James River Maadi AK47 Issues

[koiphish]

Hey guys... I just bought an Egyptian Maadi AK47 from Atlantic Firearms that was built and restored by James River Armory (http://www.jamesriverarmory.com/). From everything I read about James River Armory, they are supposed to be top notch on their restorations.

I have 2.5 issues:

Issue 1: There seems to be pitting on the side of the AK. I contacted James River and Mark responded back and he says this is from spot welding the rails onto the receiver and is normal and other builders just fill them with paint. I have never seen this on other AK's. Is this just poor welding? If I understand the whole AK parts kit builds, the receiver comes separate and bare and it is up to the builder to spot weld these on... does that mean James River did a bad job and cant weld worth a damn or is this normal? If so, what are your suggestions on filling them in so its not so ugly?

http://i.imgur.com/r00qjwt.jpg

Issue 2: The lower wooden hand guard is really dang loose! Like a college cheerleader loose! It looks like the wood was cut short indeed, but I dont think that is the only issue here... it looks like the retainer plate is off a little as well, like maybe the retainer slot on the barrel was measured and cut too far towards the barrel end. I have looked at hundreds of pictures online and the retainer plate should be flush with the upper hand guard cover am I right?

I want to put a Midwest Industries quad rail on here and there would be a gap between the retainer plate and the rail.

http://i.imgur.com/Y14ynv4.jpg

.5 Issue: For a restoration, this thing smells like shit. There is cosmoline on the inside and in the pours of the wood and every time I touch it, my hands smell like its been in a camels butt. For a company that does restorations, you think they would have cleaned it up better.

Any thoughts on these issues, at least the first two issues?

I am holding off doing any mods to it in case I need to send it back.

Once I get it all modded out... it will look great sitting next to my AR.

http://i.imgur.com/V0Af6VK.jpg

[eodinert]

A properly made AK has the rails attached with a pinch weld, not a plug weld. Good builders don't fill the holes in with paint, because there are no holes. Look at any factory made stamped receiver, and you can see an impression from the pinch welder, but never a hole. I am not a pro builder, and even bought a pinch welder to finish AK receivers. You'd think that if I could do it in my garage, that a pro builder would throw down and get the proper tool. Edited to add: Looking closer at your picture, I can see faint pinch welds higher up on the sides of the receiver, the plug welds are on the piece of the side rail that goes deeper inside. I never welded mine that low, I'm not sure of the need, but their upper pinch welds look rather wimpy..perhaps necessitating the plug weld. Whatever the case, the commies don't build them that way, and I've never heard of any decent manufacturer building them that way either. It looks like they stuttered when the put the 'F' for fire on the receiver, too.

The hand guard retainer sure looks like it's too far forward. If you have a US made barrel, then they ****ed it up when they built it. If you have an original commie barrel, then the commies screwed the pooch on it... but either way, it looks like its too far forward to me.

Here is a pic I found showing the proper welds (circular indentations in the metal)..this is an East German AKM:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/Stottman/guns/DDRAKMSselector.jpg

I'm not in the market for an AK, but if I were, I think I'd scratch them off the list.

[twistedcomrade]

+1 eodinert. That receiver should not look like that. Call Atlantic, they will probably exchange your rifle. As for your .5 issue, that is part of the AK charm.;)

[koiphish]

I emailed Atlantic Firearms (at 5am central time) and got a reply back from them not even an hour later. They are going to call me today and discuss options.

Pretty dang good customer support from Atlantic Firearms if you ask me. I wish James River Armory was half as good as them at returning emails and working with the customer.

I know inventory is limited lately, but I hope I can get a replacement Maadi and not have to settle on anything else in inventory.

[Peshawar]

Send it back. Those are not simple issues to fix.

[koiphish]

Sweet... just got off the phone with Blaine from Atlantic Firearms and they are going to send me out a new Maadi.

Maybe they will toss in a few extra magazines as a bonus!

I will give James River Armory another chance, but I am hoping the replacement is better quality with no issues. If it sucks... I will just get one of the Maadi's that Atlantic Firearm sales with the side-folding crutch.

I will update you guys on the final verdict of James River Armory's replacement.

[ScottsBad]

Yeah, I hope you get a good one. Those pictures showed some of the worst workmanship I have seen.

Maybe they shipped you the, "This is not how you do it." rifle they had on the shelf by mistake.

Atlantic Firearms is a good outfit, I hope they make it right.

Nice AR BTW.

[RHINOWSO]

Built as part of the "get them out the door ASAP" gun rush and QC failed?

Glad they are taking care of you, hope the second time is a charm...

[Heavy Metal]

Hey guys... I just bought an Egyptian Maadi AK47 from Atlantic Firearms that was built and restored by James River Armory (http://www.jamesriverarmory.com/). From everything I read about James River Armory, they are supposed to be top notch on their restorations.

I have 2.5 issues:

Issue 1: There seems to be pitting on the side of the AK. I contacted James River and Mark responded back and he says this is from spot welding the rails onto the receiver and is normal and other builders just fill them with paint. I have never seen this on other AK's. Is this just poor welding? If I understand the whole AK parts kit builds, the receiver comes separate and bare and it is up to the builder to spot weld these on... does that mean James River did a bad job and cant weld worth a damn or is this normal? If so, what are your suggestions on filling them in so its not so ugly?

http://i.imgur.com/r00qjwt.jpg

Issue 2: The lower wooden hand guard is really dang loose! Like a college cheerleader loose! It looks like the wood was cut short indeed, but I dont think that is the only issue here... it looks like the retainer plate is off a little as well, like maybe the retainer slot on the barrel was measured and cut too far towards the barrel end. I have looked at hundreds of pictures online and the retainer plate should be flush with the upper hand guard cover am I right?

I want to put a Midwest Industries quad rail on here and there would be a gap between the retainer plate and the rail.

http://i.imgur.com/Y14ynv4.jpg

.5 Issue: For a restoration, this thing smells like shit. There is cosmoline on the inside and in the pours of the wood and every time I touch it, my hands smell like its been in a camels butt. For a company that does restorations, you think they would have cleaned it up better.

Any thoughts on these issues, at least the first two issues?

I am holding off doing any mods to it in case I need to send it back.

Once I get it all modded out... it will look great sitting next to my AR.

http://i.imgur.com/V0Af6VK.jpg

Your reciever is missing stop cuts for the selector too.

[Bret]

As for issues (1) and (2), they're just examples of very poor AK building. I don't know where you heard about their reputation, but it's either not accurate or has recently gone to crap.

I am curious as to who built the receiver. The original manufacturer's name should be somewhere on there. Take a picture and post it if you can (mark out the s/n).

[scottryan]

What the hell is a "restored" maadi?

Was this built from a kit with an American receiver?

If it was a real maadi receiver in the first place, how can it be "restored"? It should of had all the welding done on it already.

[brushy bill]

Looks like crap. Glad you're getting it rectified. I couldn't sleep with a rifle that looked like that.

[wideglide]

Please be sure the let us know how this turns out. I cant say as if I would give James River another chance.

[RelliK]

Any update on this Maadi?