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My Conversion Experience


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No, not the religious kind - the Saiga kind. I started out with a .223 with the Tapco T6 quasi-conversion. Since Christmas is the time of year you hit people up for stuff you probably wouldnt buy on your own, I got the cheap Tapco full conversion from Carolina Shooters Supply.

 

I learned several things. It's easier than I was expecting. The most difficult part were those damn rivets from the trigger plate. I learned, though, that drilling them out from behind with a drill press is much more efficient than grinding them from the trigger guard side. Make sure you have a good center punch to start your drilling. One of the problems I ran into was my lack of a center punch. The rivet I. The rear that you can drill from through the stock hole in the tang was no problem. When the head breaks, you know when to stop. The rivet in the front was more difficult because I started off center and I stopped, worried I was going to drill the hole out and end up with a hole that looks more like an "8".

 

I learned that a $50, two-speed, cordless Dremel with the basic attachments that come with it is overrated, underpowered, has too little charge in the battery, and is overmatched by Soviet steel rivets. I started out trying to grind all three rivets, bit there is just too little power and not enough charge to do this quickly. I would grind for about 5 minutes then need to recharge for 20-30 minutes. Once I finally got one rivet ground flush, I had little luck getting it out. Again, having a proper punch would have been nice. Hence I ended up at the drill press drilling them out from behind (I always did like drilling it from behind). Much easier and much quicker! Wasted a $50 gift card on a Dremel. I did find out though that Lowes sells a contraption/attachment which turns your Dremel into a small drill press. Just make sure you get a stronger motor and better grind stones if you go the Dremel route.

 

I used the cheapest paint I came to. Colorline or something from Napa. Went there intending to get hi temp engine paint, but figured I will likely never shoot more than 5 or 10 rounds quick enough to create massive heat. We'll see how that works. End day 1 (damn those rivets!).

 

Day 2 went much easier. I assembled the trigger and hammer and got them set in place with little issue. I did not reinstall the BHO cause there is a low likelihood I could figure it out and not expose the children in the room to language unbecoming a good father. I'm not 100% convinced I have the retaining plate in correctly, but I guess find out once I shoot it a while. Installing the trigger guard was tricky because there is little room to get my pliers in the trigger guard to tighten the bolts (proper tools = correct size wrench + a proper hex key).

 

Once again I come to a situation where the proper tools are very helpful. When Installing the pistol grip, it is very helpful to have a deep well socket and rachet set (10mm I think - I dunno I had to get a buddy with the proper tools). The very last thing was putting the stock on - easy enough right? Not if you dont have the stock fully seated and don't realize it until after all the screws are in place and tightened. I'm gonna have to leave it, though, because there is not enough real-estate between the bad holes and where the new holes should be for it to be sturdy.

 

Whew! So in review - get all the proper tools together before hand - drill press or a steady hand with a hand held drill to drill the rivets out from behind, a "better" Dremel and attachments if you go that route, appropriate sized deep well socket or a socket extension, wrench, hex key (preferably one with a "T"'handle).

 

I also changed out the rear sight for a Krebs. I used the drill press to remove that, too.

 

The guides I used the most were the videos on Carolina shooters supply web site and Stu's Olsens jeep siteStu Olsens Jeep Site.

 

The pics are crappy.

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Where I screwed up the stock. How can I fix that?

 

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Well, nothing you can really do with the stock, unless you go out and get a new one. I'm sure the way it is for you now it'll be functional, it'll just be a pain in the ass to look at over and over. Good job on the rest of your conversion! :)

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The easiest and quickest way to fix the stock is a cosmetic cover up. Tape it off and apply a bead of black RTV found at any Auto parts store. Smooth with either saliva (cheapest) or a little GoJo hand cleaner. No one will be able to tell once its done. Total prep & fix time in about 5 easy minutes.

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Just wait, you'll wanna do another one pretty darn quick. Thus begins the sickness!

Yeah, I'm already scheming. Looking a 7.62 in the next month or so, but will probably be next Christmas for the conversion. I'm excited about it now that I know it was pretty easy.

 

Here is where I am on my .223. I took one of the screws from the old Tapco quasi convert stock and tried to put it in the bottom hole. The instructions of the new Tapco didn't mention the bottom hole, nor did it provide a third screw for the bottom hole. Well, seeing how I already had the pistol grip attached, tightened, loctited, and I didn't have the PROPER TOOLS to remove and reattach the grip, I tried to get the screw in as best as I could. It didn't work out too well cause I couldn't get the drill bit for the pilot hole in at a straight down angle because of the pistol grip. I got it in as best as I could - crooked and not flush. In the end, I'm still happy with it because it was something I accomplished, was my first one, I learned a lot, and I feel I have a little more stability with that 3rd screw in as much as I did.

 

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Could I grind that screw off and fill the "hole". I really want to keep that screw in for extra hold. I really have a great lack of confidence in my ability to have those top two screws in correctly and securely, especially since I lack ability to get the stock in there flush to begin with.

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AK's only have two top screws and none on the bottom. They will hold your stock securely, or if you want install bigger screws. Standard wood AK screws will work well.

 

Call Tapco and explain you need a new tube. They sold me a couple for dirt cheap.

Edited by Jetmech
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