oliverb

Placed my order on 2/3/2010 and haven't heard anything yet. Expect it might be a week or more yet. Bet they have plenty of backorders!

Wow, the 3/16" plugs from Lowes or Dinzag (Hillman brand) fit perfectly on both my 410 and 7.62 Saigas. I prefer the ones from Lowes/Dinzag as they are a firmer plastic and engineered better. They just snap right in and look better - almost exactly like a rivet. The other type is made of a softer plastic and distorts easily.

The pin retaining plate is not expensive and is extremely fast and easy to install.

Not much chance of putting a hole in the receiver if you drill slowly. The trunnion is not very thick and you will know when the drill bit gets through the trunnion. At the most, the bit will drop down and touch the inside surface of the receiver. Feels like there is something like 1/4" (at least) clearance between the trunnion and receiver. Has to be or there would not be enough room to run the tap deep enough to properly thread the hole.

I also agree on the side rail mount. I have one on my 7.62 and 410 - both a double and single picatinny rail type.

Just did mine a couple of days ago. The secret is in the quality of the bit. I have a set of DeWalt bits. Once I marked and punched the hole site, the bit went through the steel easily. You don't need high speed or lots of pressure with a quality bit.

Good luck with that FedUp delivery and keep us posted with pics.

FYI: My Dinzag round trunnion guide was ordered on 1/27/2010, shipped on 2/1/2010 and received on 2/5/2010.

Yep, been there & done that - MANY TIMES!! Had one every 4-6 years for the last 44 years. Had the last one blasted, just like yakdung, in the kidney before it started to move and cause all the fun. Even more fun when they get stuck in the tiny little tube between the kidney & bladder.

For the one sold by Dinzag, drill bit #35 (7/64, although some sources list a #36 bit) and tap #6-32.

Years ago, when my Dad taught me how to tap a hole, he would use oil and only turn in the tap a 1/4 turn, or so, backing out after each turn-in to remove metal pieces being cut as the tap turns. Using this method, going slowly and keeping the tap aligned properly (not using too much downward force thus bending & breaking tap) will almost always insure a good threaded hole without tap breakage. I think folks new to this process think they need to apply a lot of force and don't keep the tap aligned. Same even goes for drilling the hole. If you have the proper bit (new, sharp & good quali

If you end up with a hole on the bottom front of the receiver because of installing a different lower hand guard that does not need the screw, you can use the next size larger to fill that hole. Not all of these plugs are made the same way. The Hillman are a harder plastic and snap into the holes (if properly sized) firmly for a really nice fit. I have attempted to use the vinyl type - they easily distort and don't look as nice.

My '09 Saiga 7.62 has the threaded barrel and lower HG grooves on the barrel. I used a K-Var lower HG along with Dinzag's retainer. Everything fit fine w/o the need for mods. Sure is a puzzle why that is happening on yours. Hope you get it straightened out.

What Saigafreake said should work fine. You can also buy the special tool from many vendors, for example, Greg @ Carolina Shooter's Supply. On a new Saiga, the sight pin barrel may be really tight and stuck because of the paint around it. Once removed, the new one will probably be easier to install and adjust for zeroing.

I don't know about another source but I am certain you will get a ton of positive responses regarding how his guard fits. Mine is perfect and shows no signs of what you describe. Have you discussed this with him? If not, I would suggest doing so.

Wanted a different look while I decide on whether or not to put the $ out on a custom stock. Cut off the "Sporter" stock on my bench saw to a 10" length and filled it w/expanding foam. When cured, I used a 1" flat blade wood bit to a depth measured for the tool kit. Great fit. Then installed a standard small size Limb Saver ($20 from Walmart). The Limb Saver adds 1" for a total LOP of 11" - which works good for me. When cutting off the stock to a 10" length, the sling swivel threaded hole is still there. I punched a hole through the Limb Saver with a awe and installed the standard sling swive

On mine (other recent "threaded barrel" post) I drilled out the dimples (no pins) on both sides of the FSB but also slit the bottom of the FSB. Clamped the old sight into the vise between two blocks of wood and began twisting the rifle CW & CCW. With each twist the FSB loosened up more and eventually I could pull the barrel right out of the FSB. Imagine my surprise when I saw threads! FYI: You do have to be very careful when you use the cutting wheel to slit the bottom of the FSB so you don't notch the barrel because it is almost impossible to tell where the FSB metal stops and the bar

Yes to the notches and "I don't know" to the step in the shell casings because my local range has closed down to anything but shotguns so I have not fired this baby yet. What is the significance of the "step"?

Hi, I know this topic comes up occasionally and I thought I would share my experience. Bought a Saiga 7.62 late Summer and just got around to removing the FSB this evening. Underneath the original FSB was a barrel with a threaded end!! This rifle is dated '09. Couldn't tell the threads were there until the FSB was removed. Had already ordered and received an FSB from Dinzag with the M24x1.5 RH threaded shroud and a Bulgarian AK74 Zigzag brake. Could have saved a bunch if I had known the barrel was threaded. They are still sneaking through!

Have done 2 since last Summer when I got hooked on Saigas. So far I have a 410 and a 7.62 and have had great fun doing the conversions. Can be expensive, depending on how you do it but learned a lot along the way.

Yeah, a real problem for us first timers!! I used my dremel tool to chamfer the bottom edges a little and also took some off the inside top to allow the grip to rotate a little easier. After doing that, it went on nicely - a little firm but not loose.

BPS12, if your friend had a rotary engined car (from the factory) it was not a Toyota. Toyota did not produce rotary motors. Mazda did and started exporting them to the U.S. in the early '70s. In the '70s, I had a small 2 dr coupe and a 5 dr station wagon - RX 3 & RX 4. They also produced a rotary engined pickup - all this before the first RX 7 sport model.

I had two - a 4 spd and an auto for my daughter. They are the state car of West Virginia. Hardly saw one in Maryland by early 2,000s but see them everywhere here! In stick shift versions, they would consistently give around 40 mpg and have decent pep for a 1200 cc engine. Yes, they were made in S. Korea by the company now known as Kia. They had Mazda engines and transmissions. I also see some of the Festiva II versions - new body and in 2 & 4 drs. Folks liked them because they were cheap to purchase, got great gas mileage and lasted a long time.

Yeah, my new 7.62 is an '09 also and was wondering the same thing about the barrel threads. Your conversion looks great! Congrats on the find.

Yep, just put an AK gas tube from Dinzag on my new Saiga 7.62. I went with K-VAR for the front furniture but think the wood looks great on these rifles! I also used the special Dinzag lower hand guard retainer. Works great but I wonder if we could get away with the standard retainer since the barrel is slotted - I don't know, need one of the experts here to inform us.