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I got the idea to build to build one of these after I bought an AK 74 kit and it came with the barrel stub in the trunnion. So then I ordered an AMD-65 kit from Apex for about $150. I had an AK builder flat already bent and all the rivets I would need, so including the bullet button the whole thing cost a little over $200. Building it did not require a ton of fabrication and most of the was done with my drill press.
Most of it is pretty straight forward. I built it just like a regular AK unti it came to the barrel and the rear trunnion. On the rear trunnion I welded a piece of sheet metal that blocks the back of the receiver so a stock could not be added. I could have just removed the stock from the AMD trunnion and used that but I used a fixed stock trunnion and opened up the hole so it can be used as a sling loop.
Next it was time to work on the barrel. The barrel stub was turned down to .593" in my drill press. I used an alluminum tube that I hammered into the barrel and then put it in my drill press. I used a file and then sand paper until I got it to the right diameter.
Next I pressed the barrel back into the trunnion. Since it was from a matching numbers kit all I did was line up the hole in the trunnion with the notch in the barrel and put the barrel pin in.
Then I used a socket to press the gas block onto the barrel until the end of the gas black lined up with the back of the trunnion. Next I drilled and pinned the gas block in place.
The next part was a waste of time but had to be done to keep everything legal. I pushed the barrel pin out and removed the barrel. I had another barrel laying around so I pressed it in and threw in the bolt carrier and a 0 round sled. This was just to cover the single shot exemption. The barrel was now over 6" and the over all length was more than 10". I took a picture of it and then took everthing back apart.
Now that the whole reciver was finished it was time to work on the carrier. I cut the part of the carrier that holds the gas piston as short as it would go, flush with the charging handle. The gas piston goes into the gas block about 1/2" so I took the gas piston and cut the end off. I measured the hole that was in the bolt carrier and turned the gas piston down so it was .004 bigger than the hole so I could press it into the bolt carrier. Before I pressed it in I drilled a hole in the gas piston for the guide rod to pass through. The carrier was then set aside so I could start the guide rod.
I used an AK cleaning rod as the guide rod. I kept the threaded end and cut off the other end. I took the return spring and cut the rods off that were inside the spring. The back piece that holds the top cover on was then ground flat and then drilled and tapped so I could screw the cleaning rod in. The barrel needs to be put back in to finish some the the work now.
With the barrel off there were 2 things that needed to be done. First I used an 1/8" bit to drill the gas port. I sprayed the inside of the gas block with cutting oil and drilled the gas port. Using the drill press it took about 30 seconds. I also had to drill a hole in the top part of the gas block for the guide rod to go through. Now it was time to put the barrel back in.
Now that the barrel was in there was not much left. I put the bolt carrier in and then put the guide rod through the carrier and out of the hole in the gas block. I marked the guide rod and then cut it so it was flush with the gas block. Next I had to cut the recoil spring so it was about 10 inches. This part was mostly trial and error until I got the carrier to cycle easily. I would remove a little bit of spring at a time until it was right.
At this point I thought I was done. I put the whole thing together and realized that I didn't have a way to hold the front of the top cover down. So I got a small piece of rod and welded it on the left side of the trunnion. Now the top cover goes between the rod and trunnion up front and the button in back holds it down.
Now it is finished and put together. I had to do a tweaking here and there. I polished the guide rod with some 1000 grit sand paper. Did some filing and sanding to make the bolt cycle more smoothly. A lot of hand cycling and checking fitment. It cycles rounds just fine by hand. Now I just need to take it out and shoot it.
Most of it is pretty straight forward. I built it just like a regular AK unti it came to the barrel and the rear trunnion. On the rear trunnion I welded a piece of sheet metal that blocks the back of the receiver so a stock could not be added. I could have just removed the stock from the AMD trunnion and used that but I used a fixed stock trunnion and opened up the hole so it can be used as a sling loop.
Next it was time to work on the barrel. The barrel stub was turned down to .593" in my drill press. I used an alluminum tube that I hammered into the barrel and then put it in my drill press. I used a file and then sand paper until I got it to the right diameter.
Next I pressed the barrel back into the trunnion. Since it was from a matching numbers kit all I did was line up the hole in the trunnion with the notch in the barrel and put the barrel pin in.
Then I used a socket to press the gas block onto the barrel until the end of the gas black lined up with the back of the trunnion. Next I drilled and pinned the gas block in place.
The next part was a waste of time but had to be done to keep everything legal. I pushed the barrel pin out and removed the barrel. I had another barrel laying around so I pressed it in and threw in the bolt carrier and a 0 round sled. This was just to cover the single shot exemption. The barrel was now over 6" and the over all length was more than 10". I took a picture of it and then took everthing back apart.
Now that the whole reciver was finished it was time to work on the carrier. I cut the part of the carrier that holds the gas piston as short as it would go, flush with the charging handle. The gas piston goes into the gas block about 1/2" so I took the gas piston and cut the end off. I measured the hole that was in the bolt carrier and turned the gas piston down so it was .004 bigger than the hole so I could press it into the bolt carrier. Before I pressed it in I drilled a hole in the gas piston for the guide rod to pass through. The carrier was then set aside so I could start the guide rod.
I used an AK cleaning rod as the guide rod. I kept the threaded end and cut off the other end. I took the return spring and cut the rods off that were inside the spring. The back piece that holds the top cover on was then ground flat and then drilled and tapped so I could screw the cleaning rod in. The barrel needs to be put back in to finish some the the work now.
With the barrel off there were 2 things that needed to be done. First I used an 1/8" bit to drill the gas port. I sprayed the inside of the gas block with cutting oil and drilled the gas port. Using the drill press it took about 30 seconds. I also had to drill a hole in the top part of the gas block for the guide rod to go through. Now it was time to put the barrel back in.
Now that the barrel was in there was not much left. I put the bolt carrier in and then put the guide rod through the carrier and out of the hole in the gas block. I marked the guide rod and then cut it so it was flush with the gas block. Next I had to cut the recoil spring so it was about 10 inches. This part was mostly trial and error until I got the carrier to cycle easily. I would remove a little bit of spring at a time until it was right.
At this point I thought I was done. I put the whole thing together and realized that I didn't have a way to hold the front of the top cover down. So I got a small piece of rod and welded it on the left side of the trunnion. Now the top cover goes between the rod and trunnion up front and the button in back holds it down.
Now it is finished and put together. I had to do a tweaking here and there. I polished the guide rod with some 1000 grit sand paper. Did some filing and sanding to make the bolt cycle more smoothly. A lot of hand cycling and checking fitment. It cycles rounds just fine by hand. Now I just need to take it out and shoot it.
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