sorry about your kit OP.

I don’t think it’s salvageable, I wouldn’t chance it, at this point there’s nothing to be gained from taking that chance. Best case scenario, you’ll have something that will sit in your safe that and that you’ll never feel confident about putting rounds through, I think your best bet is gonna be to ditch the stubs, get a tortort and have it built on it.

 

Bro...didn't we warn you NOT to send expensive or unique kits to unknown and unskilled builders when you asked about this last year? I recall you expressed your displeasure at having to wait for a reweld that would take 6 months to a year to be completed by one of the reputable builders (AK John, TRA, Turbo). Let this be a learning point that in this hobby, there are skilled gunsmiths that have unique niches, hence why people send their stuff to them and are willing to wait a very long time. These unknown "gucci" social media builders are a lot of smoke and mirrors at times and promise a lot of things but then you end up with a ruined kit.

 

I get where you're coming from, but a few things to consider regarding this kit:

• It wasn’t particularly expensive or unique—just a mismatched kit with a good barrel, which aren’t that rare or costly. It wasn’t an expensive loss for me. I'm still in this for almost nothing, it's just now I either send it out and hope it is fixed, or get a new receiver.
• I've personally seen AK John put out some bad builds. While he has tried to fix them, some have turned out worse. TRA would have been my first choice, but their backlog was over a year. Turbo is a good guy, but his work isn’t universally considered the best, and he often has to send rewelds out for cleanup and refinishing.
• SOF isn’t exactly "unknown." He’s well known locally (and has been spoken of on Reddit for a while), has prior company experience, competes, and is supported by influencers. Several local and non-local AK collectors recommended him to me. He does good work on stamped AKs but seemed in over his head with this reweld.
• I also wanted to see if he was good. We can’t rely on the same three builders forever. Finding new reputable builders benefits the community. Every builder makes mistakes—even the well-regarded ones, as I’ve pointed out privately to some people on this forum. I'm of the assumption that this was SOF's first reweld he undertook, and it just went horribly.

Not saying you’re wrong, just adding more context. Someone has to venture out and find new talent. Not everyone is active on AKForum or AKFiles, and I’m sure there are solid builders out there who just don’t get talked about.

 

 

I believe it can still be welded back together. But the only opinions that matter are the three top tier builders that offer this service. Turbothis, AK-John and TRA. They can save this project one way or another.
As Vlado stated, some lessons are learned the hard way when advice isn’t received. Been there! Lol
Your choices are still the same as when you ask for advice before starting this adventure.
I would recommend that you build the rifle back to its former glory and not give up from the bad experience!

 

I believe it can still be welded back together. But the only opinions that matter are the three top tier builders that offer this service. Turbothis, AK-John and TRA. They can save this project one way or another.
As Vlado stated, some lessons are learned the hard way when advice isn’t received. Been there! Lol
Your choices are still the same as when you ask for advice before starting this adventure.
I would recommend that you build the rifle back to its former glory and not give up from the bad experience!

I’ve been talking to other builders, and most say it’s possible to salvage. @TRAAK's , if you’re around, I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether this is realistically fixable.

My biggest concerns are:

• Misalignment—if too much material was removed, it may be beyond saving.
• Heat treatment—being welded a second time could compromise the integrity.

Honestly, I’m still baffled that proper measurements weren’t taken the first time. This should’ve been avoided from the start. Otherwise, the weld initially looked to be perfect.

 

Anything, can be fixed.
I'm surprised they wouldn't work w/you on that.
I suppose the outsourcing had something to do w/that. ???
Too bad.
Good Luck

 

Appreciate the hope.

They said they could still reweld it , but I had to pay $150 for the recut the second time around.

 

Never wanna rush a kit build of any kind. Best bet is to just mail off your box of parts and instructions to a qualified and reputable place and then forget about it. That way when you do get the call it's like a nice surprise. Longest I ever waited was 9 months, I think.

 

When a guy whos built AKs for years says you can do it, and he's a local business, you try and support that. That was the primary goal. I was surprised he said he'd get it done, but he was seemingly well known enough to be interviewed over the years.

Right now, the consensus is to toss the stubs and just remark a Tortort since the receiver stubs are now a risk. Best case I can let go of the turbo stub to someone who can maybe use it. Still need to get in contact with other builders, though, and see if they think it's worth the fix.

 

I was going to do a reweld by me on my Yugo M-64. My welding skills are just not there yet.

I did not want to trust it to an a "sure I'm an AK smith" hack builder, nor did I want to stand in line for known top builders like TRA, Turbo etc.

