So here is my glorious Century Arms AK after a fire and 4 years rusting in a scrap heap. A couple folks i know have been watching youtube and gotten into restoration, they are competing with each other to see what is the worst one they can fix. Well i'm gonna give it a try.As far as i can tell the lower and are fine, however all the sheet metal and most of everything else is unsalvageable. The plan is to whenever possible replace the irreparable components with items from a 'Asian parts kit' aka a Type 58. So what is my first step, put in a 5 gallon bucket of water, dump in some Borax and hook up a battery charger?
>>64703234Electrolysis isn't going to unfuck that already dubious cast pot metal. Enjoy the pipe bomb, faggot.
>>64703234Very real chance the heat treatment is irrevocable fucked from the fire, all of it. Run, don't walk.
>>64703248I know right? Don't worry (or be disappointed if you be a hater) it will be test fired via a 50 foot string and a 75rd drum, i'll be sure to film the explosion. >already dubious cast pot metalI's be replacing heat softened East European mystery metal with 1960's Nork parts made out of cardboard, doesn't seem much difference. >>64703249We have access to a kiln and someone who mostly knows how to use it. There were minor traces of bluing left on a few of the guns it was stored with and fragments of the wooden furniture were still recognizable, most of what you see is rust. The lower receiver seems to be fine besides the rust, legally speaking as long as i use that i can replace everything else and i'm not breaking any laws right?
Important note: I have a bet going. If i can get it to fire a full mag (which can be from a bench with a string) without blowing up my friends will buy me a new one, mostly because they are afraid i'll try to actually use it.
>>64703234Just oil that bitch and send it. No use in even fucking with it or waste parts kit pieces trying to fix it, but I bet it'll blast through at least a mag to win this wager.>I've seen worse.
>>64703439I'm digging out a old battery charger and looking for some Borax at this very moment, baking soda works as well right?All that really matters is the lower receiver. If that is useable then worse case scenario i'm using it to put together a Type 58 in which case i've degraded it's quality from its current state.
Any bets on accuracy?I’m going with: 8 moa. No keyholing
>>64703439This guys got a point. If soak it in oil, knock out the rust and put a new gas tube on it just might work.
>>64703467Generous but a little counterboring of the barrel could go a long way
>>64703457Table salt works.
>>64703457>lower receiver>AKIs the recoil spring dead? In general, if the springs aren't softened then the rest of the frame/barrel/cylinder/slide is probably ok. You doing all that other bullshit like trying to take the rust off is retarded and a complete waste of time. Slather it in oil and shoot your one mag and be done with it.
>>64703490I need to unfreeze the action before i can look at the spring, it spent 4 years more or less in the ground so it is good and stuck. They might actually be intact, the first thing i did when i first bought it was replace the main spring with a Wolff semi flat spring and those are pretty damn tough.
>>64703484>>64703467I have a Bosch rotor hammer, i am planning to clean the barrel by using it with a brass rod to force rounds through it.
>>64703532Place on floor, barrel up and step on the charging handle. A little PB blaster or other penetrating oil wouldn't hurt, to help that along.
Nope, springs looks good and fucked. Lower still seems usable as do most of the guts.Dust cover is wreaked but not technically required for function.
>>64703234Dunk it in a bat of vinegar. For like a week.
>>64703596Yeah, don't listen to the Chicken Littles. Heat treat is over rated, just reheat treat it by heating in your oven, and quenching in the sink.
>>64703601
>>64703596Did anything of the trigger group survive or is it rusted solid?
>>64703612???
>>64703467Sight looks just fine, i can sort of make out the numbers.>>64703569Now that the cover is off i might be able to wiggle it loose.Sorry for the quality potato phone pics.
I think that what used to be an AK looks like a much cooler display piece than creating a pipe bomb
>>64703612Oh right, that works. Long time ago i accidently left a tok mag in a glass of wine overnight and it stripped it down to bare metal.>>64703613Looking at it right now, i think it can be freed up. PB blasting right now.I really need a decent camera.
>>64703467I'm thinking squib followed by an explosion
>>64703630Lel that shit is fucking gone, senpai. I wouldn't bother any further or you're just gonna end up with a ship of Theseus situation with a lot more time wasted vs just building a whole new gun from your kit. But it's your shit, have fun I guess.
>>64703659That's a future IED if I ever seen one. For your own safety, Norktard, just don't.
>January first>Norktard wants to kill himself Maybe 2026 will be a better year, we're off to a great start. Make sure to take a selfie while pulling the trigger and explain to your friends how to upload it to 4chan on your behalf.
>>64703669Now that i'm starting to get it apart you may be right, however the rails on the lower look fine so that might be salvageable. >ship of TheseusIt's a old Century Arms poverty gun, it was already in that situation. If i can salvage the lower maybe i can use it to restore a 'Asian contract parts kit' and reduce it's current reliability by making a Type 58.
