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Need ideas on fixing canted AK front sight
- Thread starter RiverBend
- Start date
JDS556762 is correct. And, I'll say that, in my opinion, even the best of the best and most expensive of the lot in the AK world can have canted sights, rear and front, canted gas block, and a canted side-mount scope rail, if that is any consolation to you. Some of the die-hard AK fans will say "it's an AK and some cant is normal, as long as it can be sighted in". But I don't buy that argument. There is no excuse for canted sights on an AK, although it is very common.
Now, with the rant out of the way, I had a high-end Saiga AK that I thought was flawless until I started looking a lot closer. I discovered, to my dismay, that it looked like the gas block was canted slightly to the right. After further examination and measurement with a small level, and straight-edge, I found it was not the gas block, but both the rear sight block and the front sight were canted slightly to the left. The gas block was level and plumb with the receiver and barrel, as it should be.
To make a long story short, and not wanting a high-dollar AK with canted sights, I removed the pin from the rear sight block, secured it in a vice between two pieces of wood and wrapped well in masking tape, so as not to mar the rivets or receiver, and moved the RSB over (with a large crescent wrench, with jaws wrapped in masking tape) to the right ever so slightly to get it at 12:00 dead center, as best I could tell. The pin was difficult to remove from the RSB. I bent a starter punch in the process, and decided to fabricate a tool to put in the vice and squeeze the pin out with the vice. It worked like a charm. After streightening the RSB, I reamed out the pin hole with the right size drill bit and reinstalled the pin. I used the vice to reinstall the pin, and it worked well.
The FSB pins were no where near as tough to remove as the RSB pin. They came out much easier, and the FSB was easy to move with a non-marring dead-blow hammer. A rubber hammer would have worked. I got the front and rear sights aligned almost perfect with the gas block, and with each other, and was much more satisfied with my prize Saiga AK.
Back to your AK and FSB; you could try to just hit the FSB pretty hard with a rubber hammer with the pins installed, and that may move it very slightly. It would be better to remove the two pins (out L to R, in R to L) and move the FSB with the dead-blow or rubber hammer. It will move. Letting a little penetrant oil soak in will help loosen it on the barrel.
I attached a few pics of the bent punch, and what I used to press the RSB pin out with the vice. Also, the level on the RSB after straightening.
So, yes, it can be done.
Hope this helps! (just curious, what kind of AK?)
Now, with the rant out of the way, I had a high-end Saiga AK that I thought was flawless until I started looking a lot closer. I discovered, to my dismay, that it looked like the gas block was canted slightly to the right. After further examination and measurement with a small level, and straight-edge, I found it was not the gas block, but both the rear sight block and the front sight were canted slightly to the left. The gas block was level and plumb with the receiver and barrel, as it should be.
To make a long story short, and not wanting a high-dollar AK with canted sights, I removed the pin from the rear sight block, secured it in a vice between two pieces of wood and wrapped well in masking tape, so as not to mar the rivets or receiver, and moved the RSB over (with a large crescent wrench, with jaws wrapped in masking tape) to the right ever so slightly to get it at 12:00 dead center, as best I could tell. The pin was difficult to remove from the RSB. I bent a starter punch in the process, and decided to fabricate a tool to put in the vice and squeeze the pin out with the vice. It worked like a charm. After streightening the RSB, I reamed out the pin hole with the right size drill bit and reinstalled the pin. I used the vice to reinstall the pin, and it worked well.
The FSB pins were no where near as tough to remove as the RSB pin. They came out much easier, and the FSB was easy to move with a non-marring dead-blow hammer. A rubber hammer would have worked. I got the front and rear sights aligned almost perfect with the gas block, and with each other, and was much more satisfied with my prize Saiga AK.
Back to your AK and FSB; you could try to just hit the FSB pretty hard with a rubber hammer with the pins installed, and that may move it very slightly. It would be better to remove the two pins (out L to R, in R to L) and move the FSB with the dead-blow or rubber hammer. It will move. Letting a little penetrant oil soak in will help loosen it on the barrel.
I attached a few pics of the bent punch, and what I used to press the RSB pin out with the vice. Also, the level on the RSB after straightening.
So, yes, it can be done.
Hope this helps! (just curious, what kind of AK?)
Attachments
This Forum blows when it comes to working on AK's as there is only a hand full of us that tinker with them here.
Remove pins, align sight, ream and pin to the next size is the correct way to do the job.
Having the right tools for the job makes it a breeze and is 90% of the battle. Unlike the grown mans Barbie gun the AK takes some skill to work on...
I would do the job for you but I'm in between homes at the moment and don't have access to my tools or equipment. Try @acmech as he's proficient with working on AK's.
You would think any competent gunsmith would be capable but real smiths are a dying breed. All you get now is "the AK is a pain".
Remove pins, align sight, ream and pin to the next size is the correct way to do the job.
Having the right tools for the job makes it a breeze and is 90% of the battle. Unlike the grown mans Barbie gun the AK takes some skill to work on...
I would do the job for you but I'm in between homes at the moment and don't have access to my tools or equipment. Try @acmech as he's proficient with working on AK's.
You would think any competent gunsmith would be capable but real smiths are a dying breed. All you get now is "the AK is a pain".
LOL, AK=Ken, AR=Barbie.
This is why I don't own any AK's anymore. Even my Arsenal was canted.
"All you get now is "the AK is a pain"."
Or, sorry, we don't work on AKs, and we don't know of anyone who does. That was the answer I got from the full-time gun smith shop I talked to...
"This is why I don't own any AK's anymore. Even my Arsenal was canted."
Very true. And, I've never understood the mantra "a little cant is normal, as long as it can be zeroed/sighted in". Sorry, I have a hard time buying that argument. I prefer the sights on my firearms being perfectly straight, or as straight as possible (although no firearm is absolutely 100% perfect, most likely).
I guess since many of the countries where they manufacture AKs are bordering on being 3rd world countries, and the final product is so sloppy and imprecise, this is the image that most people have of AKs; i.e., a little cant is normal/okay as long as it can be sighted in.
I still like my AKs though; ironically, they seem to function and keep on functioning like the energizer bunny rabbit...
Or, sorry, we don't work on AKs, and we don't know of anyone who does. That was the answer I got from the full-time gun smith shop I talked to...
"This is why I don't own any AK's anymore. Even my Arsenal was canted."
Very true. And, I've never understood the mantra "a little cant is normal, as long as it can be zeroed/sighted in". Sorry, I have a hard time buying that argument. I prefer the sights on my firearms being perfectly straight, or as straight as possible (although no firearm is absolutely 100% perfect, most likely).
I guess since many of the countries where they manufacture AKs are bordering on being 3rd world countries, and the final product is so sloppy and imprecise, this is the image that most people have of AKs; i.e., a little cant is normal/okay as long as it can be sighted in.
I still like my AKs though; ironically, they seem to function and keep on functioning like the energizer bunny rabbit...
