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How about a "Show your Tools" thread.

11K views 39 replies 20 participants last post by  Rev Jim Jones 
#1 ·
I have seen a ton of show me you this or that thread but do not think that I have ever seen a thread where everyone specifically shows off their home made "Improvised Building Tools".
So at the request of one of the members here I thought that I would start one.

I have been real busy trying to build everything from scratch. It has taken me several weeks at least to get this far. It certainly would have been far easier to just buy the darn things but, it was far easier to convince my better half that I needed a drill press and x-y axis vise than a "flat bending jig".

I found a local Steel distributor and bought all the scrap 1.25" steel that they had in their scrap pile and a few larger and smaller pieces that I figured that I could probably use.

Scrap steel cost there 0.30$/foot so 60# only cost me $18. I actually had to go back to the pile several times just to make the weight to meet their minimum $ to use my mac card.

I am on dial-up so this is going to take a while to post all my pics.
Please hold off making comments till I post my last photos.
I will also probably have to come back and edit for content, so bear with me.

Enjoy,
Del
 

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#2 ·
Kudos go out to several members here for their Insight and Inspiration.

Pookie for his invaluable website, 555th for his jig template that MANY people have copied, Toten Kopf for his dozens of Tutorials, Rev Jim Jones for a few great ideas, SKS hunter for his Po' Mans Jig ideas and...
Steel Core for being the first person to really help me out when I needed it the most and was truly down and dejected.

And to all others who have trod these waters before me

1) A collective pic of the tools

2)Top rail wedge and side wall jig with a universal cap that fits both jigs.
I made the cap to fit both jigs so that everything would be the same dimensions. Also using alignment pins to keep everything well... in alignment.

3)Top rail wedge and sidewall jig with cap #2

4) Top rail wedge and top rail folding jig
 

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#3 ·
5)Top rail wedge in folding jig

6)Barrel removed

7)Barrel remover "Auto Zone p# 25190 cannot recommend this tool enough
Works almost too easy

8)Barrel pin removal tools, Bought a set of "drill bit stops" and cut out a relief for the raised area of the trunion so that it would sit level in my vise.

I used a length of hardened punch and one of the stops as the pin pusher.
The stop widened the base of the punch enough that it too sat level in the vise and was less likely to shift or torque during pressing. I taped it to the vise jaw so the I did not need to hold it in place while I cranked down on the vise.

Whether or not it needed it I heat treated the pin and stops, It definitely helped.
 

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#5 ·
9) Barrel pin removal tools #2

10) barrel pin removal tools #3

11)Cap, Sidewall jig & rec. flat

12)Cap, Sidewall jig & rec. flat on jig before bolt down
 
#6 ·
13)Cap and flat bolted down on SW jig

14)Cap & flat on SW jig, bent up

15)Same pic, different view

16) Rec bolted on Top rail wedge

Half way there with the pics sorry for the delay, damn dial-up.
 

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#8 ·
17) Bolted up ready to bend

18)Bent Flat

19)Bent flat #2

20)Trigger guard jig with Toten Kopf Modification
 

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#9 ·
21)Trigger guard jig with rec. bolted down, ready to crush the rivets

22)Drill press and x-y vise

23)Template for drilling of the Underfolder holes
I went ahead and made my template out of stainless since I want to re-use it and have it so that all I have to do is bolt it up to the top rear trunion hole,
flush it up to the back and top and drill.

24)Receiver, post drilling and re-sizing of the holes
 

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#10 ·
25)Flaring tools for modding a gas tube to fit an AMD

26)My version of a Plinker type Rivet Crusher

27) Jig for pressing the mounted Front Trunion onto a Barrel

Last nightmare to do is make my Pookie style BCRT (bolt cutter rivet tool)

I also have to comment that I was crazed about trying to hold the tightest tolerences possible when building these tools. I wanted "Repeatable Accuracy" in the process. I also want to have it so that all I had to do was drop the flat onto the jigs bolt it down and bend.

Also I found that My analness for tight tollerance was blown away when I realize that the
AK's original parts, well... aren't even close to tightly tolleranced. Oh well.:confused:

I had to re-do the Upright bending jig, thinking that. Thinking that It would be easier to remove the bent flat and that I was doing myself a favor, I removed too much metal in the area of the mag dimples.
But when I bent the flat the area that no longer had a square edge to bend on, well... it didn't bend. Imagine my surprise...:scared:

I ended up making a small shoe to fit inside the receiver and a cap to bolt to it outside to force the bend in that small area. It fixed ok but took time that could have been spent doing other stuff.



Well, there you have it, other than the BCRT and the rail welder I am ready to go to build mode.
 

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#14 ·
kernelkrink said:
Here's a couple more pics of the bending jig center form (punch). Took forever to hog the metal off in the mill.
Nice!!!
And yep, that's why I ended up making the two jigs. One for the uprights and one for the top rails.
 
#19 ·
I'm a little embarrassed to show this, but it works so well and is so easy, I thought it might help someone.

This is my "ghetto press kit". Essentially, I wanted something to support the trunnion while pressing the barrel in and out. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, or bother with mail order, so i went to harbor freight and bought a $3 pry bar (The big one with the screwdriver type handle). I cut the steel shaft in 2 and drilled them to accept peices of coathangers. The wire coat hanger pices allow me to lock the bars in place by bending, once I arrange the steel bars to securely support the trunnion. This lets me move the assembly around as I work and not have to rearrange the support peices.

I know this is really simple, but I never saw someone with a similar arrangement, so I thought it might help.
 

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#26 ·
Love seeing other folks "Improvised" Tools.
Since we have lots of new folks,
We should add a few pics to the thread
Sooo,
BBT
 
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