>>64703691Jokes aside the bet is to get it to fire one mag and i get a 'new' AK, i'm allowed to use a vice and string to fire it.PB blaster plus twacking with wood: slight bolt movement!
watch some stuff from this guy's channel, he goes in depth really nicely hes legit, he does firearm restoration for police and museums >https://www.youtube.com/@Backyard.Ballistics/videos
>>64703722That's actually where my friends get their guidance from. Yikes, bend at the rear of the receiver like it had a big rock dropped on it. If nothing else i think i can free it up enough to work the action, maybe it will end up as a wall hanger since i can't imagine myself pulling the trigger unless with a string for the bet. They didn't specify that it had to cycle, just fire so the gas tube being rotted through might not be a bet breaker.
>>64703756>norktard sitting behind a wall pulling two alternating pieces of string, one on the trigger and the other on the bolt to cycle itForget the selfie, I need this shit on video.
>>64703601I think you mean "vat of binegar">>64703659You could use evaporust, too. I think it's a little gentler.
>>64703354>The lower receiver seems to be fine besides the rust, legally speaking as long as i use that i can replace everything else and i'm not breaking any laws right?That's the receiver, nothing lower about it. You could build from scratch legally so it doesn't really matter. If you just want to get it firing then a brass hammer and a wire wheel are all you need, make sure the bore is clear. As other anons have said the heat treatment is probably fucked and not worth redoing. Soft steel isn't really a safety hazard in the short term though since it will deform rather than crack, you could easily win your bet can get a new century pos.
>>64703774>>64703767I'll see what i can do.>>64703774The barrel is supposed to be 2-3 degrees off right?Got the handle retention block off, lower part of the bolt has unrusted bare metal! I had a after market handle, it probably came with a stainless bolt.
>>64703796im gonna need some good quality pics to even diag what the fuck. ill try to help between drinking and watching the kids.
>>64703234>So what is my first step, put in a 5 gallon bucket of water, dump in some Borax and hook up a battery charger?That, or put it in a container with evaporust and let it sit for a day or 2.
>>64703234If you want a Type 58, then build a Type 58. We have only a finite number Nork parts in the country, it's stupid risk damaging them by equipping them on a firearm that's probably going to pipe bomb. It's probably not going to be substantially more effort to build a Type 58 with a receiver flat. Why don't you get this thing in as serviceable a condition as you can, and just put something less rare on it. If it holds up, great, you've got a fun project gun you restored, if not then it's not a huge loss. Can't tell you what to do with your own property, but I think it's worth considering.
>>64703806I'll try to get better pics in the morning when i have decent light. So far this is looking less like restoration and more like archeology. Heat treatment seems utterly ruined but so far all of of the parts and springs are intact just crusty.Gonna poke at it for a hour or so then dump it in vinegar/salt over night.
>>64703829much appreciated. hope your new years day goes swell norkanon.
>>64703827>Why don't you get this thing in as serviceable a condition as you can, and just put something less rare on itI think that's exactly what i'll try to do. If i can get it to shoot a mag i'll make my friends buy a Type 58 parts kit then hang this or it's pieces on a wall. I want to see what i can do with it and about 50 feet of string just out of curiosity.
>>64703841>>norktard having real lyfe friends, hobby or skillsx
The heat treatment of the trunnion is probably bad, with a enough rounds the lugs will mushroom, then causing bad headspace and then case ruptures.Honestly a cool wall hanger, but not worth your timeNot the right thickness receiver for an North Korean kit
>>64703354>heat softened>>64703596>springs looks good and fucked>>64703829>Heat treatment seems utterly ruined but so far all of of the parts and springs are intact just crusty.If the springs got fucked by heat, the trunnion is probably also bad.The trunnion is NOT easy to replace. It has rivets holding it to the receiver. The barrel is press fitted into the trunnion. A soft trunnion can crack at the barrel pin or it can let the barrel move forward, causing catastrophic headspacing.When making your own AK from a 80% kit, you are typically demilling the trunnion and reusing it with a new receiver and barrel. In other words, swapping a trunnion isn't impossible. Most builders have already done it. Multiple times. It's a pain in the ass, but totally doable. >>64703841>i'll make my friends buy a Type 58 parts kitIsn't that a milled kit? You'll probably want a milled receiver to go with that. Also, a milled kit won't come with a trunnion. Just a heads up.
>>64704222The receiver is too thin, everything is there but it looks like so much material flaked off it's half the thickness in some sections. I'm going to strip it down but besides attempting to win a bet with a string it doesn't seem usable, it's just too thin. 99% chance a wall hanger but i'll wait a couple days to see what the rust removal solution reveals.
>>64704261>The receiver is too thinIt probably isn't, but a fresh receiver looks better than a pitted one.How is the barrel? If the inside isn't too pitted, you might have a pre populated barrel assembly. I prefer parkerizing but you might be good with just a crown job and an oversized barrel pin. And maybe spray paint. But no way to tell before the rust comes off.Again, the type 58 might be a milled kit. Do you have a milled receiver?
