digitalpaladin10
Well-Known Member
As some of you know, I'm in an infinite chase for AK parts kits to scratch the itches of my many friends on here. I was in Gunjoker laughing at the prices for price kits when I found an ad for a Slovakian AKM parts kit. Half way through my rant arguing that the Czech's never adopted the AK platform and developed the VZ.52 and 58 instead, I realized these were brand new virgin parts for a semi-auto AKM patterned rifle.
Odd. Why would a country that never built a military deployed Kalashnikov start a factory to make AKM-63 variants? I reached out to the auction host with a many questions and within a few days realized that these kits weren't made to satisfy surplus collectors but actual AK shooters and builders.
Here are some pics and some data from my build process and my thoughts on the parts:
So lets look at the Slovakian parts compared to their military counterparts. The Slovakian front trunnion is on the left , the Polish cast trunnion in the middle and the Hungarian one on the right. The Slovakian front trunnion is lacking the lighting cut that the Hungarian and Polish units have. Maybe a cost cutting measure or to beef up the design? It doesn't exclude the use of any AKM hand guard but it's a difference. Also, the left locking lug area is noticeably meatier on the Slovakian unit. One thing I like too is that the bullet guide isn't installed. That means I can use this trunnion as a 5.45/5.56/6.5 etc build. I can use the bullet guide I choose. I really like that a lot. The front trunnion is heat treated very well and is hardened to about a Rockwell 41. That's very tough. The issue is that the barrel journal is very under sized to a .855 where it should be around .9055 (or 23mm) for the AKM barrels sold in the USA to press fit without much issue. Good thing I have a $2,000 drill set up that can chuck up a 23mm solid carbide reamer. A $50 HSS reamer on a $150 drill press in a shop isn't going to go though steel hardened to that extent. I asked the importer and they stated they have barrels incoming to fit this trunnion without having to open it up.
Here's the reamer you'll need, not exactly a cheap tool for something you'll need just once:
https://www.zoro.com/super-tool-chucking-reamer-2300mm-6-flutes-5655230/i/G8051626/
The Slovakian rear trunnion is on the left and the Russian one on the right. The Slovakian front sight is on the right and the Hungarian one on the left. Slight differences but the same purpose. Just like the rest of the parts, they seem to have been influenced by the originals but not copied identically. The Slovakian FSB has lighting cuts on the back of the sight like later AKM variants. The recoil assembly looks closer to the Hungarian units that any other country.
The Slovakian hand guard unit in the left with a USA made Arsenal unit on the right. Notice the lack of a heat shield and any metal reinforcements. It's also 3mm longer that my other AKM hand guards and that's probably for trimming to fit. The polymer feels sturdy and strong. I'll see how it behaves when it heats up this weekend:
One draw back for the hobbyist is the lack of the gas port hole being drilled. You'll need a 6" long 3.25mm carbide drill bit to make this 26 degree cut. Tricky without the right tools but good for a custom builder it's great. Now I can cut a 2.5mm gas port for a 5.56 build that is always so over gassed and not just rely on a small gas hole drilled in the barrel itself. The gas block does have a bayonet lug and it usable for AKM bayonets. You'll notice that the gas relief holes are on the gas block AND the gas tube. This is clearly Hungarian influenced.
Slovakian on the left, Bulgarian middle and Romanian on right: The Slovakian unit is beefier than the others. It has hint of Hungarian and Bulgarian influence but is it's own design. The metal is thicker and formed precisely on clearly modern tooling.
The kit comes with a semi auto fire control group. The disconnector has the sear face removed and has a spacer where the retarded would sit in the trigger area. This kit can't be made full auto in the military fashion with the parts included. The selector stop on the magazine release spacer is too tall for the full auto sear to disengage even if a full auto FCG was installed. The gas piston and carrier aren't held together by a rivet and a gas piston rivet isn't included in the kit. You'll need to order one.
The rear sight is cast and has a Russian marked sight leaf. (Odd since they didn't use the "U" the Czech's used on the VZ.58 and later Slovakian rifles for the battle zero):
The bolt carrier has the sear trip removed. The kit comes with a AKM-63 length gas piston (AMD-65 on the bottom for a comparison) The gray colored piston looks to be a parkerized steel (top)and not stainless (middel - like US parts) or chromed (bottom - like milsurp OEM units). The Slovakian unit seems very well made and does wobble appropriately when installed correctly with a rivet you aquire.:
Also, the kit comes with a 6mm barrel pin. The AKM-63 standard is a 7mm barrel pin. If you're set up for 7mm with your reamers and drilling jigs then you can toss the 6mm and use a 7mm. I did. Slovakian on top and WPB on the bottom.
