The one-solution gun

I will throw this tidbit out there.

Over the past two weeks, I've been working every end of AK rifle building, as opposed to just helping out. From de-milling parts kits into usable parts, into complete, 922r compliant rifles, finished, test fired and ready to ship, if it's part of the process, I've done it. The one thing that stands out from everything else in my mind is this. The solution to "how do I..." is nearly always "Hit it" and when it's not "Hit it," it's "Hit it harder." The few rare exceptions to this rule are always "Grind some off."

Old front trunion stuck? Hit it with a hammer.

Handguard too tight? Hit it with a hammer.

Gas tube stuck? Hit it with a hammer.

Barrel pin needs to come out? Hit it with a 3 ton pneumatic hammer.

Barrel needs to come out? Hit it with a different 3 ton pneumatic hammer.

Old rivet not moving? Hit it with a hammer and a punch.

The compliance-length piece of welded-on tubing on the muzzle needs to come off so a real flash hider can take it's place? Hit it with a hammer.

Folding stock needs to come out of rear trunion? Hit it with a hammer and a punch.

Folding stock doesn't lock both open and closed? Open it all the way, and then, you guessed it, hit it further open. It'll work.

Rear trunion needs to come out of old, torch-cut receiver? Grind some off the pins AND hit them with a hammer and a punch. And then hit the trunion out with a hammer.

That's just disassembly.

Everything to do with putting one together also involves hitting nearly every bit of it with a hammer, and if you can't figure out why something won't go where it should, doesn't fit, or isn't quite in there, rest assured, if you go ask one of the building gurus, they will without fail reply. "Just hit it a little harder, it'll go in then." or, if not that, "just need to grind that bit there off." I heard there was some welding on the muzzle devices to get to legal length, but I can't imagine how that could be, as it doesn't seem to involve any hitting OR grinding.

Virtually every part of this gun can be built by a complete idiot, and the more you hit them, the more you fix them. It's genius in it's simplicity. Try THAT with your favorite AR15 sometime, take a 5lb sledge to a part that won't quite go.It'll break, and the AK will get repaired, if you hit the right part.

No wonder my arms feel like spaghetti. I love this job.

KsR