HighPlainsDrifter 466 Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) Help me think this through before I unnecessarily start marking up the gun. What's the procedure for removing this particular front site? I have found two fasteners. The first photo shows what looks to be an standard screw located at the base of the site. I believe it's this screw that holds the site to the barrel. Unfortunately I don't know how to get to it. My thought Is I first have to remove the site pin, then use a small screwdriver and go "top down" to get to the "base" screw. But I can't figure out how to remove the site pin to make this work. As we see in the 2nd photo there is an allen screw on the underside of the site pin. My thought is the site pin can either be turned out or it has to have the allen screw removed first. This can't be complicated. Are there special tools needed or am I now over thinking this process? Any help is appreciated... Edited February 2, 2013 by HighPlainsDrifter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
red_cedar 28 Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 You need a sight removal/ adjustment tool or even a locking needle nose pliers type tool to remove the sight post. Then you will be able to remove the lower screw, which is a set screw to hepl keep the sight from moving. I imagine the allen should just come out Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mullet Man 2,114 Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 yep, looks like you will need an AK front sight tool. Remove sight post, press out sight post barrel or drum and you should be able to access it at that point. I would recommend getting the Magnamatic "AKFST", some of the AK front sight drums/barrels can be a real stubborn bitch to move. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HighPlainsDrifter 466 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) Thanks again to the both of you! Red_Cedar: I will fill you in on what I'm doing. I ordered Legion's Iz-477 with the magwell and the dragunov stock. I also have that Legion Iz-412NM that has the factory hand guards in sporter configuration. My plan is to swap out the dragunov stock on the 477 with the AK hand guards off the 412. In the end my build will have the magwell and ak hand guard set up. The other build I haven't decided what I'm doing with it. Mullet Man: I have been waiting for you to post a pic in the "so what do we look like" thread. http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/topic/12574-so-what-do-we-look-like/ How long do you let that grow? This is what I envision... Edited February 2, 2013 by HighPlainsDrifter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mullet Man 2,114 Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 I did reply in that thread, a couple years ago. You just have to search for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HighPlainsDrifter 466 Posted February 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 You need a sight removal/ adjustment tool or even a locking needle nose pliers type tool to remove the sight post. Then you will be able to remove the lower screw, which is a set screw to hepl keep the sight from moving. I imagine the allen should just come out yep, looks like you will need an AK front sight tool. Remove sight post, press out sight post barrel or drum and you should be able to access it at that point. I would recommend getting the Magnamatic "AKFST", some of the AK front sight drums/barrels can be a real stubborn bitch to move. Update: I ordered the AKFST and found it to be a helpful tool for the job. After removal of the sight post I could access the set screw without having to remove the drum. Indeed the job could have been done with a cheap pair of needle nose pliers but I think I'll find this tool invaluable in the future. After removal of the set screw the front site is still tight to the barrel. I am contemplating pressing it off with the same method I read in a pinned post about pressing off the gas block using shelf brackets wrapped in duct tape for protection. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rustler07 0 Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Did that work for you? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HighPlainsDrifter 466 Posted May 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 No it did not work. I heated it up with a heat gun and used a brass punch with a 10lb hammer. The FSB is so damn tight (or stuck) I determined the only way it will come off is with a hydraulic press which I don't have access too. If someone has any other ideas I'm all ears. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dubya 198 Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Sight tool is like $8 bucks on Amazon, you should get one anyway! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HighPlainsDrifter 466 Posted May 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Sight tool is like $8 bucks on Amazon, you should get one anyway! Yeah I purchased the AKFST. I agree, I've used it a few times on mine and a buddies build. I think I spend $30. Did you know that the standard kit that comes with your s-12 has doubles as a FST as well? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tommyid1 9 Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Where r u located. If your in my area I could press it off for you. I'm in Bay Area caliornia. