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Saiga 030 top cover rivet measurement


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Hi,

 

I have an saiga 030 clone and I unwittingly had the large top cover rivet smoothed to reduce friction during conversion.  I recently learned that that it supposed to be that way.

 

If anyone could give me the mic measurements or rough measurements of theirs, it would be really appreciated. 

 

I suppose I could put some weld there to build it back up to where it supposed to be.

 

Thanks!

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 it's ok to smooth it out by polishing it but you don't want to remove very much or your LRBHO will be more unreliable. I smoothed and polished the one on my Vepr 12 to .421" and it still serves it's purpose without making the gun so finicky on optic placement, yet is still keeping the carrier from hopping over the BHO. YMMV and all that...

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Thanks Cobra,

 

I had mine smoothed down to almost flush.  I have not had any problems with the last round bolt hold open, but I am worried about stresses being applied to the carrier (mostly where the piston is threaded into the carrier itself) and it eventually cracking.  Currently I have an aimpoint pro mounted into a low ring.

 

So far, the gun has been shooting great with federal bulk pack with izhmash mags and 10rnd vepr mags.

 

I wonder if it is possible to build the rivet back up to spec with a weld and then polishing it to smooth? 

 

Cobra, did you measure the rivet from the bottom of the top cover (ex, just the rivet underneath the cover) or from the top of the rivet to the bottom?

 

Could a weld be strong enough to withstand prolonged shooting?

 

Any other solutions to remedy my problem?

 

Thanks again.

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I was measuring from the top and spanning the hole as in the pic here. After double checking that the caliper was flat across the hole the measurement was actually .429 on mine.

 

post-1293-0-97753800-1413482513_thumb.jpg

 

Welding to add steel would probably be fine as these carriers are extremely hard actually and any wear would be insignificant if it's rounded and polished smooth. I also polish that surface on my bolt carriers to help even more with friction reduction.

 

As far as the wobbly piston, I have Tig welded them directly to the carrier, covering the threads, as well as installing a steel pin through the carrier and the piston as the original AKs were done. The pin is beveled and is peened into a beveled hole on both ends, then sanded and polished flush. 

Pinned and Welded S-12 bolt carrier / piston (op rod). This was a customer's cracked one we repaired and fully tested with slugs and buck among other loads. Been awhile now and he's still quite happy.

 

 

post-1293-0-64968000-1413483833_thumb.jpg

 

post-1293-0-65120000-1413483790_thumb.jpg

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Thanks guys I've been thinking of doing my personal one like that on my Vepr 12 because it is the loosest most wobbly gas piston I've ever seen in a Saiga, Vepr, or any AK. It has well over 1/8" of movement up and down at the end. I decided to just keep on shooting it as a test to see if it will finally crack or cause another problem. If it cracks I can always fix it then. It's getting a full power workout now while getting ready for deer season and fixin' to start killing em after this Sat. 

 Couple of pics sighting scope in on a target shot at 25 yds, and again after 50 & 100 yds using two different kinds of ammo... Remmy Sluggers & Brenneke KO's. She's about ready to put meat on the ground I believe...  wink.png

 

post-1293-0-25192900-1413500870.jpg

 

post-1293-0-98437000-1413500922.jpg

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That's not bad shooting.  Makes me want to put a scope on mine and see what it/I can do.  I was a little weary about how sturdy the top cover would be when shooting slugs, but it looks like it works pretty well!   In IL, we can only use shotguns and handguns to hunt (except for varmints then we could use anything without restriction).  I don't hunt, but seeing your rig is getting me wanting to get out in the field and try my luck!  Good luck hunting this season. 

 

I will try to find a local guy to put a small weld on it for me.  I'll then polish it square and go off your measurements and see what happens.  Thanks for taking the time to post those pictures, I appreciate the time it took.

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Well yeah definitely that would be bad. Ya should have mentioned that before. I thought mine was poly just because it was one of the first ones in. In that case drilling out and replacing it with a normal steel rivet would be the best route unless there's enough thickness left to drill & tap for a cap head screw.

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Should there be caution about heating up that rivet with a polymer rail??

 

The saiga 030 and 040 guns have a metal rail. 

 

Now I don't know if they are steel or aluminum rails though.  Would that matter?

 

If it is Al, I don't want to warp/melt it when placing the weld on the rivet through heat transfer.

Edited by SLR
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Over the years I tried really hard to make sure I owned at least one of every model Saiga they imported here. Until the 030 & 040 came out I did just that with one exception, that fugly .30-06 thing. Then I was on a 1.5 year waiting list for the first real 030's that never made it over here. After I got my refund back from that I invested in one of the first Vepr 12's and decided to make it as much like the 030 I had wanted as I could. Still need to install my poly Izzy folding stock and maybe pick up a railed gas block but I no longer have a need for the magwell S-12s other than to have on hand to study and be able to answer questions. That will always be the black sheep S-12 to me I guess.

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