Modified AK lower handguard broke during installation

[Eleutheros 0]

Today a friend and I tried to press my modified AK-47 lower handguard bracket onto my Saiga 7.62x39 barrel, using the heavy-duty vise in his shop. I purchased the Russian-made bracket from K-Var (AK-338R) and in preparation we had cut and dremeled it, using as a reference photos of Classy Kalashnikov's modified bracket. On the upper flanges' inner surface I had removed enough metal so that the gap was a couple of threads wider than in those photos, providing more clearance to lessen the tension.

 

For protection the bracket and barrel were sandwiched between blocks of wood within the vise, and the bracket was positioned below the grooves just forward of the wider notched area of the barrel (this Saiga has the military barrel). Grease was applied to the barrel and to the bracket's flanges.

 

During initial efforts to press it on the barrel, the bracket tilted forward out of position, so a steel tool was inserted between the wood and the bracket's front collar to keep the bracket in position.

 

As the bracket was being gently pressed against the barrel, the bracket's right flange sheared off straight along the lower edge of the inner raised portion that fits into the barrel's groove. The location of the horizontal break was below 9 o'clock if viewed from the front, or below 3 o'clock from the rear.

 

Apparently the steel of my bracket was too brittle; instead of bending under the vise's pressure, it snapped in an unmodified area.

 

To visualize for myself what might have been, currently I have the lower bracket and lower handguard temporarily in place, minus the upper-right piece of bracket that broke off. Perhaps I could JB Weld to the two bracket pieces an outer steel band or collar, retained by the screw?

 

I have another AK bracket that I could modify, but it was a lot of work to modify the first one and despite all precautionary measures it broke. Any suggestions on how to salvage the original bracket?

[Eleutheros 0]

My statement of the topic is inaccurate. I should have said "Modified AK lower handguard retainer broke during installation" -- the retainer, not the handguard itself. Moderators, please correct my mistake.