AK 74 ANGER!

[King 5.45]

The Bulgarians are a little trickier to put back together, even ones not finger-diddled by the drunken monkeys at Century. You need patience, not blunt force. As I recall, you slide it onto the front, near the FSB, and then draw it backwards towards the receiver until it sort of clicks. At that point the lever can be maneuvered into its locked-down position. If I get a chance I'll play with my Arsenal and see if I can come up with a better description. Unfortunately, nobody seems to cover it on Youtube.

[Nate7667]

...damn you guys are brutal LOL

[NuclearSociety]

...damn you guys are brutal LOL

Theyre really not that harsh, you get used to it when you admit to having "bad" guns :P haha.

ill most likely run it by my smith and see if he cannot fanaagle with it a bit to make it easier to put back together.

unless i get some time to run it up to cr.

[crlovel]

Century gets a bad rap, they're not all bad. And if you do get a junker, they at least have decent customer service. I've had MANY Century guns, and never a single problem with any of them.

[streaker69]

Have you tried hitting it?

[Valorius]

Theyre really not that harsh, you get used to it when you admit to having "bad" guns :P haha.

ill most likely run it by my smith and see if he cannot fanaagle with it a bit to make it easier to put back together.

unless i get some time to run it up to cr.

Should have bought an AR.

[nfafan]

<snip>

Any suggestions? I have never taken the gas tube off before

I also had to use a plastic tip hammer to tap out the gas tube lever to even take the damned thing off.

OK, despite the brute force to get the gas tube off, you can't fully insert the front of the tube over the gas-port allowing you to lower the base and lock it down. Understand the issue.

Dremel is your friend.

Take a Dremel and stone and very slowly, carefully grind an amount off the "ramp" at the base of the gas tube - enough so that you can angle it down and hand-force in place. Enough so that the "lock tab" requires modest force to lock the base of the tube down.

Go slowly and test-fit often. Don't have palpitations if you accidentally take too much off and your tube becomes easy to insert or even rattles when "locked in". The looseness is harmless; your AK will work fine even without a tube.

[PA Rifleman]

Ok so I managed to literally PRY the frigging (expletive held back >: O) gas tube off with a rag and a screwdriver and now I cannot get the damed thing back on, I even tried hammering it with a damn hammer and rag and it wont go back!!!

Any suggestions? I have never taken the gas tube off before
...

First, make certain the gas tube is as far forward on the front sight block as possible.

Next, rock the gas tube lever back and forth until the gas tube drops down as far as it will go. If the lever's tight, oil it to help free it.

Also check for something that shouldn't be there. AKs were never "dura-coated" in East Europe, this stuff can really jam up the works, particularly on AK-74 muzzle brakes.

If the gas tube still won't drop in place, let us know. PM me for details on what to do next. Suggestion: avoid a Dremel or similar tool at this time, a hand file will be a lot less destructive and more accurate. Dremels are fine for people with lots of experience with them, fast reflexes and excellent hand-eye coordination. I have one and enjoy using it, but it isn't a good choice for hand-fitting parts.

We will get this squared away, it isn't serious. AKs are low tech, and seldom have serious problems.

[NuclearSociety]

Have you tried hitting it?

More than I care to admit.

Should have bought an AR.

OK, despite the brute force to get the gas tube off, you can't fully insert the front of the tube over the gas-port allowing you to lower the base and lock it down. Understand the issue.

Dremel is your friend.

Take a Dremel and stone and very slowly, carefully grind an amount off the "ramp" at the base of the gas tube - enough so that you can angle it down and hand-force in place. Enough so that the "lock tab" requires modest force to lock the base of the tube down.

Go slowly and test-fit often. Don't have palpitations if you accidentally take too much off and your tube becomes easy to insert or even rattles when "locked in". The looseness is harmless; your AK will work fine even without a tube.

yeah that is what I was thinking of doing, thanks for the advice

First, make certain the gas tube is as far forward on the front sight block as possible.

Next, rock the gas tube lever back and forth until the gas tube drops down as far as it will go. If the lever's tight, oil it to help free it.

Also check for something that shouldn't be there. AKs were never "dura-coated" in East Europe, this stuff can really jam up the works, particularly on AK-74 muzzle brakes.

If the gas tube still won't drop in place, let us know. PM me for details on what to do next. Suggestion: avoid a Dremel or similar tool at this time, a hand file will be a lot less destructive and more accurate. Dremels are fine for people with lots of experience with them, fast reflexes and excellent hand-eye coordination. I have one and enjoy using it, but it isn't a good choice for hand-fitting parts.

We will get this squared away, it isn't serious. AKs are low tech, and seldom have serious problems.

As above, thank you for the advice, the only dremels i have are cheap pos ebay ones for extremely light work. Although I will most likely go with a hand file as it was a bitch and a half to get the damned thing off in the first place.

[NuclearSociety]

So I did take my pos knockoff dremel and used a gringing wheel to take off just enough so it does have to be "knocked" back in and pried off but it goes on and off now.

What should I use on the bare steel to protect it?