birdman2scuba 0 Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Still in progress,need to touch up wood and metal.Waiting on front and rear sights from across the pond still. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shep 0 Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Nice! I like the shape of the lower handguard. Shep Quote Link to post Share on other sites
300RUM 0 Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Man that is good looking handguards!! How involved was the retrofit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
birdman2scuba 0 Posted May 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Have pics on Saiga 20 showing retainers for handguards.Lower handguard on S12 required a lot more fitting than 20.Gas block must be removed to install retainers.Will try and get better pics and post on Sat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
6500rpm 670 Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 birdman2scuba, pictures of the retainers and a brief discription on what you did to install them would be good (also, what the retainers came from would be useful). I've been looking at a variety of different handguards to install on my project, each has it's own set of unique problems. Also what you used to mount the retainers to the gas tube and barrel (JB Weld, Silver solder, Mig, Tig, or spot welded?) Last, can you remove the wood to change to a different AK style if you wanted to. Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
birdman2scuba 0 Posted May 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 (edited) Mark enclosed are some pics of retainers used.I used the wood from a RPK,it uses a larger diameter barrel than all other ak's making it easier to use on S12.Standard gas tube was used for upper retainers,OD of both Saiga and ak are the same.Rear upper was hardest to remove,held in place by 6-7 spot welds.My best drill bits were of no help so I used a pointed carbide dremel bit to drill out welds.This same bit works great on spot weld on trigger plate when converting to pistol grip.On front upper,cut through retainer and gas tube after spot welds.You can then tap it off gas tube.Straighten flutes from retainer so it is round.I used a 1/2"drive 1/2" 12 point socket as a tool to form it on.Align and mark both pieces and spot weld/JB weld to Saiga gas tube.Lower retainer is for the RPK,it is the one on upper left in pic with gas tube.Standard lower retainer on rt,it is not big enough to bore out to fit barrel.I did use one on S20 and it worked great.You must cut off front of retainer that would fit around barrel and grind smooth.Upper lt. in pics has been modified.To bore hole in lower retainer a 1/2 to 1" tapered reamer in drill press was used.Some trimming and fitting was required on lower handguard to fit receiver and for front retainer to fit behind gas block.I did not weld lower retainer to gas block.Lower retainer is much larger and I don't think standard ak handguards would look right with that retainer.The parts came from a few places,KVAR has gas tubes for 16.99,standard lower retainer for 14.99 and RPK 34.99.I got the wood from a friend that does gun shows for 30.00 and used gas tubes for 7.00.I hope the pics help,let me know if you have any other questions. John Edited May 7, 2005 by birdman2scuba Quote Link to post Share on other sites
birdman2scuba 0 Posted May 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 (edited) Received front sight but rear sight was out of stock,in the process of making rear sight from a Yugo night sight.Picked up Russian sling at fun show last weekend so its just about done. Edited May 22, 2005 by birdman2scuba Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 VERY NICE Quote Link to post Share on other sites
6500rpm 670 Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 (edited) Man, that turned out nice. Thanks for the close ups, helped me out a lot with my project putting an AK 74 front grip (black plastic) on. Mine required MIG welding the cleaning rod hole and a small section at the top closed on the lower handguard bracket due to the size of the larger barrel, but I used a standard Romanian AK gas tube and lower bracket. Hey, look at it this way...now you can honestly say you've got wood 24/7. I'm also a fan of the skeleton style folder. I ended up modding a Galil folder and putting an ACE 1" recoil pad on it. Make sure you post if you get a handle on the rear sight install, I'm trying to decide on going with a traditional AK set up, or a Galil style with the tritium flip ups. That's the great thing about these 12's-plenty of room for moddin the looks without effecting performance in a bad way. Hopefully more board members will come up with some creative add on's..............Cobras posts had some good stuff too. Edited May 23, 2005 by 6500rpm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 And the wood club grows! Damn that's funnt. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pistonring8 1 Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 And the wood club grows! Damn that's funnt. Can't say I blame them. Converting the S12 to wood handguards is the best looking thing I've seen done to them. I would be part of the wood club too if I had an S12. Nice job, looks great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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