My solution since I already build AKs was to hit the easy button and pick up a M-64 receiver from Tortort. I've built on his before and have never had an issue. I'll probably sell me stubs to offset some of the build cost.

 

So far I’m getting input that the stubs could be used, but there’s always risk since it’ll need to be welded a second time.

The guy I went with has actually been interviewed by Guns.com it turns out, which I realized yesterday. I’d totally get it if it was some random dude I found but he’s somewhat well known in the community. He’s even clone builds for people’s stamped builds.

Worse case I might just do the tortort and then get the receiver remarked. Can’t hurt at this point, so what do I have to lose lol. Then I can refinish the tortort to finish match the gun, or just re-cerakote it all.

 

A Reweld has little value beyond if you care about the front stub being original. A tortort can easily be marked up to match for less money and hassle than a Reweld and will often times look better because it will be seemless and the weld spot won’t be an off color when blued.

And as far as collector value and blah blah blah. It’s a Yugo. If we are talking about a Russian Type II or III or some rare milled AK with the stub and especially OG barrel than sure the 300 members of the reweld mob in the US would pay a premium.

 

Finally someone says it. Most rewelds I have seen you can clearly see where the welds were made - even on the "really good" jobs. Like you said, unless it's like a Type 3 PLO kit or something just get a Tortort and have the thing properly marked. One of the saddest builds I have ever seen in person was a PKM reweld that looked like wavy black papier-mâché where the welds were made. Dude had it at the Outdoors Trader gun show in Cobb County, Georgia two years ago.

 

What a strange thread.

Saying Turbo isn't the best in the welding world, saying AK John is not worth due to a few mistakes and that a unknown random like SOF is the top choice because he is known on social media for building customized AKM speed shooting builds is bizarre.

Turbo is the grandfather of rewelds in the USA. Nobody has been doing them longer nor have completed a fraction of the welds he has churned out over 15-20 years. He has handled more cut up AK's and variety than any other gunsmith will ever comprehend. He has been able to do weld jobs for me that other known builders over the years refused to touch and allowed me to have extremely rare rifles completed due to his workmanship. He knows his finish isn't perfect nor does he claim it is. He delivers a welded, functional firearm at an EXTREMELY affordable cost and its up to you to figure out how you want to finish or match the wear. This is a big plus for most of the hardcore guys who need things exact.

IMO AK-John is the best "total package" welder currently in the AK scene. In the grand scheme of things, he is still very new to the scene, and of course there are growing pains and errors that will occur with the amount of work he is able to turn out. John has also been able to do AK work for me that none of the other "big" AK places would touch, again allowing me to have builds completed that are true moonrocks. To discount his work over a few issue builds is illogical. We can show the dozens upon dozens of rewelds alone, not to mention the countless stamped AKM builds he has completed in the last 3 years that are phenomenal. He is my go-to builder for super niche work and rewelds.

With all that said and the track record of those above, why anybody would send a reweld to a unknown random like SOF is beyond me. Impatience is the key factor here and "want it now'itis" is at play with younger collectors I am afraid. The glitz and glamour of a social media builder who collabs with Guntubers is sadly going to be what influences younger collectors going forward, and the disappointment of promises of being able to do highly specialized work (rewelds) will be riddled with issues like the topic of this very thread.

We told you not to send to a random. You did it anyways, and now we have a whole thread on it. Very good learning experience.

At the end of the day, the gun hobby is niche. Kit building is even nicher. And rewelds of old cut of guns is basically microscopic. Thats the reality of the hobby. The risk/reward of sending something that only has one chance of being properly welded to an unknown welder ain't worth it. Those kits should only go to guys with proven track records. Why be the test subject for some new random builder and then have your kit ruined? Only one that loses is you.

 

I get your perspective, and I respect what Turbo and AK-John bring to the table—no one is denying their experience. But let’s not pretend that advocating for them isn’t also a form of influencing. You’re essentially promoting their work the same way you’re criticizing others for doing with newer builders. If social media presence alone disqualifies someone, wouldn’t that logic also apply here?

The reality is, every builder started somewhere. Turbo wasn’t always the "grandfather of rewelds," and AK-John had to earn his reputation over time. The idea that trying out a new builder is some kind of reckless gamble ignores the fact that, at some point, people took a chance on Turbo, AK-John, and others before they became established names.

Writing SOF Defense off as a "random" just because he isn’t part of the old guard doesn’t sit right with me. The point of this wasn’t impatience—it was testing out a builder and seeing if he’s worth considering. If he delivers, then that’s a win for everyone. If not, the lesson was learned. But acting like established builders are the only ones worth trusting ignores the fact that the community only grows when people are willing to give new talent a shot.

