you are not, you need to build 5+ guns to be able to make this economical.
• Your first AK build should be from a 100% receiver and from a pre-head spaced kit.

Tools

This is a basic list of tools you will need, but isn't everything. It is prefered to use a press to do everything, there is other tools to accomplish the same job, but are not the best.

• H-Frame style press such as this one 12 or 20 ton is fine. H-Frame Press
• Rivet tool for trunnions Rivet tool
• Trigger guard rivet tool Rivet tool
• A decent drill press with a table vise or a mill. A drill press like this would be a good start Drill Press

Drill Bits

• 3mm: For the front sight block and gas block cross pins. It is recommend getting multiple as they are easy to break.
• 5mm: For the rear sight block cross pins.
• 7mm: For the barrel pin.
• 4.5mm: For drilling 4.5 mm rivet holes
• 5/32: For drilling rivet holes

Rivets

Rivets can be purchased from both AK-Builder and Toth Tool. It is recommended to order a few spares in case something goes wrong. They are cheap enough that getting a few extras is worth it. Nothing worse then being knee deep in a project only having to stop and wait on parts.

Building without a Press

These tools work great for installing a barrel and populating the barrel without buying a press. Ideal for the builder looking to build just one rifle, or living in a small area.

• Toth Barrel Install Tool: Toth Barrel Install Tool
• Toth Barrel Population Tool: Toth Tool Barrel Population Tool

Headspace gauges

Checking your headspace to make sure the bullet is sitting where its supposed to be and the rifle is properly locked when in battery is extremely important. Many places offer a loaner system, but if you want to buy a set yourself you can get them in a few different places. Again your best place to get these are places that specialize in building AKs such as AK-Builder, Toth Tool, Brownells and Midway USA. Lets take a look at the 3 different types of gauges.

• Go: The Go gauge is used to make sure the bullet will seat in the chamber properly. If the bolt does not go forward on a Go gauge then your barrel is installed incorrectly or your chamber has a blockage in it.

• No-Go: The No-Go gauge is used to make sure your chamber and barrel are not set to deep.

• Field: This one gets asked about the most. If your bolt closes on a No-Go all is not lost, it just means your chamber or barrel getting to the point of needing replacement. The Field gauge is used to test the maximum allowance of depth. If your bolt closes on a Field Gauge then your rifle is unsafe to shoot and should be looked at by someone with the know how to get it fixed.

Build Guides

Now that we know what we need to build an AK, lets see how it's done.

• AK74 in 5.56: Rifle build using a 74 parts kit, but chambered in 5.56. You can use this video to build a rifle in 7.62x39 or 5.45x39 as well. The same ideas apply.

• AK on a budget: AK being built for those with a budget we have you covered too. Again this can be used to build other calibers.

• AK being built at Definitive Arms: Rob Ski visits Definitive Arms shows how to build an AK