AK with rotated barrel group

cptmclark · August 3, 2008, 06:24 PM

I posted similar question on the rifle forum, and if you read both this will seem like a duplicate. I got good suggesstions and links there.
Is this something I can fix?

I just acquired a Maadi AK47, and learned on Rifles forum that it is probably a Century arms conversion. It has normal stock and accepts normal mags. No bayonet lug or flash hider. Good bore and metal. Crummy but tight and functional wood. It functions normally, except that

everything forward of the reciever is canted to the left. Quite a bit, maybe as much as 10 degrees. The front sight the most, gas tube attach point a little less. 50 yard impacts are some 24 inches right of POAim. It appears it's not the sight but the whole chebang. As if the barrel is installed rotated to the left.
The reciever cover is not exactly lined up either, leaning a bit to the right. It seems to be secure though. I've been routed to a site that shows removal of the handguard, but mine does not want to come off as advertised to let me look at the barrel reciever junction. The release lever is not snug, but with it released the handguard still will not budge. I'm shy about dissasembling it and maybe haveing to take a bag of parts and my pride to get it put back. Not sure what I can learn from looking at this anyway, but if I can learn to fix it I'd like to do that. Fun to learn.

Thanks for any smithy ideas or education.

Dfariswheel · August 3, 2008, 06:37 PM

The handguard and retainer are often pretty tight, and sometimes the wood finish wasn't fully cured and it's "glued" in place.

Rotate the locking latch all the way forward, then grip the handguard firmly and wiggle it up and down and side to side.
It will finally loosen ans slide off as you pull firmly forward.

If the barrel IS rotated in the trunnion, the only fix is to have someone with the knowledge AND the tooling, (including a heavy-duty BIG shop press) to press the barrel pin out, press the barrel out of the trunnion, align the barrel properly, press it back in AND head space it, then re-drill the barrel pin hole and press in an over-sized barrel pin.

There are plenty of AK gunsmiths around who can handle this for a nominal charge.
If you can find an amateur AK builder group locally, they can help you do it with their tooling.

cptmclark · August 3, 2008, 07:54 PM

Well, I "encouraged" it a bit, and got it to wobble right a left. Do the metal ring fore and aft come out with the handguard, or just the wood piece?

Dfariswheel · August 3, 2008, 10:44 PM

The handguard retainer is the metal part at the front.
Any metal at the rear will come off with the wood.

The only metal usually on the rear of the handguard is either a metal cap-like cover, or a flat spring to give the wood tension.
Either will stay attached to the wood.

Wiggle and pull harder, and make sure the retaining lever on the right front of the wood stays pointed forward.

Here's a link to a site with photos of how to remove the wood.
The link is on the lower left of the page: "Furniture Removal".

http://www.gunsnet.net/linx310/

cptmclark · August 4, 2008, 09:04 AM

The wood has come loose from the rear metal retainer as I force it. The wood now rotates easily in the metal retainers front and rear. I will try to encourage it more, but it appears the handguard is going to break before the retainer comes loose. Thanks for the link.

August 3, 2008, 06:24 PM	#1
cptmclark Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2004 Location: Indiana Posts: 432	AK with rotated barrel group I posted similar question on the rifle forum, and if you read both this will seem like a duplicate. I got good suggesstions and links there. Is this something I can fix? I just acquired a Maadi AK47, and learned on Rifles forum that it is probably a Century arms conversion. It has normal stock and accepts normal mags. No bayonet lug or flash hider. Good bore and metal. Crummy but tight and functional wood. It functions normally, except that everything forward of the reciever is canted to the left. Quite a bit, maybe as much as 10 degrees. The front sight the most, gas tube attach point a little less. 50 yard impacts are some 24 inches right of POAim. It appears it's not the sight but the whole chebang. As if the barrel is installed rotated to the left. The reciever cover is not exactly lined up either, leaning a bit to the right. It seems to be secure though. I've been routed to a site that shows removal of the handguard, but mine does not want to come off as advertised to let me look at the barrel reciever junction. The release lever is not snug, but with it released the handguard still will not budge. I'm shy about dissasembling it and maybe haveing to take a bag of parts and my pride to get it put back. Not sure what I can learn from looking at this anyway, but if I can learn to fix it I'd like to do that. Fun to learn. Thanks for any smithy ideas or education.

August 3, 2008, 06:37 PM	#2
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	The handguard and retainer are often pretty tight, and sometimes the wood finish wasn't fully cured and it's "glued" in place. Rotate the locking latch all the way forward, then grip the handguard firmly and wiggle it up and down and side to side. It will finally loosen ans slide off as you pull firmly forward. If the barrel IS rotated in the trunnion, the only fix is to have someone with the knowledge AND the tooling, (including a heavy-duty BIG shop press) to press the barrel pin out, press the barrel out of the trunnion, align the barrel properly, press it back in AND head space it, then re-drill the barrel pin hole and press in an over-sized barrel pin. There are plenty of AK gunsmiths around who can handle this for a nominal charge. If you can find an amateur AK builder group locally, they can help you do it with their tooling.

August 3, 2008, 07:54 PM	#3
cptmclark Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2004 Location: Indiana Posts: 432	Well, I "encouraged" it a bit, and got it to wobble right a left. Do the metal ring fore and aft come out with the handguard, or just the wood piece?

August 3, 2008, 10:44 PM	#4
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	The handguard retainer is the metal part at the front. Any metal at the rear will come off with the wood. The only metal usually on the rear of the handguard is either a metal cap-like cover, or a flat spring to give the wood tension. Either will stay attached to the wood. Wiggle and pull harder, and make sure the retaining lever on the right front of the wood stays pointed forward. Here's a link to a site with photos of how to remove the wood. The link is on the lower left of the page: "Furniture Removal". http://www.gunsnet.net/linx310/

August 4, 2008, 09:04 AM	#5
cptmclark Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2004 Location: Indiana Posts: 432	The wood has come loose from the rear metal retainer as I force it. The wood now rotates easily in the metal retainers front and rear. I will try to encourage it more, but it appears the handguard is going to break before the retainer comes loose. Thanks for the link.