BIG Shoutout to Our Resident AK Builder

IUHoosier429

IUHoosier429

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I really thought about posting this somewhere else on the Forum that gets more traffic than our humble Kommie threads.

I recently acquired a couple OG-barreled Romy G kits, and was referred by another AK fan here to fellow member @digitalpaladin10. Folks, this guy is just plain awesome. We grabbed some lunch, talked guns, and what I was looking for with this build. He threw out some ideas and suggestions, and we came up with a plan. He sent me text and photo updates every step of the way. His communication skills are as solid as his build skills, and the rifle turned out damn near perfect, from the rivets, to the headspacing, to the refinishing. I picked up my md. 63 clone today, along with an md. 65 he built separately, and took them both to the range this evening. Couldn't be happier. Bottom line - this guy does great work at a competitive price, he's local, and his turnaround times are way faster than some of the well-known places y'all may be familiar with (Two Rivers, Rifle Dynamics, etc.). We're already talking about a few other projects down the road.

Consider this post positive feedback for him, not a paid endorsement. I'm not getting anything out of this, and I asked for digitalpaladin10's permission to promote him - not the other way around. I'm a big Romy fan and this guy did not disappoint!

We went from this...
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To this (the one on the right, obviously)...
ir3u7tuh.jpg


Thanks again, @digitalpaladin10!
 
Thanks for the kind words Hoosier! I've been building for folks in the Carolinas for about 15 years. I'm an engineer by trade so tolerances and fitting are OCD for me in the build process. The best part about building is that we can create a rifle that was never imported as a civilian version or something that looks like it was beat together in a Khyber cave. It's entirely up to the customer. Want a fixed stock AMD-65 with a Beryl style rail and pistol brace? Want a Polish underfolder with correct military selector marking? Piece of cake.
 
Someday, I'm going to find my unicorn parts kit, and when I do, we're going to have a talk.
 
Sure, the most basic build starts at $150. Arms Of America has Romy headspaced kits around that range and I've built a few. However I'd consider this instead:

Decomm'd rifles from crime guns. These are usually guns collected from felons from traffic stops and warrant searchs that are cut up. You can find these kits all over Gunbroker for usually no reserve. These parts kits come from guns that usually have never seen more than 200 rds through them, never used in full auto and the 922r parts are included on the ones that were imported as single stacks and then converted. This saves you money in the long run if you do the demill. If doing your own demill isn't possible then the pre-demilled kits from the parts kit websites are easier.

Example of one crime gun kit retailer on Gunbroker:
https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search?Keywords=ak-47&Sort=13&IncludeSellers=51864&PageSize=96
 
digitalpaladin10 said:
Sure, the most basic build starts at $150. Arms Of America has Romy headspaced kits around that range and I've built a few. However I'd consider this instead:

Decomm'd rifles from crime guns. These are usually guns collected from felons from traffic stops and warrant searchs that are cut up. You can find these kits all over Gunbroker for usually no reserve. These parts kits come from guns that usually have never seen more than 200 rds through them, never used in full auto and the 922r parts are included on the ones that were imported as single stacks and then converted. This saves you money in the long run if you do the demill. If doing your own demill isn't possible then the pre-demilled kits from the parts kit websites are easier.

Example of one crime gun kit retailer on Gunbroker:
https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search?Keywords=ak-47&Sort=13&IncludeSellers=51864&PageSize=96
Click to expand...
I don't even know how possible it is, but it would be neat to slap that Norinco Hunter into a normal milled receiver and make a Galil or Valmet type mutt.
 
Last edited:
charliesgrave said:
I don't even know how possible it is, but it would be neat to slap that Norinco Hunter into a normal milled receiver and make a Galil or Valmet type mutt.
Click to expand...

The Norinco follows the pattern of the Valmet. The receiver is gtg.
 
@digitalpaladin10
hey, I have a headspaced romanian mod 63 kit. i was planning to build it myself, but after looking over tooling costs to do it right, i've decided to look for options to have it built for me, seeing as as this will probably be the only ak build i'd ever do it doesn't make sense to invest $500-$1000 in ak builder tools and equipment.
i was wondering if you still did builds for hire?
 
TLT said:
@digitalpaladin10
hey, I have a headspaced romanian mod 63 kit. i was planning to build it myself, but after looking over tooling costs to do it right, i've decided to look for options to have it built for me, seeing as as this will probably be the only ak build i'd ever do it doesn't make sense to invest $500-$1000 in ak builder tools and equipment.
i was wondering if you still did builds for hire?
Click to expand...
He does and he’s built a ton since 2018. Shoot him a pm. You won’t regret it.
 
So I know I'm somewhat necro-posting but hey I think this was still on the first page. Been a couple years so just curious if @digitalpaladin10 is still doing builds. May be a little bit but we might have to talk. I have a 61 Izzy and 67 Tula -- both matching numbers -- kits on the way. From my limited research PoH is/was the go to (based on limited research and before I saw this thread) but he also is a 4000k away and my understanding is has about a 6 month wait.
 
Icculus said:
So I know I'm somewhat necro-posting but hey I think this was still on the first page. Been a couple years so just curious if @digitalpaladin10 is still doing builds. May be a little bit but we might have to talk. I have a 61 Izzy and 67 Tula -- both matching numbers -- kits on the way. From my limited research PoH is/was the go to (based on limited research and before I saw this thread) but he also is a 4000k away and my understanding is has about a 6 month wait.
Click to expand...
I sure hope he is. I dropped a box of parts off with him a while back. 🤣

Send him a PM. He should get back to you.
 
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