Removing the SKS top hanguard wood?

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Hi,

A couple of days ago I wanted to remove the wood from the top handguard of my newly acquired Russian SKS (whose stock is beat to crap), but the retaining pin seems to be welded in there or something. I'm not kidding... I was hammering at it through a punch and nada - not even half a millimeter of slack on it! I have a plastic stock for the rifle, but can't install the damn thing without removing the wood off the top handguard (and then replacing it with the plastic hanguard).

I have a Norc SKS-D that I bought years ago and the retaining pin can be literally pushed out with a pencil. Is there a trick to these fine ruskie SKS's that I don't know about? Thanks in advance for any help... :confused:
 
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Valashnikov said:
My friend drilled mine out of my Norinco and made me a new one.
Click to expand...

Hmm... that's a possibility, thanks. But I'd rather not butcher it yet, if I can help it. Maybe putting it in a freezer and then using a mini butane torch on the outside metal to expand it, while the pin remains frozen and really cold (therefore smaller in diameter)?

I know this is an old car mechanic's trick... You heat up a stuck bolt area with a torch, then take a piece of ice from the freezer and touch the bolt itself with it... the bolt will shrink while the metal around it is still expanded... works better than WD-40. The mechanics I know even call that trick "black magic", lol! (cause it works so well). I just actually thought of it... will give it a try & report back soon.

The only thing I hope for is that it's not welded in there somehow... that would really suck!
 
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Done.

Update:

I froze it in the freezer for 30 min, removed it and heated the area around the pin with a mini butane torch (with one hell of an output though!) - then hammered the pin through a punch... no go. The part soon became warm again, so I resorted to heating it all with the torch (so much so that the grease underneath started boiling) and hammering the pin some more... but it wouldn't budge a micron! I don't know wtf the guys at the Tula arsenal were thinking when they assembled these things, but that pin ain't coming out, period. It's like it is made to outlast the universe itself.

So... bring out the big guns. A Mastercraft high-rpm drill and a metal-specific drillbit. I just drilled out the thickness of the pin on both sides and the little cover popped off soon enough. There's no need to drill all the way through it, as the pin is useless anyway when the SKS is reassembled - the little locking port on top of the gas conduit will seal everything in place.

Just a little note on when you attempt to drill in metal: ALWAYS put a drop of oil on the area you drill - this will help you drill through the metal 10x faster and will not ruin your drill bit. This technique is especially important when drilling hardened metals - such as firearm components, obviously.

Here's a "before" pic (the modified - but fully reversible - SKS is the one on the bottom in the first pic):

RussianSKS.jpg


And here's the "after":

RussianSKS-CombatStock.jpg


Come to think of it, Simonov should've conceived the rifle with a pistol grip to begin with, inspiring himself on the STG-44 or other advanced assault rifles at the time. It looks so much more versatile with the pistol grip and has the feel of a real assault rifle. The SKS is its' original form is a lot more like a camp gun; a deer's worst nightmare, haha. :p

Note: This is a Ram-Line SKS stock which is non-foldable despite it's appearence (Kalifornia-style, as I bought it on ebay for peanuts from someone in the US). Anyway, these stocks cannot accommodate bayonets either... I had to file off a piece of the plastic and make a groove in the stock so that the bayo would retract like it should - otherwise it would stick out enough to literally impale the left hand while shooting. No kidding, the tip of that sucker is sharp.. So if you plan on installing something similar on yours, you may have to either modify the new stock itself or remove the bayonet altogether.

All in all, I like the new "custom" look. This "evil" baby would definitely send the antis crazy right now... :D
 
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I brought the upper handguard to Jason at Gunco (gunsmith) and he popped the pin in 20 seconds and didn't charge me one red cent. It all comes down to having the right equipment and vice. If I had brought him the entire rifle, he would have had it out in 10 seconds. This is why I will always return to him for service.
 
That pin is tapered one way only. If it doesn't come out with a punch, try the other way. It that doesnt work, 'Dremmel' is your friend :)
 
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