Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted April 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 (edited) Here's how the bucked rivets turned out. Edited April 10, 2005 by Cobra 76 two Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted April 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 Yeah now the fun part. Reassembly! Blew everything out with air and cleaned all metal dust and grit ot of the reciever. Put pistol grip screw up through the hole and thread into small side of PG nut. Guide it back down into the hole with screw angled toward the rear. Unscrew it and hold the back of the nut while installing the PG. Screw it in by hand untill it's about flush with the PG and tighten securely while keeping the PG seated straight. I got out my FCG parts and BHO. I cleaned each piece separately and wiped down with oil. 1. First I layed the shepard's crook in the reciever along the left side where it goes. 2. Put the hammer spring on hammer and place it in the rec. where it goes. 3. While holding hammer in place and making sure the shepard's crook is in the right place(clip part ahead of the hammer), put the hammer pin in all the way. 4. Place the trigger/disconnector assy.(with disconnector spring and sleeve in place) down into the reciever by working it in behind the rails. Leave the pin out so you can move it forward and work the selector in behind it . 5. Put the selector in and rotate it down into the "fire" position. 6. With the selector in and down out of the way, put the BHO spring in aganist the right side with the long leg pointing down and to the front. 7. Place the BHO lever down in between the BHO spring and the trigger assy. where the push button can slide down through the slot where it goes. This is where it gets really fun. 8. Push the hammer pin back out far enough to work the front of the BHO lever in between it and the right side of the reciever. Line the hole up and push the hammer pin through it and seat it all the way in while pushing down on the hammer to depress hammer spring. 9. Grab the end of the shepard's crook with some needlenose or hemostats and pull it to the rear until it snaps in place around the groove in the hammer pin. Confirm that the pin is locked in place by trying to push it back out by hand with a punch. 9. Line up the trigger assy. and while holding the shepard's crook down push the trigger pin through the hole, over the crook and almost through the sleeve of the trigger assy. 10. With hammer pin fully seated, trigger pin in but hanging out some, and BHO spring centered over trigger axis hole, use something thin, flat, and blunt on the end(so as not to spit the spring coils) to push the spring down while you push the trigger axis pin through the sleeve and through the middle of the spring and out the hole in the reciever. Whew! If it won't go in all the way make sure it's not pinching the shepard's crook between the pin and the sleeve. It has to lock into the groove of the pin right next to the wall of the reciever. Repeat step 10 as many times as it takes to finally get it in! If you are really patient you can do it the first time. There are several other methods for getting the BHO spring lined up including this one I like: Feed a piece of dental floss up through the BHO button hole and through the loop in the spring before step 7 and then back down through the button hole. When you get to step 10 pull down on the two ends of the string while looking through the right pin hole. when the bottom of the spring loop gets below the hole push the pin through and out. Then just pull one end of the string and it all comes out. 11. With a dental pick or some other small hooked tool pull the rear spring leg up onto the keeper on the back of the BHO lever. 12. Make sure the end of the shepard's crook is locked in the groove of the trigger pin and the ends of the hammer spring are hooked on the two rear legs of the trigger. YEE Haw wasn't that easy? A shepard's crook replacement plate makes this just a little easier but costs more. I just wanted to outline the way to install with shepard's crook like in a real AK because my aim was to do this "old school" and this method only costs 5 bucks. You can also use the spring that came out of the Saiga if you use a pin or screw through the original trigger hook axis hole to hold it in place. With the stock removed you can feed it in from the back of the reciever and it's easy. Or you can even save the 5 bucks and cut and bend your own AK style shepard's crook out of your old Saiga spring. Here is a drawing showing several different methods followed by a pic of the type of crook that I used. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted April 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 (edited) Put the stock up into the back of the reciever and seat it. Do any trimming necessary to get a good fit. Pre drill the screwholes if necessary. I used a 1/8" bit. Make sure they are centered in the holes in the rear block and tang for a tight fit. As an option you can put one in the bottom of the reciever behind the PG in the existing hole but I think the two in the top are sufficient with a snug fitting stock. Besides it is slightly uncomfortable feeling a screwhead aginst your hand while shooting. I guess if you need one more for extra support you could grind the head down and polish it after installation. Put the original Saiga stock screws back in unless your stock came with new ones. Screw in by hand and tighten securely. To fill the 5 holes left behind from the old trigger pins and the TG rivet I used black 3/16" nylon hole plugs purchasd from Ace Hardware. The two holes on the right rear of the reciever and the one in front of the trigger are slightly smaller and need to be