Roll Your Own - How to Make a SEMI-Authentic AKSU

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[Jafo]

This is the end result:


It looks like shit, battered and dinged up, because it is. I literally hammered the hell out of it. Why? Well, Russian AKSU stocks were produced with rolled struts and a small 'hook' at the bottom rear of the buttplate area was introduced for early sidefolders (and, apparently, removed on later production samples?). While we can't reproduce the hook easily, the struts are easy to fix, and you only need the following:
-AKS74 wireframe stock (preferably a good one, in steel, like Inokatsu, DBoys, or VFC)
-14mm metal or wood tubing, as long as the upper stock strut*
-Hammer of choice

The job is pretty simple - run the tubing through the top strut (should slide right in), tape it in place or otherwise secure it, lay the stock against a work surface and hammer the edges of the strut so that they fold back over onto the tubing.

For the top strut, you can slide the tubing right back out. For the lower strut you have two viable options:
-If using wood, simply cut to length and drop down. When the stock struts are rolled, burn the wood away. This is more expensive.
-If using metal, simply cut to 1" length and drop down. Slide it along the strut, hammering as you go (you'll need leverage to move it along the bottom). When you've reached the end, simply pull it up and out the top whole, where you slide the tubing for the top strut through.

Now strip (if necessary) and refinish to suit. Note that for the example above I used 16mm tubing, as it's all I had, but 14mm tubing produces a more dramatic rolling of the stock. You'll find that the lower 'rolling' is also much more dramatic because it's a deeper strut. So, get out there and enjoy your much-more-accurate side-folding stock!




*14mm = ~ 9/16"
Wood is best for this, because it's easier to get rid of, but metal works just as well with a bit of work

[Jafo]

Part Two: Replicating the Pesky AKSU-Specific Bolt!

No manufacturer out there (minus Tokyo Marui) has replicated the dimensions of the AKS74U's stubby bolt handle.

Here's what it SHOULD look like, courtesy of Tantal's Avtomats in Action page. The AKSU in question is a Tula-made, 1983-dated AKSU in use with the Ukrainian military.

This isn't a hard bolt to replicate in airsoft, you just need some time and willingness to cut. In my case, since I'm cutting a DBoys AK bolt (which you can't replace) I was a little leery. That said, it's not hard to do. Here's what you need:
-Bolt of choice
-Ruler
-Dremel with:
     +Cutting Wheel
     +Sanding Drum
-Rat tail file*
-Fine-grit sand paper
-Vice

First, make a mark 1/8" down the bolt handle from the tip. This is where you need to cut down. In my case, I free-handed it, but methodical work usually yields more accurate results, right? Now place the bolt in the vice, and take out the dremel wheel and cut at a slight outward angle down. A 15-degree angle works just fine. The tip of the bolt drops off, leaving the fun part - shaping and cleaning up the bolt.

I used the rat tail file, a metalworking file at that, to attack the tip from the other side, again at a roughly 15-degree angle. The two angles should meet in a point at the middle. Now file THAT flat. Use the dremel sanding drum to round the edges to a good smooth surface, and then tackle it with the fine-grit sand paper to finish up the bolt so that when you refinish the bolt it doesn't look like a cheap Chinese CNC'd part.

Here's what you should now have (and my apologies for the slight out-of-focusness):



Paint to suit. I use Rustoleum gloss black, as it seems to match the Russian finish pretty well.

*optional, but highly recommended. If you don't use this, just cut straight down and hit it with the sanding drum as described above.

[Jafo]

Refinishing the AKSU wood is actually VERY easy. The DBoys wood is pretty decent wood with a coat of red paint on top. The paint, being typical Chinese paint, comes off very easily. I used 80 grit sandpaper and am in the process of re-finishing the wood.

Here's the original wood:


That won't do. It's nice, like the Bulgarian AKSU wood now is, but let's spice it up a bit and give it a more realistic finish. We can't change the construction of the grips, so we'll do what we can. I know other people have shared their methods before, but here's mine while I give you a complete rundown of how I'm tinkering with my AKSU.

What you need:
-MinWax 215 Stain (Red Oak)
-MinWax Polyeurethane Clearcoat (or equivalent of your choice)
-#0000 Steel Wool
-80-grit sandpaper
-Brush or rag
-AKSU grips
-Hand punch set or engraving tool
-Dremel with sanding drum

Start by sanding the AKSU wood completely down to bare surface. Leaving a little paint is fine, it builds character.



Here's the fun part... Real AKSU upper handguards are scalloped inwards slightly to help provide a better grip, so let's duplicate that on ours! Sand (gently) with the dremel sanding drum to around 5-10 degrees from vertical inwards towards the lower grip. Only do it where the lower is scalloped inwards! This should only take a few seconds.

Now lets hit it with the MinWax. Use a light coat (I used a rag for the first coat and a brush for later coats). Wipe away the excess stain after around 15 minutes. We want it to sink in nice and strong.



After two hours, use the #0000 steel wool to smooth out the surface and prepare for a second coat in another two hours. This is fine steel wool, so it won't scratch up the wood or finish. Re-apply the stain, I do three coats total.

After the steel-wool, here's the second coat, out of three. It's much redder (the picture doesn't do it justice, sorry!):


The final coat is the best red of all. Unfortunately, because the wood is cheap and doesn't absorb the stain as well as one would like, the effect isn't as complete. Still, despite the bad photos and the mediocre wood I hope the effect of the three coats of stain is apparent:


Next we'll clearcoat it and then we're on our way to glory. Here they are after a single clearcoat:


I know, the pictures don't do them justice! Now we want to add a serial number. If you own a DBoys AK, of any variety, the serial number ends in 1121. AKSUs have the last 3 numbers stamped or engraved into the lower foregrip, and occasionally the gas tube. We're gonna skip the gas tube and just serialize the grips. Take the hand stamp set, select a '1' and a '2,' line them up towards the rear, and stamp away. Keep the numbers fairly close, but not too close.


You can juuuuuuuuuuuuuust barely make out the stamped area in the above photo. That's it! Wood's done!

[Jafo]

RESERVED FOR MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

-Installing the VFC Blowback Mechanism, and Why You Shouldn't Use It
-Removing the Side Rail
-Final Thoughts

[Afghanka-Sergei]

No need to bump Krasni
Only kidding.
Looking forward to more

[zenTaurus]

nice work, comrade. and lots of good info 

have always done the bolt mode to my Krinkov-derivative projects. have always based my cutting on that Tantal pic 

one question?

is it me or is the horn on the pic a bit longer than RS? or is it just the pic? 

[Jafo]

I suspect it's the crappy picture. I wasn't able to focus at all. In person it looks spot-on to the real one, when installed and looking from the same direction. Of course, the 1/8" is just a suggestion, you may want to make it even shorter!

[M76]

Would it not have been faster just driving a truck over or just dragging it behind the truck , instead of hrs doing all the work?

no only joking well done  nice job 

[fryxharry]

Great guide!

[kazik]

Would it not have been faster just driving a truck over or just dragging it behind the truck , instead of hrs doing all the work?

As far as I understood the guide it wasn't about making the AKS-74U look "used". It was about the shape of the bolt and stock.

[M76]

I know just yanking his chain     I like the work it looks good

[login23]

KrasniSerpski good work!

Can you put some more pics of your AKSU

[Jafo]

It's being built, that's why I'm posting this. I'll put pictures up when it's all done, though!

[Jafo]

Updated second post with a picture of the bolt handle installed.

[zenTaurus]

that does make the point a lot clearer!