[bbowling]

I am planning to try my hand at receiver building, but am unsure of all of the possibilities. A little help would be appreciated. I want to build a receiver for a 74 kit. Hopefully, one of the plum kits from DPH arms. So far from reading here on this forum, I've figured out that the extractor size and possibly the magwell are the differences between 47 and 74 receivers.

Here are the questions that I have. Any additional info is also appreciated.

Does Tapco have a flat that works for an Ak 74 build?
How about the Tapco weld together version, will it work for an AK74?
Are there other similar flats available from anyone that work for an AK74 build?

So far, only the ACE prebent blank looks like it would work, but no dimples. I like the idea of having the dimples and the shaping around the magwell already done. I can weld, but I'm not much on body work. I have AC arc, MIG, and oxy-acetylene capabilities, along with drill press, grinders, etc. I don't have a press, but I have a HF 12 ton pipe bender, that I may modify.

 

[ak'sr4me]

Tapco flats are a one size fits all deal and the magwell opening will be too big for a 74. The ACE weld paks are the same deal. It can be made to work but I wouldn't recommend it. Your best bet if you want the dimples is Coldsteels blank that has the magwell dimples and the bottom indent for the magwell already stamped. The rear of the receiver is already fitted for the trunion of whatever build you are making, and the magwell opening is undersize so you could fit it exactly to the size of a 74. He has 2 different thickness receivers, and 2 different offerings for the metal he uses. I have had good results with his products but double check the location of the centerpunched holes for the FCG because some have said they were off location. All in all, he does a lot of extra work that saves you time and sells it for less than you can get a plain blank from ACE or BentMetals. I haven't built a 74 yet so I am by know means an expert so let the rest of the board give you their thoughts before you decide what to use. ak'sr4me

 

[Toten Kopf]

I would recomend that a good place to start is with an AMD-63 kit. It was very easy and I didn't have to do anything special to finish it.

My AK-74 kit is another story. It has many differences and required more build knowledge. If I hadn't built the AMD-63 first I would have been very frustrated on building the AK-74 kit. One of the things is you have to cut rear trunnion rivets to fit in the front trunnion (they need to be large diameter swell-neck rivets), then the rear trunnion is longer than the normal AK-47 and so the forward righthand rivet head hit the selector lever and of course as ak'sr4me stated the magwell needs to be correct.

My AK-74 kit will be nice when finished but I'm glad it wasn't my first build. This is just my opinion/.02.

 

[bbowling]

Thanks for the tips guys, Actually, I was considering one of the AMD 65 kits, because they have the folding stock. I already have an SAR-1 I bought during the Dark ages of the AWB, so I wanted to build a 74 for the different caliber.

Toten Kopf, what kind of receiver blank were you using on the 74?

 

[Toten Kopf]

bbowling...

I have been using the ACE bent metal receiver. I bought 4 of them in Gunco's group buy (they were very inexpensive). So until I run out of them it's what I'll be using.