bending a flat without press "grasshopper/poorman's" pic request

[Jeepers]

i am looking at the grasshopper/poorman's pdf to do my flat and looking for some advice and pics of bent flats(with this type pull threw jig) folks have done to encourage and motivate me to get off my fat arse and do it

my plans are on trying to find some square tubing instead of angle for the jig to reduce flex in the middle and 1.25 flat bar to sandwich the flat

now my question on the inner rails, do these jigs work well enough to be able to weld in the inner rails before bending ? i think it would be easier to find someone to weld them in while it was a flat, unless i can find someone close by that has the correct spot welder setup for doing ak rails

also planning on this to be a screw build first and wanted to ask as long as i use #10-32 i can still go back to the correct rivets later when i get a chance ?

ordering up my ak-builders flat with pre-bent top rail on Monday along with the rest of the parts i need for this build ....

thanks in advance for any pic/advice

[Ryan in SD]

I have made a lot of different poor mans jigs. The best way to do it is to get oversized flat bar for the sandwich. 1.5" instead of 1.25. If you do the metric conversion, youll see that you need to go a bit bigger. The big secret really for nice radius' is to have a very solid die and also a larger bottom punch than the top punch.

Check out my thread from my sig to get ideas.

If you dont have a way to cleanly cut 1.5" down to 1.25 you may just be stuck with 1.25 which may still work, it just wont be as nice. Bar stock usually doesnt have crisp corners but you may have a better source of bar stock than I.

[caoboy]

Man...AK's can be built by beating metal with a hammer. AWESEOME

[Arisaka]

I think it might be tough to bend with the rails welded in. When I bent mine, i used 3 pieces of bar stock (one on the bottom of the flat, two inside). as the flat bent, I had to pull one out to clear the dimples. Maybe it will work, its easy to weld them in afterward though.

[Psy Crow]

I'm planning to use this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-inch-bending-brake-39103.html

[Alex$]

I'm planning to use this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-inch...ake-39103.html

You will need to modify the press plate to clear the mag dimples and the magazine bump. You will also need to either make another press plate that fits inside the folded receiver, or cut notches to clear the side of the receiver.

That being said, I have done 4 receivers with this brake, they turn out good. If you have not worked with a brake before, read about how to use it a lot before you try your first receiver.

[Jeepers]

as far as the brake goes i havnt used one of those since HS and thats been a few decades (lol i am getting old)

well i decided it really isnt that much more for one Ryan's jigs so i am just going to pick his up as it looks beefier then i can build right now..

hey Arisaka do you have a modded spot welder or did you find someone around our area to do yours ?

[Arisaka]

I drilled holes through the reciever and mig welded the rails from the outside. Cleaned up with a file, can't even tell it happened! Jeepers, if you need to use a press, welder, etc., let me know!

[Jeepers]

I drilled holes through the reciever and mig welded the rails from the outside. Cleaned up with a file, can't even tell it happened! Jeepers, if you need to use a press, welder, etc., let me know!

i do and will hit you up when i am ready ,still need to buy a few more things before i start this build but the budget is tight these days so only buying a few parts every 2 weeks so the wife doesn't notice lol ...thanks for the offer and will get in touch with you

[Arisaka]

Cool deal. What are you building?

[Jeepers]

Cool deal. What are you building?

a apex PMKMS polish underfolder with new romy barrel

[Arisaka]

Badass. OP, do you still need pics? I can snap a few of my Home Depot setup a little later.

[Jeepers]

i am just getting Ryan's jig i looked at the flats he did with it and they look more then good enough to work out on this .. but if you want to post em sure

btw if you want to use this jig more then welcome when i get it,or will loan it out if we ever get a party going up here

[nicoroshi]

since the Op was requesting pictures this is what I used to use before I got Curtis' bending jig.




Required a bit of 'tuning' with a single jack while still in the two pieces of 1 1/4"x 1/4" flat bar, and required moving the jig from end to end while pressing but produced decent results.




Currently it's in my scrap metal bin.
IMHO nothing beats the AK-Builder jig for ease of use, and perfect results every time.

[Arisaka]

^^ In your scrap metal bin?!?! Can I have it? It's nicer than mine.