The Fox 0 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 I am a new guy on the block with a new Saiga 12......had my son bring it to his work place to get the bolt and carrige polished. He works for a medical repair firm that repairs high tech surgical equipment. They did an incredable outstading job bead blasting and polishing the carrier and bolt. Although, the machinist there doing the work mentioned to my son that in his opinion, the quality of the steel was at best very poor. Was wondering, what the life span of these intenal parts are? Anyone have any problems after firing "K" rounds with the bolt or carrier materials ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gregomega 929 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 (edited) Kalashnikovs are known for they're reliability and ability to out last their owners from what ive herd. The only thing I think ive ever seen brake on one is the piston rod. It was actually bent, not broken. I cant seem to find the pic. Reguardless Tom Cole at CGW Has a big'ol fatty piston to replace those. Other than that I think you can run them over with a truck and they'll still kick some ass. Piston Can't find the video at the moment Edited May 3, 2011 by AZG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Battosaii 99 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 russians use their own formula in their steel and it actually is a very good steel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The_Caged_Bird 474 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 Um, this is some of the hardest metal that I've ever worked with... And unless you're a Saiga expert, the polishing job really does nothing... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pedal2alloy 206 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 Different metals are good for different things. If you used the surgical stainless steel that he's talking about on a gun bolt, it would shatter. And the Saiga bolt metal wouldn't be best for a surgical tool. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
702Saiga12 6 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 lets see a pic of that polishing job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
schultze13 354 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 Also to note is that the Saiga steel will get worked harden if it is a new gun with low round count the metal will be a little softer than 2500 rounds from now and if it was as strong as sugical steel it would tear up the rails and trunions in the receiver. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csmw 98 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 Any polishing helps to some degree 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Fox 0 Posted May 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I guess what he was saying was that the carrier was a casting rather than a machined part......and not a good casting at that.....but I like this shotty and look foward to shooting it this week....... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kindapointless 22 Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 You should see the video of the Russian testing. They drag them behind a truck in the mud pickem up and shoot them put them back down in the mud run them over and then shoot them again. I think I have around 10000 through mine now but it just keeps getting better. Worn out some mags but nothing on the gun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulyski 2,227 Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 russians use their own formula in their steel and it actually is a very good steel I guess what he was saying was that the carrier was a casting rather than a machined part......and not a good casting at that.....but I like this shotty and look foward to shooting it this week....... The steel is formulated to be somewhat soft, but very tough. I'm sure the machinist had a good ol' time getting all the deep tool marks out of it. I know I sure do. I use many of the same methods as those who repair medical equiptment, so I have an idea of the guy's process. They must get rid of the pours & tool marks so the parts can be cleaned throughly. I do it for friction reduction. As stated above the steel's formulated to work harden. It's also formulated to take shock well. Compression strength is where this steel really comes into play. Other common uses for this steel is in gears for gear drives. That may give you an idea of the intent of the formulation. It's not so much hard as it is tough & strong. The most common area of breakage is at the front of the carrier at the female area that the op-rod screws into. This often stems from overgassing in conjunction with steel inconsistancies from the factory. This is why we remove as much friction & resistance as possible with the profile & polish of GlassBolt to keep the power in the cycle rather than making the puck hit it harder than intended which can lead to issues. It's all about getting the most out of the least amount of gas as possible & placing your weak link in the correct place. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BobAsh 582 Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Not a "casting" the bolt and carrier are machined from forgings. The Russians don't waste any cosmetic operations on these guns. Some people, especially AR guys, will mistake this for a lack of sophistication. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Fox 0 Posted May 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Huh..............then let me ask you why my carrier has w hat appears to be a casting seam in the area between the bolt and the piston......deffinately looks to be a casting.....IMO. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
20nickels 21 Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Does the Tom Cole op rod install like any AK replacement piston? Is there a tutorial here? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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