Noob center support question

Hey guys,

I have the AK-Builder rivet tool and am having some difficulty. I have tried to set two center support rivets and have managed to ruin two flats. The flats bent well enough, in fact, they look perfectly bent. I put the center support in and put the rivet through it. When I did this, the support had a lot of slop side to side, almost like it was a couple mm too short. Should this be more or less tight between the sides of the receiver?

If I tighten the receiver down until it touches the support, the rails noticeably bow and it looks like it will foul the bolt carrier.

Thanks

What bending jig are you using? Did you measure the interior width of the receiver after you bent it?

It's the ak-builder.com jig. The flat is bent correctly as all the holes line up and both front and rear trunnions fit properly. Is the center support supposed to fit tightly?

yes, it should be tight but shouldnt bow in the sides of the receiver.

Are the flats and center supports from AK Builder as well? If they are, I would call (not email) Curtis and tell him the problem you are having. Your center support sleeves should be flush with the reciever interior and should not bow in. If you have any extras, I would suggest measuring them to ensure they are the proper length. It's possible the sleeves were cut too short.

Might be a dumb question but have you welded in the rails before doing the center support bushing?

Need to post some pics...but yes make sure your rails are installed and you only crush the rivet till the support stops spinning don't over do it cuz u will bend or digit the flat...

NOT a dumb question at all. A very critical thing to check and I didn't think to ask. Doh!

Not that the OP did this, but I could see it being a very real possibility.

Man I feel like a royal tard.

No kidding I dreamt about the problem last night and when I woke up it was a real "Eureka" moment. You guys are right in that I didn't weld in the rails yet.

Thanks for entertaining such a dumb question. If I finish a build without any more difficulty, or losing a finger or something, I'll post a pic. If I lose a finger I'll post a pic of that too.

Thanks again

Don't beat yourself up too badly. I know I've boogered up a few receivers on my first few attempts in one way or another. I'm sure a great many others here have done the same. It's just part of the learning curve.

I'll bet you won't make this mistake again.

My learning curve was two... Thank god they were Tapcos I paid under 20 bucks each. I haven't built any NDS rifles for myself yet but Id shit if I screwed up one of those 100 dollar receivers or even a 300 buck unit like a Milled......

That's the good thing about the Tapco flats, they are only about $20 so if you mess one up it is a $20 lesson learned.

Measure the inner dimension of the receiver and then measure the center support. You might have gotten the wrong support or they mailed you the wrong one. Example, if it's a center support for an M70, Tabuk, RPK or even some thicker Chinese receiver types 1.5mm to 1.6mm, then they would be smaller. Upon tightening a 1mm receiver, the receiver will keep flexing until it meets up with the shorter support, thus caving in.

I agree but you have to take the thickness of the side rails also sooooo its best to measure before you install anything........ 100 percent in agreement

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