My RPD project

[bollero]

Here is my Project coming along..... 2012 time to get off my ***** and finish all my project...

Anyone know how to grind the slot where the charge handle goes it has a internal lip?

Taking couple days off from project to have fingers heal from the blister's from grinding..LOL

[7,62x39]

Nice....I would love to have an RPD some day. On my yugo reweld that I just completed I actually used a dremel reinforced cutting wheel for a lot of the cleanup on the interior. I just used it like a miniature grinding wheel and cut sharp edges with it where needed (along the bottom of rails). I would grind it close with the cutting wheel, then file it if I could get to it with a file, and if not, use a dremel flapper wheel to smooth it out. Just a note, the cutting wheels have to be worn down slightly to fit inside receivers.

[4thSBCT]

kit

Nice work. Can't wait to see more.

[lelandEOD]

I have a parts kit and a couple cut receivers waiting to be worked on too. I ordered a welding jig from Prexis in August... AUGUST!

For the charging handle slot, you need to find someone with a small vertical mill and get a small slot cutter to clean out the weld material. You could probably do it with a dremel but I don't think it'd be easy and it would definitely be hard to get professional results.

How are you handling the mods to the carrier and lower grip frame?

[bollero]

sending my parts out to get them done like this

http://www.projectguns.com/rpd1.html

[lelandEOD]

Is Stan accepting those parts for conversion?

[lelandEOD]

I talked with Stan at Project Guns and he told me he won't convert parts for reweld projects because of a lack of an ATF approval letter. Just covering his butt, I suppose.

[bollero]

Update on project...

lelandEOD
did you see that WISE Lite arms has fire control group

http://www.wlarms.com/parts/rpd.htm

[lelandEOD]

Yup, I saw that. I do not know if they will accept your carrier and lower receiver for milling though.

[fullmettlejac]

There is a build thread on weapons guild on both a reweld and a new semi receiver build. Worth checking out, otherwise lookin good!
Awesome job on the receiver!! Now keep grinding!

[lelandEOD]

Well, I jumped on the screw DSA bandwagon and decided to do a re-weld too.

I since found that military Gun Supply has Vector RPD receivers in stock, but the whole point of the re-weld project is to have a challenge so here it is!












I had several scrap receiver chunks to chose from. I had enough overlap for most sections to allow for real clean cuts (save the rear most chunk). None of the bits I had included an intact rear stub so I had to delete the dove tailed pin retention bit. I ordered a 3/8"x1.25" ball detent pin online to serve as a takedown pin.

[nicoroshi]

Fantastic LelandEOD!

Putting that welder to good use I see

[lelandEOD]

Here it is all mocked up!

Starting to look like something...







Before the rear stub was attached, I welded up 3/4" of the lower receiver rail to serve as a denial for FA parts. I also welded up the forward most 1" of the bolt carrier channel on the front of the receiver to prevent a FA bolt carrier from being inserted. I used a keyseat cutter on a mill to remove enough material to allow a modified SA bolt carrier to be fully inserted.

Here is the fully welded receiver sitting next to a DSA RPD:

[lelandEOD]

Thanks, Nico!
I love that tig welder!

I spent I don't know how long filing... finding blemishes... adding filler with the welder... filing again... repeat... repeat...

FInally, I got it where I was satisfied. I cleaned out the charging handle slot with a 1/4" end mill and got under the slots with a small dremel wheel. I really wanted to use a keyseat cutter to clean the welds out of the slot, but I was unable to find a 3/64"x3/8" keyseat cutter with a 3/8" shank. So, I did it old skool.

Anyway, after I got the slot cleaned up, I blasted it and parked it (only because I had the tank going for another project) just to get an idea of what the finished product will look like:









It ain't perfect... and you can definitely tell I'm no machinist... but for a home brewed franken-RPD, it'll do.

Now, the interesting part...


I needed to get the forward most receiver stub off of the barrel for heat treating. These bastards are STUCK. And I mean S T U C K.

No combination of cheater bar and torch would coax it off. I was afraid of twisting the barrel so I took an alternate route. I used a dremel wheel and cut a slit along the bottom of the stub just through to the threads. It came off pretty easy after that.

Now, I need to weld up the slit, but in order to do so, I need to get a good backer in there. So, I picked up a piece of brass round stock and turned it down to size on a lathe old enough to have put Model A Fords on the road.

I ordered a 26mmx1.5mm tap and die last week and when it arrives I'm going to thread the brass stock to screw in to the receiver to create a good backer for the weld. Once I close it up, I should be able to use the tap, if necessary and chase the threads so that the barrel will screw back in after I get the receiver out to Benicia for heat treating/stress relieving.

Cool, huh!

[lelandEOD]

Lastly, I should mention that I'm totally going to cheat on the real brunt of the conversion. I don't have access to the machines I'd need to modify the lower receiver and bolt carrier for SA... and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to use them. As such, I'm sending the parts to Mike Jestis at Prexis for machining. Mike will modify the lower and bolt carrier if you send them to him along with your Wiselite/Project Guns SA parts. Totally worth the $165 he charges, IMHO.

Once I get them back, all I have left to do is modify the SA parts to work with my denials and it's off to the range for test fire!