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I've been doing hobbyist level wood work all my life. I decided to mix it up and learn about metal, and what better way to do that than build/re-build a rifle? I know there's a few hustlers and roadmen in here, so I figured y'all might be interested, or may have already completed one yourself. Caution...factual information to follow...normal disclaimer. This is not legal advice. Do your own legal research.
So the US government has made some strange laws about guns. If you "make" a firearm reciever, there's no registration requirements, and you can do pretty much what you want (exceptions include full auto, short barrels, required US parts counts and possibly others depending your location). If you "manufacture" a receiver, there's extra rules to follow. The difference is when you manufacture something, you intend to sell it. When you make it, it's for your own personal use. When you import a foreign weapon, there's even a more rules to follow, and some are outright banned. More info on US ATF gun laws
Ultimately, if you called up your buddy Boris in Romania, and he sent you this, it would be illegal because Janet Reno said it was evil.
But if you bought this and later turned it into a functioning rifle, that's totally legit (assuming you're of age and you haven't been convicted of a felony or domestic violence)
(note- this pic includes full auto parts. You probably can't have that)
To complete this, you need to make a receiver. The one I bought looks like this
It is considered an 80% Reciever, meaning no FFL transaction is required. I used a hydraulic press and home made jig and die set to look like this
If you buy it already bent, it is a 100% receiver and requires an FFL transaction.
Old AK-47's are super prolific, and going out of style for many countries. One country is Romania. The Romanians built millions of these rifles for both defense and resale to civilian markets. They have since switched to the AK-74 (same rifle, different caliber), and thus their 7.62mm rifles are now surplus. There are three basic variations, the PM MD 63 (The military rifle), The "G" (semi-auto variant used by their "national guard") and WASR (made for export sales to civilian markets). There are folding stock variations of the above as well.
The PM MD 63 was a copy of the Russian AKM (this is the rifle we refer to as the AK-47). Romania doesn't have good wood supplies, so the stocks are made from "laminated" wood (aka plywood) The "G" was the exact same rifle modified to be semi-auto with a "G" stamped on the sight block and a black stripe on the stock. The WASR was semi-auto, built from the parts rejected for not being milspec and did not have a vertical foregrip (note-over the years the parts quality changed for these rifles. Don't get butthurt if you have a WASR 10/63). More info on Romanian AKMs
Here's the plywood shot
I thought I bought a "G" model but wound up with a PM MD 63. When I got it, it looked like this
It was built in 1973 and has a new US barrel (foreign barrels are illegal because apparently they are evil). The internal components were in good but worn condition with all matching serial numbers. The external components were covered in Cosmoline and looked like they had been buried under an outhouse for 10 years. If you look closely, under the foregrip is the fire-group disconnect. It has a "tail" on it meaning it was the full-auto version. The other full auto parts were removed by the importer, and this will be a semi-auto rifle only as I don't think I would like going to jail.
I started by dumping every metal component into carb cleaning solution. I then stripped the cosmoline/shelac/Romanian dirt off the wood parts making them look like this
I then stained and coated them to look like this
It was still drying at this point and isn't really that glossy. Something to note here, not all AK-47s have that "red" or "orange" tint to them.
The kit didn't come with the original cleaning kit (almost no Romanian kits do). I bought one surplus online, and it's designed to slide into the buttstock using a springloaded door.
Coming later as I complete these tasks- Pics of the rust blueing process, bending the receiver, riveting the gun together, and first shoot.
So the US government has made some strange laws about guns. If you "make" a firearm reciever, there's no registration requirements, and you can do pretty much what you want (exceptions include full auto, short barrels, required US parts counts and possibly others depending your location). If you "manufacture" a receiver, there's extra rules to follow. The difference is when you manufacture something, you intend to sell it. When you make it, it's for your own personal use. When you import a foreign weapon, there's even a more rules to follow, and some are outright banned. More info on US ATF gun laws
Ultimately, if you called up your buddy Boris in Romania, and he sent you this, it would be illegal because Janet Reno said it was evil.
But if you bought this and later turned it into a functioning rifle, that's totally legit (assuming you're of age and you haven't been convicted of a felony or domestic violence)
(note- this pic includes full auto parts. You probably can't have that)
To complete this, you need to make a receiver. The one I bought looks like this
It is considered an 80% Reciever, meaning no FFL transaction is required. I used a hydraulic press and home made jig and die set to look like this
If you buy it already bent, it is a 100% receiver and requires an FFL transaction.
Old AK-47's are super prolific, and going out of style for many countries. One country is Romania. The Romanians built millions of these rifles for both defense and resale to civilian markets. They have since switched to the AK-74 (same rifle, different caliber), and thus their 7.62mm rifles are now surplus. There are three basic variations, the PM MD 63 (The military rifle), The "G" (semi-auto variant used by their "national guard") and WASR (made for export sales to civilian markets). There are folding stock variations of the above as well.
The PM MD 63 was a copy of the Russian AKM (this is the rifle we refer to as the AK-47). Romania doesn't have good wood supplies, so the stocks are made from "laminated" wood (aka plywood) The "G" was the exact same rifle modified to be semi-auto with a "G" stamped on the sight block and a black stripe on the stock. The WASR was semi-auto, built from the parts rejected for not being milspec and did not have a vertical foregrip (note-over the years the parts quality changed for these rifles. Don't get butthurt if you have a WASR 10/63). More info on Romanian AKMs
Here's the plywood shot
I thought I bought a "G" model but wound up with a PM MD 63. When I got it, it looked like this
It was built in 1973 and has a new US barrel (foreign barrels are illegal because apparently they are evil). The internal components were in good but worn condition with all matching serial numbers. The external components were covered in Cosmoline and looked like they had been buried under an outhouse for 10 years. If you look closely, under the foregrip is the fire-group disconnect. It has a "tail" on it meaning it was the full-auto version. The other full auto parts were removed by the importer, and this will be a semi-auto rifle only as I don't think I would like going to jail.
I started by dumping every metal component into carb cleaning solution. I then stripped the cosmoline/shelac/Romanian dirt off the wood parts making them look like this
I then stained and coated them to look like this
It was still drying at this point and isn't really that glossy. Something to note here, not all AK-47s have that "red" or "orange" tint to them.
The kit didn't come with the original cleaning kit (almost no Romanian kits do). I bought one surplus online, and it's designed to slide into the buttstock using a springloaded door.
Coming later as I complete these tasks- Pics of the rust blueing process, bending the receiver, riveting the gun together, and first shoot.
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