OT - New Polish Build

abwehr · Post by **abwehr** » March 18th, 2006, 6:15 am

Well guys, I finally got my Polish Underfolder AK complted this morning! Now I have the big brother to go with my P-64 pistols.

Last weekend, I completed the Polish Tantal for my friend in Iraq. I got an e-mail from him and he returned the end of last for another year of duty. Fortunantly, he is "high" enough that he comes home about every 3-4 months for a week. He did not get a chance to fire it, but will on his next trip. We plan to goto the range together and fire our new Polish rifles. I am not sure if I can wait or not, so I may sneak it out for a test drive, LOL!

This build was on a Ewbanks Underfolder receiver and all went well with the assembly. It took me 4.5 hours to complete. As you know, the Polish AKs have a painted finish that comes off easy after several oilings, so the metal on the front past the handguards is pretty much gone. I like the look of "battlefield pickup" so I will probably leave it this way. I blued the new receiver, so some light rubbing on the bluing will make the apprearance look natural. I will post a photo when I get my camera out again! Now, one more AK build with a Bulgarian Sidefolder and that is it for my AK building. I wonder if I could build a P-64, LMAO!

k98k792 · Post by **k98k792** » March 18th, 2006, 6:48 am

I just finished my Polish underfolder a couple of weeks ago.It was also built on the Ewbanks underfolder receiver.

I built a Tantal last year. Liked the Polish weapons enough to add the P64.

My next build is going to be a Romy underfolder.

abwehr · Post by **abwehr** » March 18th, 2006, 7:10 am

k98k792,

How wasy was your Ewbanks receiver to build with? I have used 5-6 so far and they have been great receivers. I read on some of the other Forums that they are terrible, and Joe Ken is terrible. I have had nothing but good results from Joe Ken and the Ewbanks receivers. Yes, a couple of time I had to wait a couple of months for delivery, but I was kept informed on delivery the entire time.

simonovkitty · Post by **simonovkitty** » March 18th, 2006, 10:45 am

What compliance parts did you guys use on your Tantals? I haven't built mine yet, but all of my plans come out at 5 (so I'm holding off on building it until I can sort this out obviously). Is there anyone selling US floorplates or handguards?

abwehr · Post by **abwehr** » March 18th, 2006, 12:07 pm

I used standard TAPCO Fire Control Parts, a TAPCO Piston Rod, and TAPCO Pistol Grip to replace the Polish parts. These work just fine, but in addition, you will have to get a standard Safety Lever to replace the Polish one. I also used a standard Ewbanks receiver. Building the Tantal is just like any other AK if you use the above parts.

I asked my friend if he wanted the Burst Control Lever installed, and of course not be functional, and he said no, so the build was easy. If he had wanted the Burst Control Lever, I was going to turn a groove so a 7/32 "E" clip would hold it in place to keep the original appearance.

k98k792 · Post by **k98k792** » March 18th, 2006, 3:42 pm

The Ewbanks underfolder was very easy. The only thing I had to do was slightly egg two of the rear rivet holes.

The other six Ewbanks I have used ,two drilled for Romys,and four undrilled have all been great! The usual rail and ejector grinding.
I got some older ones from Warty,drilled for Romys.The mag wells had to have a lot of grinding to get a metal mag to fit and then even more to get a Bulgy waffle to fit.
I talked to Ken Kubin At Global Military gunsmithing the other day,and he was telling me about the problems others had mentioned about the center support rivet squeezing the receiver,causing it to be too narrow in the middle. Also he said a lot of the new batches are warped. I have not seen any of this,but it makes me worried because I have some on order from them.

I built my Tantal on a OOW 74 receiver ,used the G2 trigger group, Hot barrel U.S. launcherbrake and a brown U.S. pistol grip from Maas guns. I did not like the color(not dark enough) and threw them in a vat of brown RIT dye,came out pretty good . Much darker.

amd6547 · Post by **amd6547** » March 18th, 2006, 8:13 pm

Abwehr, what did you use to blue your reciever?

abwehr · Post by **abwehr** » March 19th, 2006, 12:48 pm

I used Blue Wonder Bluing Kit. It really does a decent job for cold bluing. I would not want to use it for a nice rifle, but it does great with the AK receiver!

Apply the Blue Wonder Cleaner, heat to about 135 deg. F and wipe off with a clean cloth. Apply 7-8 coats of bluing (let dry between coats 5 min.), After these coats,let dry about 30 min., and apply Developer. Let set for 5-6 hours and apply gun oil. It does a good job

amd6547 · Post by **amd6547** » March 19th, 2006, 3:50 pm

Thanks. I need to blue a NDS Yugo reciever, and oxpho-blue, which has been my favorite had hardly any effect on it.

abwehr · Post by **abwehr** » March 20th, 2006, 6:44 am

amd6547,

Yea, I tried the Oxpho-Blue one time and it did not work very well. Even with a touch-up, the Oxpho-Blue does not work as well as the Birchwood-Casey bluing.

I was surprised how well the Blue Wonder matched up with the black paint on the Polish AK. It is not perfect, but close enough no one will notice. Go to the Blue Wonder website and take a look. I bought the "touch-up" kit and I think it was $19.95. So far, I have used the kit twice and I have about half the material left. This should be enough for the one last AK I plan to build soon. If you get thye Blue Wonder, follow the easy directions and you will get a good job.

I had to leave yesterday early afternnon and will not be home until the end of the week. I will try to get a photo of the Polish Underfolder. The paint on the sides of the stock was worn off, and the paint on the barrel (forward of the handguards) was pretty much gone. The rifle is in perfect condition mechanically. I did not reblue the rifle and wanted to leave in "Battlefield Pickup" condition. Actually, the paint on the rifles comes off with bore cleaner, so it is not stay on them very long anyway.

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