drilled out to 3/16" first. These hole plugs look just like rivet heads when installed and pop in in seconds. Thanks to jd1 for coming up with this idea originally. Lowes also has some Hillman brand nylon plugs like these but they have a satin finish and look more like plastic than the shiny ones at Ace. Here is a picture of the hole plugs and the rivet kit I used. The bottom two show the threaded sight wheel adjustment stud cut and filed down and then painted over with permanent marker. Edited April 13, 2005 by Cobra 76 two Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted April 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 (edited) I used a black permanent marker to touch up any areas that were bare, scratched, or that needed paint. It worked great and is easy to apply. I bought a laser sight with a mount designed to fit over a 1" scope tube or a gun barrel. It has an adapter to fit around smaller barrels. It was a little loose on the 12 ga barrel so I fixed that with a few wraps of black electrical tape. The laser makes shooting from the hip a breeze! I still need to get a recoil buffer and install it. Everyone I ordered from was out of them. After firing a few slugs on the wrong setting I can see I'm going to need one. The last thing to do is install a clamp on Russian AK style front sight and maybe a bayo lug to go with the M16 bayo I bought, which fits perfectly over the factory threaded Saiga chokes. I can't wait to get my front sight installed and test out this rifled paradox choke for long range accuracy with slugs. The 8 round magazine really sets this baby off and makes it look like a real AK. I bought a Bulgarian sling to go on it to match the Bulgie furniture and handguard retainers. I had to get a custom U.S. made gas piston and install it to remain 922R compliant with the Bulgarian PG and furniture. I think that gets me right on the parts count. If anyone knows for sure if I need to change anything else to stay legal please speak up. WOW I guess I'm done. I hope what I have done will make Gen. Mikhail T. Kalashnikov as proud as me and will make The Motor City Madman Ted Nugent jealous. Just kiddin' Ted, Thanks for the signature! You Rock!! Above all I hope all this typing from memory and pics I took along the way will help convince a few people that they can do at least a basic PG conversion by themselves with very little money, time, and experience. This was only my second Saiga conversion... so far. Thanks Ya'll for listenening to me ramble and for all the help I have gotten from saiga12.com. Without it this never would have happened. This is my attempt to give something back to the Saiga brothers. This is the best Gun Forum on the net IMHO! This has been my brain on AK/Saiga................Any Questions? Cobra Out Edited April 11, 2005 by Cobra 76 two Quote Link to post Share on other sites
McUZI 1 Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 (edited) Bravo! One request- an itemized tool and parts list. Edited April 12, 2005 by McUZI Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted April 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 (edited) US compliance parts used in this conversion were: 1. Hammer 2. Trigger 3. Disconnector 4. Custom made U.S. Gas Piston 5. Custom made mag floorplates Normally I would have only needed 3 for a shotgun but since my barrel is factory threaded and I used foreign PG and other furniture I needed 5. Most people use a US made stock and or PG along with the FCG swap but I wanted to use Bulgarian furniture so I replaced the only other parts you can, the gas piston and floor plates. The Tools Used In My Conversion Were: 1. Dremel rotory tool with these attachments: Good supply of cutoff discs Sanding drums (coarse and med) Grinding drums and wheels Emory wheel Buffer Engraver 2. Cordless Drill and good drill bits 3. Large and small flat files 4. Small round and triangular files 5. 220 and 400 grit sandpaper 6. Rubber mallet 7. Ball peen hammer 8. 4 lb. hammer 9. Various sized punches 10. Hacksaw 11. Bench Grinder 12. Measuring tape 13. Vernier caliper 14. Wood chisel 15. Utility knife 16. Various flathead screwdrivers 17. C clamp 18. Elec. tape 19. Putty knives 20. Toothbrush 21. Dental floss 22. Dental pick 23. Hook tool 24. Needlenose pliers 25. Needlenose vice grips 26. Channel lock pliers 27. Shop vice 28. Belt sander 29. Home made rivet bucking tool and driver 30. Butaine torch 31. pencil 32. Sharpie black permanent marker 33. Rifle rest 34. Heat lamp 35. And last but not certainly not least, plenty of beer! Complete Itemized List of Parts Used For AKS-12 Conversion From Saiga 12 member Slag in For Sale Forum: 1. Saiga 12 with 19" threaded barrel, BHO and rib sight...............used............350.00 From Gunsnet Member greyhound47: 2. Bulgarian blonde wood stock and handguards.........................used..............185.00 From DPH Arms : 3. Tapco G2 Double Hook FCG........................................................new..............35.0 0 4. Axis Pin Retainer Spring (Shepard's Crook)................................new................5.00 5. Long Chinese PG Screw and Nut................................................new................6.00 6. Complete AK Rivet set................................................................new.......... ......6.00 7. Disconnector Spring....................................................................new... .............4.00 8. AKM Trigger Guard......................................................................new.. ..............5.00 From K Var: 9. Bulgarian AK Gas Tube................................................................new......... ....17.00 10. Bulgarian Lower HG Retainer....................................................new.............15.0 0 11. Bulgarian AK Sling.....................................................................new... ............5.00 12.Bulgarian AK Cleaning Rod.........................................................new...............9. 