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View Full Version : Birth of a Khyber


Peshawar
11-01-13, 07:12
Hey All,

So I figured it might be cool to share the process of putting one of these together. It begins as an East German kit with no barrel. Some extra parts are pictured in case I needed them. This build was a little trickier than most because the trunnion was pretty oversize. I went through all my barrels, and only one was close enough to work with. Even that one needed knurling to make it fit. So I picked up a McMaster Carr knurling tool and knurled away. It's not the best knurling job, but to make perfect knurls requires a compatible circumference and that wasn't going to happen on this one. The front sight block is also oversize, so I had to knurl the journal for that too. Oh well… no biggie.

http://imageshack.us/a/img89/7671/9xxy.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img9/7802/5lut.jpg

This time I decided to do things a little differently than usual. Instead of riveting in the trunnion first, I opted to headspace the barrel and populate it before riveting it in. I'd already riveted in the rear trunnion on this one, so that part was already done before these pics.

First job was pressing in the barrel, drilling it, and then pressing in the barrel pin. Upon pressing in the pin, I noticed that the trunnion was egged a tiny bit on one side. It likely would have been fine, but I'm picky.

http://imageshack.us/a/img708/6603/c4lw.jpg

My fault, I was being lazy and didn't set up as precisely as I should. Damn…. oh well. So I redrilled with a 19/64, reamed to .300, and used a .302 oversize pin. With a proper setup this time, and it turned out very clean. My vise just isn't accurate enough to do this type of work. I ended up using some parallels and clamping it nice and tight to my cross slide table to make sure I didn't egg the trunnion again. Ok, that's done.

http://imageshack.us/a/img29/1064/cfsb.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img20/1483/ea3p.jpg

Then it was on to the rear sight block. I like a nice top cover fit, so this step has to be done fairly carefully. I pressed it on, and kept checking to see how the top cover was fitting by sliding the barrel assembly into the receiver until I liked what I was seeing.

http://imageshack.us/a/img834/9629/8srs.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img543/492/ro94.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img843/9181/41yh.jpg

Now the gas block. Since this is a virgin barrel I don't need to line up a gas port. I'll be drilling that later, so I can really fit it the way I want and make it nice and tight. I place the gas tube in the rear sight block so I know when to stop for best fit. So far so good.

http://imageshack.us/a/img23/2303/scm5.jpg

I pressed on the front sight block before giving up for the night. Forgot to take a pic of that. Next steps will be drilling and pinning the barrel components, then riveting in the trigger guard and trunnion.

To be continued..... :ph34r:
zzhawk
11-01-13, 10:14
Great job. Did you use a virgin romy barrel? Please let us know how you end up drilling the gas port.
High Tower
11-01-13, 11:08
Very cool! I've always wanted to do that. One of these days...
Peshawar
11-01-13, 13:19
Great job. Did you use a virgin romy barrel? Please let us know how you end up drilling the gas port.

Yes sir, that's exactly right. What was interesting is that this particular barrel was, I believe, deliberately manufactured oversized. Probably one of the ones they kept around the factory for out of spec trunnions. The EG stuff was way out on the large side for some reason. All my other barrels would slip right in and out like Woody Allen banging Kim Kardashian. I was pleasantly surprised to find this Romy in my stash.
Peshawar
11-04-13, 03:16
Few updates....

Setup for drilling the gas block and fsb.

http://imageshack.us/a/img266/8868/mwj9.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img443/3056/6z3u.jpg

Drilled!

http://imageshack.us/a/img703/153/kj4q.jpg

Don't forget your spring and detent before reassembling the fsb.

http://imageshack.us/a/img837/5640/2juc.jpg

Components all set now.

http://imageshack.us/a/img844/2868/tt6i.jpg

Getting there...

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/4633/1ddt.jpg

My phone battery croaked on me the other day as I was working on this. So the trigger guard and trunnion is riveted now. I used the Toth Tool tools for both the trigger guard and front trunnion, and I was very impressed with them. They are excellent tools and I recommend them. Please ask away if anybody has any questions. :)
GNXII
11-05-13, 19:36
Yes sir, that's exactly right. What was interesting is that this particular barrel was, I believe, deliberately manufactured oversized. Probably one of the ones they kept around the factory for out of spec trunnions. The EG stuff was way out on the large side for some reason. All my other barrels would slip right in and out like Woody Allen banging Kim Kardashian. I was pleasantly surprised to find this Romy in my stash.

Thats funny!!!
SteyrAUG
11-06-13, 00:46
Man I wish I had the skills and tools to do this sort of thing.

Of course I wish we could still get parts kits with original barrels too.
Peshawar
11-06-13, 01:09
Hey thanks Steyr. I appreciate that, man.

To be honest I just learned how to do it all from Youtube videos and looking up stuff on forums. No one ever showed me how to do anything in person. When I began, I was pretty desperate for an escape from the world of my work where I'm always uploading the day's / week's / month's work up to a server and have nothing tangible to show for my efforts. I just wanted to have a physical object left over after doing something that I thought was cool and fun and challenging, because it felt like there was something missing with my job in that regard. The AK stuff is great that way. Because it's not so complex that you're needing to be an expert in metallurgy, machining, or anything. But it touches on just enough of a lot of those things to stay interesting. If you ever want to get into it, I'll help in any way I can.
Peshawar
11-06-13, 22:53
Most of the way there now....
http://imageshack.us/a/img96/1245/4vkt.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img30/5734/mw4z.JPG
RHINOWSO
11-07-13, 15:00
Great thread! That is very cool.
eodinert
11-08-13, 02:47
Building AKs is cool. It was cooler when the parts were cheap, though.
snekrz
11-08-13, 09:48
Stupid question time. When your drilling for the FSB and gas block I noticed that they are unsupported. Are those already a decent press fit on the barrel giving it the necessary tension not to rotate when you drill?

Thx
Peshawar
11-08-13, 10:34
Stupid question time. When your drilling for the FSB and gas block I noticed that they are unsupported. Are those already a decent press fit on the barrel giving it the necessary tension not to rotate when you drill?

Thx

Yes, exactly. They're pressed on and the interference fit is enough that drilling those little 3mm holes isn't enough to make anything move. That's not always the case though, which is why I had to knurl the chamber end and fsb journal on this one. If you have a really loose fit on the gas block, it's trickier because you can knurl it as easy (or you risk a leaky system as gas seeps out of the crevices left by the knurling tool).
mbogo
11-08-13, 13:28
Very nice. I have almost no mechanical aptitude, at least enough to assemble a rifle properly.

mbogo
SteyrAUG
11-13-13, 22:06
If you ever want to get into it, I'll help in any way I can.

If there were still parts kits out there with original barrels I'd take you up on that offer. Rifle looks great so far. You also have enough mix match going on to be completely authentic.