Shopping list to complete this build so far:
AK-Builder gas piston rivet
AK-Builder 7mm barrel pin
Morrissey receiver
Surplus AK magazine
USA made barrel
That's it. The kit comes with EVERYTHING ELSE, including rivets. That's great. For the 922R Gestapo, you can use a PMag and a RAK trigger.
Odd. Why would a country that never built a military deployed Kalashnikov start a factory to make AKM-63 variants? I reached out to the auction host with a many questions and within a few days realized that these kits weren't made to satisfy surplus collectors but actual AK shooters and builders.
Here are some pics and some data from my build process and my thoughts on the parts:
So lets look at the Slovakian parts compared to their military counterparts. The Slovakian front trunnion is on the left , the Polish cast trunnion in the middle and the Hungarian one on the right. The Slovakian front trunnion is lacking the lighting cut that the Hungarian and Polish units have. Maybe a cost cutting measure or to beef up the design? It doesn't exclude the use of any AKM hand guard but it's a difference. Also, the left locking lug area is noticeably meatier on the Slovakian unit. One thing I like too is that the bullet guide isn't installed. That means I can use this trunnion as a 5.45/5.56/6.5 etc build. I can use the bullet guide I choose. I really like that a lot. The front trunnion is heat treated very well and is hardened to about a Rockwell 41. That's very tough. The issue is that the barrel journal is very under sized to a .855 where it should be around .9055 (or 23mm) for the AKM barrels sold in the USA to press fit without much issue. Good thing I have a $2,000 drill set up that can chuck up a 23mm solid carbide reamer. A $50 HSS reamer on a $150 drill press in a shop isn't going to go though steel hardened to that extent. I asked the importer and they stated they have barrels incoming to fit this trunnion without having to open it up.
Here's the reamer you'll need, not exactly a cheap tool for something you'll need just once:
https://www.zoro.com/super-tool-chucking-reamer-2300mm-6-flutes-5655230/i/G8051626/
The Slovakian rear trunnion is on the left and the Russian one on the right. The Slovakian front sight is on the right and the Hungarian one on the left. Slight differences but the same purpose. Just like the rest of the parts, they seem to have been influenced by the originals but not copied identically. The Slovakian FSB has lighting cuts on the back of the sight like later AKM variants. The recoil assembly looks closer to the Hungarian units that any other country.
The Slovakian hand guard unit in the left with a USA made Arsenal unit on the right. Notice the lack of a heat shield and any metal reinforcements. It's also 3mm longer that my other AKM hand guards and that's probably for trimming to fit. The polymer feels sturdy and strong. I'll see how it behaves when it heats up this weekend:
One draw back for the hobbyist is the lack of the gas port hole being drilled. You'll need a 6" long 3.25mm carbide drill bit to make this 26 degree cut. Tricky without the right tools but good for a custom builder it's great. Now I can cut a 2.5mm gas port for a 5.56 build that is always so over gassed and not just rely on a small gas hole drilled in the barrel itself. The gas block does have a bayonet lug and it usable for AKM bayonets. You'll notice that the gas relief holes are on the gas block AND the gas tube. This is clearly Hungarian influenced.
Slovakian on the left, Bulgarian middle and Romanian on right: The Slovakian unit is beefier than the others. It has hint of Hungarian and Bulgarian influence but is it's own design. The metal is thicker and formed precisely on clearly modern tooling.
The kit comes with a semi auto fire control group. The disconnector has the sear face removed and has a spacer where the retarded would sit in the trigger area. This kit can't be made full auto in the military fashion with the parts included. The selector stop on the magazine release spacer is too tall for the full auto sear to disengage even if a full auto FCG was installed. The gas piston and carrier aren't held together by a rivet and a gas piston rivet isn't included in the kit. You'll need to order one.
The rear sight is cast and has a Russian marked sight leaf. (Odd since they didn't use the "U" the Czech's used on the VZ.58 and later Slovakian rifles for the battle zero):
The bolt carrier has the sear trip removed. The kit comes with a AKM-63 length gas piston (AMD-65 on the bottom for a comparison) The gray colored piston looks to be a parkerized steel (top)and not stainless (middel - like US parts) or chromed (bottom - like milsurp OEM units). The Slovakian unit seems very well made and does wobble appropriately when installed correctly with a rivet you aquire.:
Also, the kit comes with a 6mm barrel pin. The AKM-63 standard is a 7mm barrel pin. If you're set up for 7mm with your reamers and drilling jigs then you can toss the 6mm and use a 7mm. I did. Slovakian on top and WPB on the bottom.
Shopping list to complete this build so far:
AK-Builder gas piston rivet
AK-Builder 7mm barrel pin
Morrissey receiver
Surplus AK magazine
USA made barrel
That's it. The kit comes with EVERYTHING ELSE, including rivets. That's great. For the 922R Gestapo, you can use a PMag and a RAK trigger.
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