SKS DIY Crown Restoration

vitesse9 · January 24, 2005, 08:22 PM

I purchased a Yugo SKS a few months ago. Problem with these rifles is the substantial muzzle brake/granade launcher, which makes it quite hard to get a good look at the crown.

Anyway, I finally got a good look at the crown by shining a mag light down the muzzle and noticed a distinct burr or knick at about 5:00 on the crown.

I've been on Brownells looking at their recrowning tools and I found this:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/sto...E+CROWNING+LAP

It seems affordable and seems like I could pull it off without harming the rifle too much. Plus, might be a handy tool to keep around and might also be good experience so that I can work on my more expensive rifles after I gain experience and confidence.

However, I have no gunsmithing experience. Besides field stripping and cleaning my guns, I also have zero experience tinkering with them.

So, my questions are:

1) Seeing as its just a burr, is this a repair someone like me should attempt?

2) Am I on the right track with tool selection? I need a tool that will reach the crown without removing the muzzle brake. Also, I assume that using a tool with an abrasive would be better than getting a cutter for smoothing out an existing crown (also less chance of a mess up).

3) Can anyone suggest a better tool and/or a recrowning guide that would break the process down step-by-step?

It's really not worth the money to pay a gunsmith (it's an SKS after all) and I kind of like the prospect of learning to do it myself. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

dfaugh · January 28, 2005, 11:23 AM

see how it shoots...While not the most accurate of guns most of these SKSs will shoot 1" groups at 50 yards, with good ammo (not cheap Russian stuff)...If it will do this, leave it alone...

Other than that, I don't think you'll be able to do a proper re-crown, without removing the GL(which I don't think is that difficult)...Looked at mine and the muzzle is W-A-Y down in there (relatively speaking)...I spent the big bucks at Midway (or maybe Brownells) and bought a muzzle crowning tool...The cutter parts are relatively expensive, but once you have those, you just buy an inexpensive brass pilot for additional calibers...Worth it if your gonna mess around with milsurps, most of which need some work on the muzzles...I bought the "squaring" cutter(this youprobably wouldn't need), an 11 degree "target crown" cutter and pilots for 8mm, .308 and .311...total cost about $110 IIRC

DT Guy · January 28, 2005, 06:22 PM

I cut the GL off my Yugo (it was too heavy for my 11 year old) and used that (the electric drill version) with some valve grinding compound. Ended up with a very nice crown, and the gun seems far more accurate than it did prior to the hacking.

It takes a bit, but with 10 minutes or so that tool can form a crown all by itself, no cutter needed.

Larry

January 24, 2005, 08:22 PM	#1
vitesse9 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2004 Posts: 340	SKS DIY Crown Restoration I purchased a Yugo SKS a few months ago. Problem with these rifles is the substantial muzzle brake/granade launcher, which makes it quite hard to get a good look at the crown. Anyway, I finally got a good look at the crown by shining a mag light down the muzzle and noticed a distinct burr or knick at about 5:00 on the crown. I've been on Brownells looking at their recrowning tools and I found this: http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/sto...E+CROWNING+LAP It seems affordable and seems like I could pull it off without harming the rifle too much. Plus, might be a handy tool to keep around and might also be good experience so that I can work on my more expensive rifles after I gain experience and confidence. However, I have no gunsmithing experience. Besides field stripping and cleaning my guns, I also have zero experience tinkering with them. So, my questions are: 1) Seeing as its just a burr, is this a repair someone like me should attempt? 2) Am I on the right track with tool selection? I need a tool that will reach the crown without removing the muzzle brake. Also, I assume that using a tool with an abrasive would be better than getting a cutter for smoothing out an existing crown (also less chance of a mess up). 3) Can anyone suggest a better tool and/or a recrowning guide that would break the process down step-by-step? It's really not worth the money to pay a gunsmith (it's an SKS after all) and I kind of like the prospect of learning to do it myself. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

January 28, 2005, 11:23 AM	#2
dfaugh Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2002 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 1,715	first things first see how it shoots...While not the most accurate of guns most of these SKSs will shoot 1" groups at 50 yards, with good ammo (not cheap Russian stuff)...If it will do this, leave it alone... Other than that, I don't think you'll be able to do a proper re-crown, without removing the GL(which I don't think is that difficult)...Looked at mine and the muzzle is W-A-Y down in there (relatively speaking)...I spent the big bucks at Midway (or maybe Brownells) and bought a muzzle crowning tool...The cutter parts are relatively expensive, but once you have those, you just buy an inexpensive brass pilot for additional calibers...Worth it if your gonna mess around with milsurps, most of which need some work on the muzzles...I bought the "squaring" cutter(this youprobably wouldn't need), an 11 degree "target crown" cutter and pilots for 8mm, .308 and .311...total cost about $110 IIRC __________________ "If you Listen to Fools, the Mob Rules" "No one has the answer, but one thing is true. You'e got to turn on evil, when its coming after you. You've gotta face it down,and when it tries to hide, you've got to go in after it, and never be denied. Time is running out...Let's roll. Let's roll for freedom, let's roll for love. We're going after satan, on the wings of a dove. Let's roll for freedom, let's roll for truth. Let's not let our children grow up fearful in their youth."

January 28, 2005, 06:22 PM	#3
DT Guy Senior Member Join Date: February 4, 2001 Posts: 959	I cut the GL off my Yugo (it was too heavy for my 11 year old) and used that (the electric drill version) with some valve grinding compound. Ended up with a very nice crown, and the gun seems far more accurate than it did prior to the hacking. It takes a bit, but with 10 minutes or so that tool can form a crown all by itself, no cutter needed. Larry __________________ He who fights and runs away had better run pretty damn fast. Government, Anarchy and Chaos