Help me finish my AK!

[p2rider426]

So, at the moment myself and two buddies are in the midst of building up some AKMs from kits without barrels. We have all the parts needed including receiver flats, a bending jig, and headspace gauges but I cannot decide which route to go for barrels. One of my buddies and myself are building from Egyptian kits, and our other friend is building from a Bulgarian kit I believe (haven't seen it yet). Here are the options I am considering and the pros/cons I know about from the research I have done:

1.) Buy a virgin US-made barrel ~ $80
Pros: Somewhat accurate, guaranteed great condition
Cons: Pretty dang difficult to use considering drilling/milling for all the pins, a little expensive too

2.) Buying a Yugo take off ~ $15
Pros: Ridiculously cheap
Cons: Could be shot out already, no chrome lining, requires a LOT of lathe work

3.) Buying a Romy (or any other variant that fits) takeoff ~$100
Pros: Super easy installation (as long as all my barrel parts fit, which i think they will) chrome bore
Cons: Pretty pricy and conditions vary greatly


So that's where I am stuck at the moment, some input on my current options, if you want to add another, or point me in the direction of a good deal would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Oh, and here's the stock all stained up



(anyone know a good clear coat to use with it? Its some minwax red mahogany stain)

[BruinGuy]

I followed the advice of stock refinishing sticky in the Gunsmithing forum, and used Minwax Wipe-On Poly Coat for the clear on my AK stock. After 4 coats it seems pretty durable and it is shiny. I learned one has to be careful when sanding the first coat, because it's easy to go too hard and mar the stain finish.

[p2rider426]

I followed the advice of stock refinishing sticky in the Gunsmithing forum, and used Minwax Wipe-On Poly Coat for the clear on my AK stock. After 4 coats it seems pretty durable and it is shiny. I learned one has to be careful when sanding the first coat, because it's easy to go too hard and mar the stain finish.

Did you only sand after the first coat or in between every coat? Also, the clear we had put on before turned out really milky so i sanded it all down to wood again, do you recommend that I put another stain on it too now that I'm down to wood?

[ZX-10R]

First one that Calguns got right.

[nicoroshi]

this one without question>>>
Virgin Romanian
I have used a few of these barrels on my own builds (Polish, Egyptian, Tula Russian, etc).
All are great shooters, and all the barrel profile is spot on.
Chrome lined, and hammer forged (not to mention BRAND NEW!!!)
Even with my old eyes, and shooting style>>>

[p2rider426]

this one without question>>>
Virgin Romanian
I have used a few of these barrels on my own builds (Polish, Egyptian, Tula Russian, etc).
All are great shooters, and all the barrel profile is spot on.
Chrome lined, and hammer forged (not to mention BRAND NEW!!!)
Even with my old eyes, and shooting style>>>

How did you drill the gas port?

[p2rider426]

How would one "finish" a barrel in white? I am not too concerned about accuracy in this gun so no need for a high end barrel, and it's gonna be a beater anyways so not too concerned about chrome lining. I only have about $160 into the rifle so far so I don't really want to put too much money into the barrel. If i can hit some steel spinners from like 30 yards, I'll be happy.

I like this barrel because of the price, threaded muzzle, drilled gas port, and cuts for pins but how would I get a decent finish on it? http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AKS070-1.html

[Domingo]

gat a barrel from AoA

http://armsofamerica.com/us762x39romanianmodelbarrel6999.aspx

they are good barrels

[hoozaru]

I have built with both virgin romanian barrel and AOA chrome lined barrel. I can't really tell which is better, both are very accurate. AOA chrome lined came with a very nice feed thingy, but the front sight base barrel diameter is like .572" instead of .592" (or something like that). Not really an issue, just make sure your front sight base has the correct diameter. Virgin romanian barrel I ordered came with minor scratches on the crown, didn't affect accuracy at all. I wouldn't use Yugo or romy take off. Virgin foreign barrels can still be found (KVAR,APEX,GB)

It's probably wise not to buy those $60ish US made barrel (not chrome lined), there is a bad batch on the market, many keyholing stories on calguns and other forums.

[p2rider426]

gat a barrel from AoA

http://armsofamerica.com/us762x39romanianmodelbarrel6999.aspx

they are good barrels

What type of finish do those come with? Like I said, the rifle is going to be a beater when I build it so I'm not really concerned by I would like to know. A while back when I bought a beat-up, slightly rusty air rifle from a friend a I thought I would try and re-blue it and at first it looked nice and everything but if I took that thing out on even a foggy day it would be covered in surface rust by the afternoon even pretty heavily oiled up. I just don't wanna have to deal with that again with this rifle.