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Making AK hanguard retainer Saiga compatable


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I swear Ive seen this before, maybe on klassykalashnikov post. Where you can modify a normal, dime a dozen ak handguard retainer, to work with a saiga rifle. I would assume you would have to cut the top, then drill, then thread one side and stick a bolt in there, or just use a nut. This would save me a couple bucks and seems rather easy.

 

Can someone either let me know how its done, or give a link to the post dealing with this. Ill bet if theres a decent way to do this, theres alot of guys who would like to know. Being as the saiga handguard retainer is pretty expensive for what it is.

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Do you mean an AK trigger guard? If so, than yes you can. there is a post in here on doing a conversion with an AK trigger guard by cobra I believe. I will see if I can link you to it.

Here is a saiga 12c conversion by Skott that uses a standard AK trigger guard, and pistol grip retaining plate as part of his conversion.

 

http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/topic/21197-skotts-saiga-12-c-conversion/page__hl__skott

Edited by xacex
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Yes, I have seen it done.Just as you suspected with a nut and bolt. I believe I seen it here on this forum some time ago.They cut the top out and used a nut and bolt in place of the crimped latch.

 

 

Thats what I thought, mike. I am still tossing around the idea of using an ak handguard and 30-50 dollars for a retainer is not an option. That makes just getting an sgm made for a saiga about the same price. Thanks for the affirmation, Ill pick up a couple and see what needs done, AK retainers are cheap.

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I wish I had taken pictures when I did mine.

 

I drilled out just a little of the peaned side of the locking lever and punched it out.

 

Then used a cutoff wheel to remove most of the metal block at the top, so there are only two thin tabs--one on either side--where the locking lever goes through.

 

Use the cutoff wheel to cut two channels on either side so the tabs can be bent outwards to allow clearance over the barrel.

 

Bent the tabs all the way out. Bang retainer over the barrel.

 

Reinstall locking lever by pounding the peened side on an anvil then re-inserting and peening it over again. I used a broken punch for this.

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I wish I had taken pictures when I did mine.

 

I drilled out just a little of the peaned side of the locking lever and punched it out.

 

Then used a cutoff wheel to remove most of the metal block at the top, so there are only two thin tabs--one on either side--where the locking lever goes through.

 

Use the cutoff wheel to cut two channels on either side so the tabs can be bent outwards to allow clearance over the barrel.

 

Bent the tabs all the way out. Bang retainer over the barrel.

 

Reinstall locking lever by pounding the peened side on an anvil then re-inserting and peening it over again. I used a broken punch for this.

 

 

Very nice, no need for a bolt to go thru, you may be a genius. Ill just have to see how it works.

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Here's a crappy cell phone pic of the finished product.

 

I will probably opt to go this route a second time, rather than press off the various blocks and do a full conversion. Functionally it works great. It passes for the real thing unless you look closely, the slots on either side to allow for barrel clearance aren't nearly as noticeable as the photo suggests.

 

modified_hg_retainer.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

If I do it again, I'll document. Coulda sworn there was a post with pics somewhere around here already, one of the S-12 members was the original supplier of bolt-on retainers to CSS a while back. That's where I got the idea. The only thing I did different was use the original pin rather than a bolt.

 

The new bolt-on versions are actually pretty nice, much cleaner looking than the original hacked "real" ones. I really can't say it's worth the effort to make your own, but sometimes just cuz you can is reason enough.

Edited by rob-cubed
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If I do it again, I'll document. Coulda sworn there was a post with pics somewhere around here already, one of the S-12 members was the original supplier of bolt-on retainers to CSS a while back. That's where I got the idea. The only thing I did different was use the original pin rather than a bolt.

 

The new bolt-on versions are actually pretty nice, much cleaner looking than the original hacked "real" ones. I really can't say it's worth the effort to make your own, but sometimes just cuz you can is reason enough.

 

Did you grind a barrel groove for the pin, like normal, or did you grind the pin? The pin looks to be ground in the pic.

 

I was also just a little lost with your term "locking lever", as I don't know where that is (other than the gas tube locking lever).

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If I do it again, I'll document. Coulda sworn there was a post with pics somewhere around here already, one of the S-12 members was the original supplier of bolt-on retainers to CSS a while back. That's where I got the idea. The only thing I did different was use the original pin rather than a bolt.

 

The new bolt-on versions are actually pretty nice, much cleaner looking than the original hacked "real" ones. I really can't say it's worth the effort to make your own, but sometimes just cuz you can is reason enough.

 

Did you grind a barrel groove for the pin, like normal, or did you grind the pin? The pin looks to be ground in the pic.

 

I was also just a little lost with your term "locking lever", as I don't know where that is (other than the gas tube locking lever).

 

 

I did some research and I found that there is a lever for the lower hand guard. I was not aware of that.

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