E-Book on Milling an AR-15 Forging

For those with the time and the talent, there's a free e-book on how to machine an AR-15 "0%" forging into a finished lower receiver.  Also on the site is an interesting label format for brass prep and loading.

Barrel Lust

In this political environment, parts for "black rifles" are in short supply.  I've had a barrel backordered for a couple months; it was on order prior to Sandy Hook.

So AIM Surplus posted on Facebook that they have a Spike's Tactical Lothar-Walther barrel in stock.  Stainless steel, polygonal-rifled, 1 in 8" twist.  They only have the 16" model, but Spike's website has the 18" model in stock.  The price is the sticking point: $340 (16") or $355 (18") plus S&H.  Ouch!

I haven't seen any other AR-15 barrels with polygonal rifling, so this is way cool.  In stainless, you could probably shoot 100k rounds through the thing!

Building AK-47s

Might be a useful skill....

Numerous sites are selling Polish AK-47 80% receivers, which apparently don't need an FFL to transfer.  The holes have to be drilled, but the receiver also needs to be heat-treated.  So I found some info on how to do that.  It seems tricky in that the steel has to be hardened and then tempered.  Some people do it with a torch, but that seems error-prone....

There're other sites that sell build parts.  Personally, I'd love to get into building AK-47s and G3 clones.  All that I need is a shop and some equipment, like a welder and 12-ton press!

The Making of Barrels

Since I was gawking at Sherline mini-lathes, I had to wonder how to do the rifling.  (Well, the mini-lathe might be able to turn down a handgun barrel....)  Apparently it's pretty tricky, as one might expect.

One good overview is by a guy at Border Barrels, a manufacturer in the UK, where he details cut rifling, button rifling, and hammer rifling.  (The first version I came across was an archived version online.)  Apparently cut rifling is superior.  I thought hammer rifling would be best, because the mandrel can be made to precise tolerances, but apparently the work stress due to hammering is a problem.

Krieger Barrels' website also has a bit on barrel-making, as well as an interesting article on cleaning and breaking in.

Actually, a mill would be more useful to me than a lathe, and probably learning how to weld sheet metal would be even more useful to me than being able to mill.  It'd be interesting to be able to finish 80% AR-15 receivers, though....

HK Builds 2

Looks like HKParts is selling a flat bending jig for HK-pattern rifles.  It'd be pretty neat to put an HK91 clone together, but I'd have to learn how to TIG/MIG weld first.  A hydraulic press is necessary for affixing the trunnion to the barrel, and for some jigs, forming the flat.  So one needs either a well-equipped shop, a friend with said shop, or a build party in the vicinity.

I also came across a pictorial guide to bending a flat and building a CETME.  Way cool.

The jig shown in a link on my earlier build post was cooler than either of the above, though.

Saiga Conversion

It's possible to modify a Saiga rifle to an AK-47esque pistol-grip configuration.  Apparently a different modification is necessary to make the rifle compatible with standard AK-47 magazines.

WECSOG

The Wile E. Coyote School of Gunsmithin'.  Interesting how-to on building a FAL out of a parts kit.  Maybe after I build an AR-15 upper I'll try that one next.

Ruger 22/45 Mark III Field & Detail Strip

Ruger .22s are a bit of a pain to disassemble.  I found a site that not only details the field strip procedure better than the factory manual, but also has detail strip information.

Arfcom's Guide to Assembling an AR-15 Lower

AR-15.com has a detailed guide on how to assemble an AR-15 lower.  I guess I didn't have to buy a book and two videos on AR-15 builds, but it sure helps a rank novice to the art of gunsmithing.  Seems simple, but hey, most gun owners can't even detail strip their guns, so....