00 13.Bulgarian wide blonde wood Pistol Grip.....................................new.............20.00 14. ...<edit>...Custom made front sight from Romy AK and steel hoop.............new............18.00 + labor 15. Paradox Rifled Choke Tube.......................................................new.............57.00 From Ebay: 16. Laser Sight and Mount..............................................................new.......... ...20.00 <later replaced with real S-12 laser (Korsak)> from Russia From GunBroker: 17.Imperial M10 Bayonette for M 16...............................................new.............25.00 From Local Gun Show: 18. Clip on AK Night Sight(low light)..............................................used...............5.00 <edit...later added custom fitted Bulgarian RSB and 1000m sight leaf> From AK Files Forum member Hotbarrel: 19. Custom U.S. made S-12 Gas piston...........................................new............15.00 < edit...found out later that the gas piston is actually the loose part in the gas block and bought a US made one form Tromix > From Saiga 12 member Finn Saiga (Marko): 20. Saiga 12 8 Round Magazine......................................................new.............85 .00 <the 8 rdr is awesome but the new ten rdrs from AGP are the shiznit!...THANKS KEVIN!> From Ace Hardware: 21. Black 3/16" nylon hole plugs(4).................................................new..............2.00 Custom Made by myself: 22. "Skelector" Stop Plate........................................................................... .......Sweet 23. Rear Ghost Ring Sight with Flip Up Adjustable U Notch................................Sweet 24. BBQ Paint Bare Metal and Touch Up scratches and welds with Permanent Marker 25. Mag floorplates Custom work by Saiga 12 member pistonring8: 26. Beadblasted Bolt Carrier and I polished it...................................................Sweet Still in the works: 26. Flash Supressor from FSU (rusmilitary.com) <edit...Upgraded to a custom made AK-74 style brake (THE FIRST ONE) designed by Tony Rumore at Tromix with my help> Parts to convert my Saiga 12 sporter shotgun to a custom AKS-12 assault shotgun ..........................Total Cost (so far)...........$877.00 Having the FIRST Saiga 12 to be converted true AK style with all Wood Furniture and to be able to say it was designed and custom built by myself........................................ PRICELESS!! Edited December 2, 2009 by Cobra 76 two Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shotgunman 0 Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 dude that rocks and so does your slayer shirt got to see them at ozzfest 2004 Im 36 and still got in the mosh pit Quote Link to post Share on other sites
McUZI 1 Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 This is just a great post. I'm actually cutting up one of my NIB "stashed away" Saigas to make a CobraClone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AK-treO8 0 Posted July 10, 2005 Report Share Posted July 10, 2005 Hat's off Cobra!! Awesome post, well documented process, and the end product...WOW! Nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted July 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2005 Thanks guys that post really shows my addiction LOL! McUzi i'm still waiting... AK-tre08 Thanks for reminding me man I need to go back and add some decent pics of the finished product at the end. I love that avatar dude! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stokstad 4 Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 This is a very infomative post. I was wondering how is the JB weld holding up? I'm sure youve shot a few hundred times by now I was just curious. I think I am going to do something similar to your except I'm keeping it evil with black furniture. Do you have contact with piston anymore? He fell off the face of the earth I think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted July 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 The JB is still holding strong and I have heated it up good on a few occasions. It's upposed to be good up to 600 degrees F. If my handguards ever start smoking I guess I'll know to give her a break and go to my backup evil black S-12. The US made gas piston is also working perfectly. The only thing I would suggest anyone do differently than what I layed out in the tutorial is have a plan for the sights. Either use optics or get a front and rear sight that's tall enough to get over the upper HG. The rear sight I made works great but the front one I ordered from rusmilitary is designed for use with the factory rear sight and is not tall enough. I'm working on making my own front one out of a cut down AK sight. They are 1/2" taller and also look more correctly proportioned with the large barrel. From pics I've seen of the Krebs front sight it looks like it's taller than the rusmilitary one. Maybe I can get someone to measure their's and see. I don't know what happened to pistonring. I think the last time I saw him post was back in may when he showed off his new hairdoo or undoo I guess I should say. I wish he would come back around. He was fun. I'll send him an email and razz him a little. