Splat 28 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 So I thought I would document the conversion on my SA-12. Bought it a couple weeks ago and took it to the range once...fired about 100 rounds of Steer #8 Lawman ammo with no FTF or FTE issues....so I hope she runs the same way after the conversion! Greg at CSS sent me my kit, went with the Tapaco T6 stock and Houge upgraded handgrip in OD green. Wish me luck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skitterfish 10 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Off to a good start, I love the Houge grip on mine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Yeah I love the feel of the Houge, can't wait to get it on. So here is the stock removed and the main spring legs tied up with a yellow zip tie. Next step is to do some drilling on the trigger guard rivits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
datrowl 111 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 welcome to the addiction LOL... not sure you ever really get done with one... just get to a point where its " close " and buy a new gun to distract you... bout half way thru kitting out a draco now, and have parts ordered for a PSL to tinker with... enjoy Boss, the conversion to me at least was half the fun! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I haven't worked out in the shop in a long time and this is actually pretty easy so far...lol. Knock on wood. I got all the guts out and drilled out the old rivits holding the old trigger guard on... Put some touch up paint inside the reciever so the bare metal that I accidently ground down to won't be prone to corrosion and then I'll get onto the next step. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gpqueen 545 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 It is a great project and even more fun to shoot when you are finished making it your own. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skitterfish 10 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I did my conversion by lantern lite and it came out fantastic! Can't imagine having a well lit and stocked shop, probably will take you two hours or less. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 It is a great project and even more fun to shoot when you are finished making it your own. Greg your stuff is awesome and I've been following your video tutorial the whole time. Just assembled the trigger group and put the spring on the new hammer...ready for the final push. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 New fire control group installed....pfwwwww! This was not fun, that damn hold back spring kicked my ass!!!! I also had to grind down my fire sector switch quite a bit to get it to pass by the hold back switch plate....grrrrr. It all works though, trigger fires on FIRE and doesn't fall on SAFE...so that is a good thing right? Time to add the new stock and the trigger guard. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 TAAAAADAAAAAA!!! Okay so the hardest things about this....putting the holdback switch sping in and getting it to stay there. Figuring out how to put the dame trigger pin retention spring in, and that Houge grip don't exactly just jump onto the gun...I had to do some surgery to get it on and used a different screw I had laying around. Now the question is will she fire with no issues and stay together next trip to the range??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Okay guys, I've noticed something that is bugging me since my converstion... I've been cycling the gun by hand trying to break things in again and I've noticed that both my pins, one in the trigger and the other in the hammer, are backing themselves out. I don't know if I have my pin retaining sping in right? I have it so the long rounded end is under the main springs of the hammer and the shorter side is up under the bolt guide rails. Is this correct? What keeps the pin on the hammer from backing out? The tenstion from the main springs? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmzzl 146 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Okay guys, I've noticed something that is bugging me since my converstion... I've been cycling the gun by hand trying to break things in again and I've noticed that both my pins, one in the trigger and the other in the hammer, are backing themselves out. I don't know if I have my pin retaining sping in right? I have it so the long rounded end is under the main springs of the hammer and the shorter side is up under the bolt guide rails. Is this correct? What keeps the pin on the hammer from backing out? The tenstion from the main springs? The retaining plate or spring keeps the hammer and trigger axis pins from backing out. Show us a pic of your spring/plate on the inside of your gun. Plates are the easiest way to go, it's what I use. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmzzl 146 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Also, I'm gonna tell you right now to not be discouraged if your gun doesn't cycle low brass right off the bat. There's more than enough information on this forum to get you through your troubles. More than likely, you'll have to polish the internals, or get someone like Pauly to do them for you. There's also parts like the CSS reliability kit, MD Arms booster puck, and after market gas plugs out there that may solve the problem. Report back to us with your results, and DO NOT fire the gun until you know for certain that all the parts are installed correctly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 I've been doing a lot of reading and finally realized that this spring is called a "shepards hook"? I'll take a picture and show you how it's installed...it seems to be installed correctly because it snapped into the groove of the pin on the left hand side... And I am sure there will be some "post converson growing pains" when I go and shoot again...it cycled just fine stock so we'll see what happens afterwards. I did polish some of the new internals when I had it apart so we'll see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) Okay here is the pic, is the shepards hook installed properly? Where is is suppost to rest on the hammer after it is installed? It seems to hold the trigger pin fine because it's snapped into that groove but the foward pin for the hammer I have no idea...it will pop out if you push on it from the right side. Edited June 25, 2011 by Splat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmzzl 146 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) Okay here is the pic, is the shepards hook installed properly? Where is is suppost to rest on the hammer after it is installed? It seems to hold the trigger pin fine because it's snapped into that groove but the foward pin for the hammer I have no idea...it will pop out if you push on it from the right side. Yup, it's wrong. You just have it upside down. It does go on the trigger axis pin, with the short part on bottom, and the long part on top. The long part of the spring will go UNDER the hammer axis pin. You may have to get a screwdriver, push down on the long end, and push the hammer axis pin over the top of the spring. It should fit in the small groove on the underside of the hammer axis pin. When all else fails, check out the CSS vids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yek8AfLlu-s&feature=player_detailpage#t=290s Skip to 4:50. Edited June 25, 2011 by angrychair Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 I used that whole video when I was building her back up, guess I totally spaced that part....lol. Thanks!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Yup she is all secure now, pins don't even so much as budge...looking forward to the range now! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmzzl 146 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 You're welcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 What happened to the hammer? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) New fire control group installed....pfwwwww! This was not fun, that damn hold back spring kicked my ass!!!! I also had to grind down my fire sector switch quite a bit to get it to pass by the hold back switch plate....grrrrr. It all works though, trigger fires on FIRE and doesn't fall on SAFE...so that is a good thing right? Time to add the new stock and the trigger guard. Did you grind the hammer? I would like to see a pic from the right side of it resting against the tail of the bolt. As for the red highlighted quote, try this next time.... Edited June 25, 2011 by evlblkwpnz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fromxtor 20 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 ^^ I believe he's referring to the safety selector, the video tells you to grind the part farthest from the switch. I did this also with a grinding wheel, took a 60 seconds to grind it down, went in like a champ. Only problem I had was the BHO spring, it was being a little beyotch. Mine looks pretty close to yours, congrats to you and Greg. Another S12 converted thanks to CSS. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 ^^ I believe he's referring to the safety selector, the video tells you to grind the part farthest from the switch. I did this also with a grinding wheel, took a 60 seconds to grind it down, went in like a champ. Only problem I had was the BHO spring, it was being a little beyotch. Mine looks pretty close to yours, congrats to you and Greg. Another S12 converted thanks to CSS. In that first question, I was referring to the pic, not the red highlighted statement. Sorry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 I did a little work to the hammer and ground down the sharp edges to make it more smooth. The pic makes it look like the whole thing is polished, lol. Fromx yours looks like it could be a twin sister...lol. Nice. What add on did you put on the bolt? Welded or screw on? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fromxtor 20 Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Screw on: http://store.carolinashooterssupply.com/servlet/-strse-266/Tromix-Saiga-Ak47-extended/Detail Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splat 28 Posted June 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Nice...adding it to my list, Greg is going to be getting alot of business from me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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