ak ejector

[Nicoman]

I built my Romy G kit yesterday and today I was putting the rifle together and realized I never trimmed the ejector, I'm not real sure how to go about doing it. can I still trim after heat treating the ejector

[Jayruta]

Most of the time nowadays you don't have to even trim the ejector. Does the rifle hand cycle fine without binding?

[Nicoman]

Most of the time nowadays you don't have to even trim the ejector. Does the rifle hand cycle fine without binding?

No the bolt stops on it, the more I hand cycled it the further it would go forward but I wasn't sure if I should keep going till it went all the way forward or if I would screw something up doing that

[Jayruta]

Take a file to it slowly then re-heat treat it. Make sure to try to look at it from the front and see if the ejector is really hitting the inside of the bolt and not just angled up funny.

[nicoroshi]

Do a tilt test.
Remove FCG.
Install carrier only.
Tilt 15 degrees off horizontal to the front
Carrier should slide all the way forward just by gravity.
Tilt 15 degrees off horizontal to the back
Carrier should slide all the way to the back just by gravity.
Now install bolt into carrier and repeat the tilting.
If the carrier gets stuck (because the bolt is being pushed to the right by the ejector) then file a little off the right side of the ejector until it can tilt test.
If it tilt tests fine with bolt installed no trimming is needed.
NOTE: GO SLOW. Better to do a little at a time rather than going for all in one shot.
Trick is to leave as much of the ejector passing through the bolt face while still being able to cycle smoothly past it.

I have repaired many that have been built at various build parties where people got a little happy with the file on the ejector. Don't be 'that guy'.

Also no need to re-heat treat after doing a little file work on the ejector (if needed) .
No way you're heating it up enough with a file to kill the hardness it has.

[Nicoman]

Thanks for the help guys I'll have to pick up some files before work this week

Nico the carrier moves freely both forward and to the back I did check that before I put the bolt in. Stand by and I'll post some terrible pictures of it

[Nicoman]

As promised a terrible picture

[SJgunguy24]

I've used a dremal before, just go slowly, just a little at a time. Try not to put any heat into the ejector. I find that if it wasn't drawn back right, the file just skips over the ejector without cutting anything.

[meaty-btz]

Use a hand file, less heat and you really don't need to pull off a lot of material in most cases.

Before filing, check if receiver is square. Check if receiver sides are 90degrees to the base, even a little over bent and your ejector might be too close causing the interference. Once you have verified that everything is square and in spec, then turn to the hand file on the ejector.

[nicoroshi]

Use a hand file, less heat and you really don't need to pull off a lot of material in most cases.

Before filing, check if receiver is square. Check if receiver sides are 90degrees to the base, even a little over bent and your ejector might be too close causing the interference. Once you have verified that everything is square and in spec, then turn to the hand file on the ejector.

Good advice.
I normally tune the receiver (make sure it's straight) before I tilt test.
My guess is if the carrier tilt tests fine the receiver is close enough to being in spec.

[nhr310]

Funny bro i went out this past weekend to break-in my ak-74 and because i didnt trim down the ejector enough a large piece chipped off. I already had it cerakoated and now have to start over as I dont expect it to last long.

[nicoroshi]

Funny bro i went out this past weekend to break-in my ak-74 and because i didnt trim down the ejector enough a large piece chipped off. I already had it cerakoated and now have to start over as I dont expect it to last long.

Chipped?
Sounds like someone forgot the anneal step to heat treating.
Properly heat treated ejector should be hard but flexible (i.e. not brittle where it would 'chip').
Heat treating isn't the easiest thing to do correctly if you've never done it before.

Two words for those new builders out there before they try to fire what they've built.
Tilt Test

Too many times I have heard, "Fire a couple hundred rounds through it. It'll smooth out".
I cringe.
Why wear off metal by force when you can tune your rifle to function smoothly before the first round is even fired?

[meaty-btz]

Good advice.
I normally tune the receiver (make sure it's straight) before I tilt test.
My guess is if the carrier tilt tests fine the receiver is close enough to being in spec.

Forgot to add the other part about overbent or rails that are not formed perfectly. You can have a slight downtilt on the ejector that will again, make it appear to interfere or rub too heavily on the carrier or bolt. If the receiver is square but your ejector is not horizontal. A light bit of hammer will put it into clearance. On all my 74s (don't know why I am stuck on 5.45, probably my massive cache of ammo) I have not needed to trim the ejector. In fact the one time I did.. well.. I caused a problem making the ejector too short.

ya live ya learn. I am learning still.