I'm a COMPLETE Idiot

[thewarden2000]

So I'm prepping for the San Diego AK build party by drilling out old rivets from PSL trunnions, etc. I went to drill out the lower front trunnion rivet and drilled the wrong one. The result? I have a 7/64" hole in one side of my frickin' barrel chamber about 1/2" in. Can this be welded up, or do I have to get a new barrel? This REALLY sucks because the kit is matching. Good grief I'm an idiot.

[sandeggo]

I'm no gunsmith, but I am a welder. On one hand I would say that it could be welded and then bored. On the other hand it is a repair to something that's job is to withstand a controlled explosion. Some would say that it's worth the peace of mind to have a new barrel and not have to worry in the back of your mind everytime you yank the trigger.
Guess that wasn't any help?

[thewarden2000]

I'm no gunsmith, but I am a welder. On one hand I would say that it could be welded and then bored. On the other hand it is a repair to something that's job is to withstand a controlled explosion. Some would say that it's worth the peace of mind to have a new barrel and not have to worry in the back of your mind everytime you yank the trigger.
Guess that wasn't any help?

I thought about that. The hole is so small, and I will be shooting steel case ammo. I just don't know if it will be a huge fail point or not.

[kendog4570]

If you are very crafty, and very skilled, you could probably repair it. A machinist/welder/gunsmith would charge more than a new tube. And the liability issue remains. A plug of appropriate material could be made and fit by threading/welding/both, and the chamber could be bored and polished to make it "seamless", but it would be a bunch of work, and still be a potential weak point. As it is now, it is a pressure test barrel without a crusher over the port. Something (high pressure gas???) will want to come out of that hole.

Kind of falls in the category of sporterizing a Mauser, the cost would kill the project if you dont have the skills to do it in your garage, and the person that does is not going to do it for cheap.

And when you were finished, it would still be an AK.

Couldn't resist that last one. Just funnin'.

[thewarden2000]

Ok. A new (I say new loosely) PSL barrel is $150. I'm not worried about the cost, but the headspacing worries me. The barrel I butchered was headspaced to the bolt in the matching kit. How hard is it to headspace a non-matching PSL barrel?

P.S. Has anyone else ever done something stupid like this? Just curious.

[nappy]

Did you actually drill into the chamber? If not, don't worry about it.

Virgin barrels has to be headspaced but I would have a gunsmith do it. You might be able to get away without using an oversized barrel pin too. There are pleanty of folks to do this, you'll just have to ship it out to have it done.

[TURBOELKY]

It will be fine. Look at how deep your barrel pin is If you decide to sell the barrel i'll take it.

[kendog4570]

I don't know a lot about AK details, but if you measure a go gauge in your existing barrel, and get the same measurement with the replacement barrel, you should be OK. The part I have no experience with, is where to actually measure from on the AK. On a Remington or Winchester bolt gun, or M1 Garand, one would measure from the barrel torque shoulder to the gauge. A barrel with the same gauge measurement (and the same tenon length, but that is another issue) will fit. There is some place to reference from on your barrel.
Dont use a caliper, use a depth micrometer.

[thewarden2000]

Did you actually drill into the chamber? If not, don't worry about it.

Virgin barrels has to be headspaced but I would have a gunsmith do it. You might be able to get away without using an oversized barrel pin too. There are pleanty of folks to do this, you'll just have to ship it out to have it done.

Yea, I actually have a hole into the right side of the chamber...

[Gowking]

Yea, I actually have a hole into the right side of the chamber...

LOL, sell it to Bareback before he backs out!

-MRA

[thewarden2000]

LOL, sell it to Bareback before he backs out!

-MRA

Hey Bareback! How much will you give me for it? I'll sell it to ya!

[wash]

Is this an area backed up by the trunion?

If so, I would get an appropriately sized piece of drill rod and something like a high temp Locktite shaft repair to glue it in, then cut off and file down both sides until it is flush.

I'm pretty sure 7.62*54r isn't a very high pressure round, a repair like that should hold unless it's not supported or it's in the shoulder area.

I suggest ~glue for the repair so you can avoid creating a heat effected zone from welding.

Just repair it and inspect the chamber often to watch for cracks forming.

[Gowking]

Is this an area backed up by the trunion?

No, it's directly in line with the rivet which means there is a little gap there where the inside of the trunnion was machined flat. Best case it's backed up by the rivet, worst case there is a gap between it and the rivet. Either way if the barrel was repaired and fails that rivet probably coming out.

-MRA

[thewarden2000]

No, it's directly in line with the rivet which means there is a little gap there where the inside of the trunnion was machined flat. Best case it's backed up by the rivet, worst case there is a gap between it and the rivet. Either way if the barrel was repaired and fails that rivet probably coming out.

-MRA

I'm glad to have posted a unique problem for discussion. I'm thinking at this point, I just need to get a new barrel. I don't really want to spend the extra $150, but if it's going to cost more to get it repaired, and there's a chance it may not hold, then I don't want to take the chance. It is a small hole, but still....

[TURBOELKY]

This post has some of the worst advice ever!! Loctite, glue to fix a chamber!! Lol, ok. Maybe i mis read your post. Did you drill ALL the way into the actual chamber, or just into the exterior of the chamber? If it's all the way through to the chamber, your done, if just into the barrel 7/32" deep, it's gtg and i'll take it..