I think it will be much better than modding a stock bolt. For one thing I think it is heavier than you could make a stock bolt and that is good for this round.
If you have access to a milling machine you could MAKE a bolt with relative ease. Look closely at the Bizon bolt pics - you'll see that the tube on top is actually press-fit into the bolt body! The obviously took the easy route and machined the bolt out of a solid block then installed the tube after the mill work was done. Pretty simple when you think about it! Looks like the charging handle was installed afterwards as well, hard to tell.
Hardening would be the only concern, you'd need to harden the area around the bolt face.
Looks a lot like a G3 extractor doesn't it That whole setup reminds me of my Uzi bolt. Were Uzi parts still dirt-cheap I'd entertain the thought of machining one down to fit AK rails and weld a tube to the top!
The ejector groove would be my only concern. It looks like they cut it right up to the firing pin hole. I'm not sure if it would affect the action if it actually cut into the firing pin hole. Probably would if you had a spring-loaded firing pin. That pin looks HUGE for 9mm. Due to the risk of slam fires (however remote) I'd make that a spring-loaded pin.
Do you think that hardening only the face of the bolt area would be enough? You are talking blowback after all. I wonder if it would be adequate to heat that area orange-hot then quench... if you have a milder steel that may be all it needs?
The bolt on my MAC-11 isn't hardened, it's just plain cast iron. I think I'll try plain old 1018 and see what happens. If it starts looking beaten-up, I'll recut it, adjust the headspace, and case-harden it.
Like someone told me when I started, "remember it's not precision machine work, it's an AK-47."
Any extractor will work, so long as you reshape it. Thinking about it, all you really need is a cross-pin to act as the hinge and a spring on the back end. A disconnector spring would be a convenient spring to use. You'll have to drill the bolt for the cross pin, but I would say to put it in place and THEN drill both of them at once. That way you don't have to worry about holes lining up. That would be the hard part to me
If you have an old AMD-65 cleaning kit laying around, you could use that little wrench and cut it to shape with a dremel. That's some hard steel! It may be just a little on the thin side however.
Other options are to modify a G3/CETME extractor to work. Heck for that matter, you may be able to use one of the FA AK parts as a donor and just be creative and dremel it to shape! That would make for a wider extractor to grab the rims. I think any chunk of good hard metal you have laying around would work. I wouldn't use mild steel to make it but I'll bet we all have a large enough chunk of scrap in the shop to make up a few of them. That's one item I'd keep a spare.
Hello hc,
Try automotive leaf springs for a handy heat treated steel for extractors. One leaf will provide a life-time supply of extractors. Carve them out with an angle grinder equipped with a thin cut-off type blade. You can even mill and drill the stuff with carbide. Keep the temp down with water routinely to protect the heat treat. Easy, fun, and cheap !!
It really sucks that Lichtenberg Researches webpages are no longer available, and most of the pictures and diagrams on AK Files are no longer available from their hosting sites either. I'm about 5 years late to the game on this one unfortunately. I think I am going to have a local machine shop make me a copy of the EOD bolt/Carrier from my x25 blowback build, and use that. I just really want to make sure of my cuts for the 2xtm magwell. Starting with a blank sheet of 4130 .050". It'll be fun either way, but I sure would rather have a complete tutorial with pics.
I can't login to WG for some reason. It doesn't recognize my user name nor e-mail, and it won't allow me to look at that page without logging in.
I know that Lichtenberg's original instructions were in PDF format. Does anyone have the PDF file saved, where you could e-mail it?? TIA to anyone who does!!
I went ahead and made a .050 flat and made the magwell cutout, as well as bent it up already. Looks good. Magwell is nice and tight, and fits really well. I have 2 screws holding it in in the front at the moment, but I'm unsure what method everyone was using to complete the magwell install. Welded in I assume. I'm thinking about drilling and tapping for 2-4 more screws along the horizontal bar of the magwell. I can then add correctly sized shims to keep the correct OD of the receiver, between the receiver and the magwell. Then screw it down with screws just deep enough so they won't protrude into the inside of the magwell.
Yeah I had a stupid attack about shimming the sides of the magwell. Forgot about the lower rails!!! DUH!!! That takes care of shimming. I still may drill and tap at least one hole through each side toward the top rear of the magwell to help stabilize it. I need to pick up a few mags first though.
Chis I am not close to getting anything cut. I post my process to see if there were things I missed in my drawings. Input is welcomed at this point. If I can get a solid working setup I will post the
file for anyone to grab.
Yeah Flat Jacks are definitely buildable but require more work. Not that thats a problem for a knowlegeable homebuilder. (or one like me.LOL) I was lucky to get this actual Lichtenberg Research one from a member here on Gunco.
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