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted July 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 One more thing I should mention is the gas tube butchering process. That was a real pain in the ass getting the rear retainer off the AK gas tube with all that drilling and prying. Next time I'm going to try just cutting it straight through the tube and then use a dremel and grinding drum to grind away the inside of the tube till I get to the retainer sleeve. Then just cut it down the middle of the bottom and spread it like before. Still it would be a good idea to drill some holes in the sleeve for the JB weld to seep through and hold better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tomovich 0 Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 Nice job on documenting AND converting. Well done! Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GunsmithCat 0 Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 That conversion is inspiring, literally. I now have a hardon for getting an S12 and doing the same thing. You think an inletting tool from brownells would help with hogging out the lower handguard. Hogging out the lower handguard seems to me to be one of the tougher parts of the project, I work with metal more than I do wood generally. Keep the conversions coming, I'm sure we'd all love to see more pictures of your projects. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted February 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 Hey thanks guys! Hogging out the HG is not too bad with a dremel and some sharp chisels. It is easier however with a laminated HG because you can take off layers from the inside until it's perfect. Here's my S-20 I did pretty much the same way with Russian laminate furniture. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AMD S-20 0 Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Nice job Cobra 76 two. I know that took alot of time to fab. Nice looking piece. AMD out Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lekss 0 Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 It has perfectly turned out!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted June 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 Updated picture (need to take a better one) with new sights, laser, cleaning rod, and 74' brake 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunboy69 50 Posted June 3, 2006 Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 You should be proud of that one! Beautiful! How do you like the laser? I was thinking of buying one. Does the pressure switch come off? I kinda like a streamline look without a cord. Great job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted June 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 Thanks It turned out just like I wanted it. No it appears that the wire on the laser is not removable. The wire is short though and the pressure switch fits perfectly in the vent slots between the HGs. I drilled a 1/4" hole through the FSB for it to shine through 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eupfhoria 0 Posted August 26, 2006 Report Share Posted August 26, 2006 Wow, that is a beautiful firearm! I dont know what else to say, except maybe; how much for one of my own? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beerslurpy 1 Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 I like that vented upper half. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
badman400 3 Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Cobra, I just got my first Saiga 12 today (early Christmas gift from my wife). Fantastic conversion. Heartening to know what can be made of these weapons with a little tender loving care and ingenuity. Rock on! Great job! Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
turrican 3 Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 In a word, BITCHIN! Best conversion ever in my opinion and extra points for doing it yourself. Gotta love that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvin42 2 Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 What brand/ model laser site did you use to bolt onto your barrel Cobra? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted March 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 Thanks again for all the compliments guys! It was a learning experience for lots of folks besides me. WOW over 17,000 views to date... Turrican I still have that .223 I bought from ya...love it! Marvin don't bother with one of those cheapo lasers like the one I destroyed on there ...lol! Get the Korsak if you want the best one for the gun. It's pictured in the last photo. Damn I need to take some better pics... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texlurch 0 Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 I am not familiar with the shotties but was talking to an FFL friend and he is thinking about getting one to convert. I am trying to see the stock sights; is it just a bead setup like a standard shotgun? What about using G3 sights for a better aim point? They are working fine on my 308 so it is just a thought on the 12 gauge...? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted June 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 It came with the adjustable vent rib sights like on today's IZ-108 I believe. G-3 sights are ok if that's what you like but I went to a lot of extra trouble on this project to have classic AK-74 sights. I'm very happy with it now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BM454 0 Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 I'm new here and just skimmed through this post and will come back when I've got the time to check out all the detail. Great forum!! Cobra,thats some impressive craftsmanship! Perfect pics with the dogwoods in bloom in the background! Are you a native Tarheel? My Grandad was last Capt. of BB-55 FIRST AT BETHEL FARTHEST TO THE FRONT AT GETTYSBURG AND CHICKAMAUGA LAST AT APPOMATTOX 45th NCT Guilford Light INF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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