Amd 65 Muzzle Brake
I'm building an amd-65 kit. The kit came with the original barrel. The barrel had a tapco extended muzzle brake installed with a pin going through the bottom into the barrel. I assume this was to acheve length so it was not a SBR. I drilled out the pin and replaced the brake with the ak-builder amd extended brake.
That's nice piece of work, but carries additional weight over the Tapco unit. Neither one addresses the question, which asks about a slimmer attachment of the required length, which is 4.25' on an original barrel. The AMD65s recently sold with original barrels and extension-brakes can have two versions; a 2' pipe extension with the original brake or the one-piece Tapco unit. With the modified Romanian barrel, the sight base is moved farther from the gas block and only the original brake is required without the 2' extension. So the first thing we need to know is what you have now.If you have the two-piece or Tapco, you'll need the 2' extension with a new brake on it.
Since the original two-piece brake/extension is longer than it has to be, you get some 'wiggle room' in deciding which brake to use on it. Your overall length still has to be at least 4.25'. The original 'Snake' brake is 3' long, so your new brake on the 2' extension would have to be 2.25' long which I think will be easy to find in the style you want.If you have the other barrel arrangement with just the original brake in front of the sight base, you'll have to measure that barrel length to see if you can go with a shorter brake, otherwise you'll need a 3' replacement.
You measure barrel length by rodding the barrel against the closed bolt, marking the rod at the muzzle and measuring it. 16' is the legal minimum, and most would want 16.25' just to be on the safe side.When working on a change like this, you have two problems; one, the existing set-up may be difficult to remove without damaging the barrel; two, you have to do a mock-up and measure it with all threads tight before permanently attaching.
Some brakes need to be timed (clocked) to set the openings in the proper orientation when screwed on tight. This involves sanding the rear face of the attachment that contacts the sight base so it comes out right when tight.The set-up must be wrench-tight before pinning/welding so there is no vibration when firing. Many of the original extension-brakes were short-cut during assembly and were simply rotated to index but not tightened. This usually causes a slight angle break because of loose threads, and a severe case may cause the bullet to strike the brake. Even if it doesn't hit, firing sets up vibrations that can break the weld. This has been reported here several times, so it really happens.Unless you are a pretty good wire welder, you'll have to find a welder/gunsmith to do the attaching, or maybe let the gunsmith do the whole job.
Many thanks to all for the input.very valuable. My version is the second described by saxman (front sight base extended further out on barrel and snake brake spot welded directly to sight base).
I'm going to remove the snake brake and experiment with a few options for a new muzzle device (maintaining at least 16' barrel length in all options.don't want to SBR this one).One option I will definitely try out is adding a 2' barrel extension + a relatively short muzzle device (like a birdcage or a PWS JTAC-47); the new result would be a little longer than the original configuration but achieves the slim-line profile that I think I want. Another option (but it blows the heck out of 'slim-line') is a Bulgy-style 4-piece flash hider. It's a fat pig but really tames muzzle flash and is about 3.25' long (no barrel extension required to keep it legal).I'm an amateur tinkerer at heart and I want to experiment with options that (1) are different; and (2) don't blow up my neighbors at the indoor range like the snake does.In a few weeks I'll post some photos of options and provide observations on performance.Thanks again. I honestly do not know why people are buggered with the SBR option, leaving it to the original barrel length gives you so many options.People put more trouble and work into avoiding the SBR issue than just confronting it headon and just paying $200.
To me it was worth and that is my own sanity for the AMD and other platforms I have.yeah it was a long wait but more or less in the send it in and just pretty much forget about it and pretty soon it is approved.YMMV but in the end.for me it was so well worth it. Originally Posted By AKMike333:The previous poster missed the point. I'm not trying to avoid the SBR issue. Two AK SBRs is quite enough for me and I'm not in the least intimidated by the paperwork or the cost.I simply want a 'standard-length' AMD with something else than the neighbor-blasting snake brake.Since my original posting, I have reached a great solution: a Fabian Bros.
Flash/comp combo welded on with resultant total of more than 16'. Works extremely well.Thanks to all for the constructive comments.Pics!
Amd 65 Extended Muzzle Brake Fishbone Style
Amd 65 Bayonet
Extended AMD 65 Muzzle Brake 4.3' long is made from 4140 steel to bring the barrel length of the rifle to 16'. Threads are 14-1 left hand. These were made just like the original machined brakes where there is a cap that screws into the front to create the chamber. Since these are black oxided which uses an acid bath it may be necessary to clean the end of the brake due to the chemicals not being neutralized in the threads. 6.9 oz.These are made in USA!14-1 LH ThreadsThis item is made in the United States and counts as a 922r compliant part.