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dubya 198 Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Sight tool is like $8 bucks on Amazon, you should get one anyway! Yeah I purchased the AKFST. I agree, I've used it a few times on mine and a buddies build. I think I spend $30. Did you know that the standard kit that comes with your s-12 has doubles as a FST as well? Me too. I've helped my brother sight his sites in too. Yeah I actually seen that on a video a long time ago but forgot about it till now! The sight pusher on the one I bought is nice though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rustler07 0 Posted June 9, 2013 Report Share Posted June 9, 2013 I ended up taking my gun to have someone look at it and he said its got some kind of epoxy on it. He gave me 2 options he would try to heat it off or cut it off, but he warned me that he did not like the finish on the barrel and was worried that the heat may cause the finish to crack and flake off, so it ended up being cut off. There was quite a lot of glue that was holding the sight in place. Even after cutting it he had to really convince the sight that it wanted to come off. There was a good amount of epoxy left on the barrel and its hard as a rock. Ended up sanding some of it down so I could put on a replacement front sight. Really wanted to keep the original sight, but the way it was mounted I figured it was the only way I could go. So I am now done cutting up the rail that will replace the original fore grip and doing some final paint work and she should be all done. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HighPlainsDrifter 466 Posted June 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2013 I ended up taking my gun to have someone look at it and he said its got some kind of epoxy on it. He gave me 2 options he would try to heat it off or cut it off, but he warned me that he did not like the finish on the barrel and was worried that the heat may cause the finish to crack and flake off, so it ended up being cut off. There was quite a lot of glue that was holding the sight in place. Even after cutting it he had to really convince the sight that it wanted to come off. There was a good amount of epoxy left on the barrel and its hard as a rock. Ended up sanding some of it down so I could put on a replacement front sight. Really wanted to keep the original sight, but the way it was mounted I figured it was the only way I could go. So I am now done cutting up the rail that will replace the original fore grip and doing some final paint work and she should be all done. Thanks for the post, it confirms why I was having one helluva time. What sight are you replacing it with? I'm also interested in seeing what you did to fit on a rail. Pics if possible... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rustler07 0 Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 (edited) Well I found this sight and decided to try it out. http://store.carolinashooterssupply.com/servlet/-strse-921/CSS-TACTICAL-SAIGA-12/Detail So I have a saiga model IZ-412nm I went looking for a rail system for this gun and found that there are no rail systems that I could find that will fit this gun since the rear sight block wraps around the barrel. I decided to try my luck and see if I could make one fit. I bought the MTU002 rail model by UTG. Now I knew from the start that I would not be able to use the upper part of the rail because of the way the gas tube is setup on this gun. It was time to break out the dremel and see what kinda mess I could make. The original fore grip has a small tab of plastic the fits into the receiver which holds the back part of the grip in place and then there is the screw that secures the front piece to the gun. The MTU does not have this tab so I got a piece of ABS plastic and milled it down so it would fit in the lower section of the rail. Now that I have the plastic seated well I drilled and pinned the piece into place and started to work on grinding down the rail so it will fit the barrel. I ended up cutting the upper section of the lower rail leaving only a small section remaining. I had to do this because this part of the rail would hit the gas tube. I had to now thin the walls of the rail down. Once I got the sides of the rail ground down I then cut out sections of the lower sides to allow the rear sight band to fit You can see the upper section has been ground away quite a bit compared to the rail section just below it. After I got the fit I wanted I painted it up and put it back together. This is what it looks like all back together again. Its nice and solid and I am quite happy with the way it looks. Now just need a day off of work to run a few rounds through it to see how it handles. Edited June 12, 2013 by Rustler07 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rustler07 0 Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Sorry about the bad pics on the post I fixed them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HighPlainsDrifter 466 Posted June 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Thanks for posting! That's some good info right there. My neighbor bought the same rail and was so disappointed when he found out it wouldn't work on his legion build. I'll have to show him what you did. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rustler07 0 Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 (edited) Okay so I took out the new setup to see how it felt and all seemed well the first run which I would have to say I felt good about the work I did. But of course there always has to be some kind of issue that presents itself. After the second outing I noticed that there was a little slop in the fore grip. So I took it apart and found that the bolt/screw that secures the fore grip to the gas block was bent into a S-shape. So I replaced the screw and inserted a spacer between the fore grip and barrel to see the would lock it down and keep the fore grip from bending the screw and the answer to that would be a big nope. The new screw was bent just as bad as the first. This time though I noticed that the ABS plastic piece I made had cracked at the first pin that holds it in the rail. So now I am not sure if the ABS broke first and allowed the fore grip to move and that was the original reason the mounting screw bent or if the screw bent and that caused the ABS to break. So back to the drawing board as the saying goes. Thinking of using the idea that the original fore grip used with the u shaped wedge. It screwed to the gas block to create tension on the fore grip to push it back into the receiver so the screw is not the only thing holding the fore grip in place. Any thoughts you may have would be great. Edited July 8, 2013 by Rustler07 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.