How to remove the receiver cover.
This is probably the easiest action and pretty much every owner of the SKS knows how to do this. But for beginners I'll explain it because I myself had troubles with it. First take the pin located on the right side of the receiver cover and turn it 90 degrees so it is pointed straight up. Then pull the pin away from the SKS, you may have to wiggle it back and forth to get the pin lined up with the groove inside but it should slide out. Keep pulling until the pin is about an inch out. You should hear a click then the back portion of the receiver should slide right out.
How to saw off your barrel
Warning!!!! This Modification is permanent and will void your C&R status thus making any bayonet illegal, so that must come off too. This website will not be responsible if your weapon is permanently damaged because of it. Do it at your own risk!!!
Ok, first start off with clamping your SKS to something solid. I did mine with just a normal hacksaw, but you can use a pipe cutter depending on what tools are available to you. Make sure that the blades you use on the saw are for cutting very hard metal, anything else could potentially ruin your barrel. Make sure you have some kind of lubricant oil, like WD40 or gun cleaner will work fine. First thing is to measure how far down you are allowed to cut the metal. Take a tape measure and start from the tip of your bolt, make sure your bolt is closed because the ATF measures from the tip of a closed bolt to the tip of the barrel. Now make sure it is at least 16.5" (once you hit 16" it is considered a short barrel rifle and falls under a class III firearm.) I cut my yugo down to 18" to be safe, that way i can keep the original sights. Once measured make a pilot cut with your hacksaw by slowly making a notch in your barrel. Once a groove is established make sure it is well lubricated before sawing. While cutting make sure to clean off debris and re-lubricate. Do not cut too fast as it will warp the rifling. Keep your cut straight and perpendicular to the barrel. Once the excess barrel is removed take a metal rasp and file down the rough barrel tip. Curve the outer edge so it won't snag or cut you. Once the tip is filed down to a smooth finish, you will need a conical shaped grindstone. This is used to crown the barrel. This is especially important because this forces the gas out evenly making sure your bullet exits the barrel uniformly. Anyway, the grindstone is found at any hardware store and are in drill bit form. Put it in the barrel cone side down and twist with your fingers. DO NOT USE A POWER DRILL!!! This will distort the crown and ruin it. Do this by hand for about 30 minutes or until a uniform crown is present.
To test if gasses are escaping evenly, coat the tip in whiteout and fire 3 rounds through the barrel. The whiteout should be blown back almost in a star shape pattern. You will know it is uniform when the star pattern is even on all sides.
|
How to remove your grenade launcher without hurting the barrel.
Now this is a tough one. It will seem like the grenade launcher won't budge but it is threaded on. Just put your SKS in a vice and make sure it is clamped down tight. Now get something to clamp on to the grenade launcher like a pipe wrench or something else that can really grip it. Then take a propane torch and heat the grenade launcher. Particularly the lower part where its connected to the barrel. Don't heat it so much that it warps the metal, just enough to expand it slightly. While heating rotate the grenade launcher counter clockwise with the wrench. This should dislodge the grenade launcher. Once dislodged, stop heating the grenade launcher and twist off. Remember that both the barrel and grenade launcher will be extremely hot and you should let them air cool until the heat dissipates. DO NOT cool the barrel off with water. This causes rapid constriction of the metal and could damage it resulting in poor accuracy. Now the threads should be exposed to either pin or twist on a muzzle brake or to leave off as needed.
How to make your stock look like new
First remove your SKS from its stock via pushing the clamp behind the trigger. Once removed take the stock into a well lit, well ventilated area. Now with coarse sandpaper (80 grit is too rough, go with 120) and sand the stock down. Using a palm sander will speed up the process, but either way works. Once your stock is sanded down, take fine sandpaper (220 and above) and give your stock another round of sanding. Once finely smooth, take a wood sealer like Minwax wood finish and thoroughly coat your stock in it. Set dry for several hours in a warm dry area. Once dry, give it another coat, let dry again. Now take a clear gloss coat and go over the stock with that. This not only protects the stock but will give it a glossy coat too. Apply more coats for increased shine. Make sure the stock is completely dry before re-assembling your SKS.
How to prevent slam-fires
Slam firing is when you close your bolt and the gun begins to fire uncontrollably. This is due to gun oil build up, dirt, or grease in the firing pin mechanism. To remedy this, just take a fine brush and clean in and around your firing pin. Use gun cleaner or WD-40 to flush out any debris. Test fire a few shots to make sure it's clean.
How to remove your stock
First, look behind your trigger guard and there should be a wedge shaped pin with a circular groove in it. Just take something like a bullet or screw driver and push that pin towards the trigger guard. Once pushed far enough the trigger group should come straight down out of the stock. Remove the original magazine housing if you haven't done so already. The upper receiver should tilt upwards and slide out of the stock. When re-assembling, if you choose not to put the original 10 round magazine, your gun may accept detachable magazines in the empty spot left over. Check with local laws. Some states/counties may not allow firearms to have high capacity magazines. In which case just simply put the original one back in.
How to remove the top handguard from the gas tube
This one was a tough one. On the right side of your rear sights there should be a latch that's in the downward position. Take a flathead screw driver (or your fingernails if you're brave) and push that latch upwards until your gas tube can be removed. Once the gas tube is removed from the gun you will notice on the rear side of the hand guard there is a metal cap. At the end of this cap you may notice a small metal pin holding it in place. One side of this pin has a head on it much like a nail does. Find which side is larger, that is the direction it will come out. You will need to put your gas tube in a vice. Use rubber padding so you don't damage the wood. Then take a hammer and a small nail punch and hit the pin until it comes out. If you find that it's not coming out, squirt some WD-40 on it. Keep hitting the pin. Onced removed the metal cap will come off and you may replace the hand guard with a synthetic one or a new wood piece. Put the metal cap back on when you're finished and put the pin back in. Don't forget to put the gas piston back in the tube. Re-attatch it to your gun and presto, you've done it!!!
|