 

I've never seen an example of bad output from Turbo, TRA, or AK John.

Maybe some minor details but they all have to work within customer supplied parts and can't be expected to know every small year, model, or type specific detail. That kind of specifics should be left up to the parts kit owner.

Builders build what you send them.

 

Regarding the three builders: I think they’re all fine builders, but personally, I feel like we rely on them a bit too much. What happens when TRA and Turbo retire? We’ll still need rewelds done, and at some point, we’ll need to send them out to someone else.

TRA is still backed up, as expected. They did provide feedback on my Yugo, mentioning that the front stub could still be used but recommending tossing the Turbo stub. They also suggested that a tortort remark would be a better option, or just rewelding it on a new piece (though making it look good would be both expensive and time-consuming).

Turbo himself is a great welder—I’ve never said otherwise. The main issue is that most of the time, people end up sending their kits out to someone else to clean up the welds. There’s also a thread on AKFiles discussing the issues with his welds—while functional, they tend to be rough in appearance.

As for AK-John, I think he does great work, but I’ve personally handled some poorly done builds and seen friends’ AKs that were also poorly done, from Izzy 74s to AKMs to Yugo M70Bs. That’s just my experience. I’ve seen some of those guns sent back and returned with little to no improvement, requiring further work by another builder. Every builder makes mistakes—it happens. I’m sure AK-John does fine work 90% of the time, but my experiences with several guns leave me cautious.

At the end of the day, you’re a customer, and everyone has the right to form their own opinions and shop around. That’s exactly what I did. I wanted to find someone local with experience who was willing to take on my project. Finding someone who can match the quality of the “big three” is a positive for the community. It helps spread out the workload, reduces the backlog on these builders, and ultimately helps the community get better guns.

(Edited for clarity)

 

Well said...

 

Done right
Done fast
Done cheap


Pick two.

 

My 2 cents

I'm a mechanical contractor by trade. I'm a licensed plumber, have been trained with electrical and hvac. When I was younger I went to school for welding and got a aws cert. Before I got into construction trades I was a auto mechanic. My point is i think my opinion is valuable cause i am more mechanicly inclined that the average person.

I have never tried doing a reweld, but I would like to. For the people sending them out and expecting 100% perfect results the reality is its not gonna happen all the time. I'm surprised these builders don't make a waiver for the customer to sign explaining there are no guarantees that the receiver is gonna go together let alone be perfect. There are so many variables that can give you issues. It's a tough service. Are there people out there that can do this type of work better than who are doing it now? Imo 100% but there is no money in rewelding these receivers. Most of the wizard level welders are making better money somewhere else and aren't interested and taking this type of work.
As for work in general who cranks out 100% perfection day in and day out? Nobody does, especially when it comes to custom work which is what ak builds are.

T1D thanks for making thread, it's good to hear different experiences and opinions on stuff.

 

Thank you for your response.


Most builders I've spoken to either have strict welding requirements (even for something as simple as a saw cut for SOTs) or prefer not to take on rewelds due to the extensive work involved. Rewelding a receiver is far more tedious than most people realize. I've done welding for vehicles—not professionally, just for my projects—and it’s much harder than people think. It takes a lot of time and effort.

My guy has been in the game for a long time, has been interviewed for various websites, and is backed by influencers (some of whom were mentioned here as well). That said, people act like a reweld is automatically better than a new receiver. In reality, it's a wash—you could argue a reweld is "less durable" to some degree. Your input likely carries more weight than mine since you have more experience in this area.

I've been debating whether to let the kit go. It’s not a "matching Yugo"—just a nice Yugo with a pristine barrel. That’s it. Nothing particularly special about it. As @AJD pointed out, it’s not a rare or uncommon kit. That’s why I figured it would be a good test case for a builder and a potential option for the community.

I've been somewhat contrarian in believing that re-welds aren’t the best route (except in certain cases). I’d reweld my AK-55, but when every reputable rewelder has a backlog of over a year—or their books are closed altogether—it makes you question if it’s worth it. Especially when using a new receiver would probably take almost n

 

Its not that deep brotha. You asked for advice last year about rewelds, people vehemently advised against sending to a random gunsmith. You chose to send anyways and now you have a messed up kit. Nobody wanted to see you have a messed up kit.

John spent over a year practicing welding on all types of metal, from 1mm stamped guns, Yugos, milled guns, etc. Most the stuff he practiced and honed his skills on were kits he bought himself and built for himself. Not to mention he was a professional aviation welder in a past life. Comparing a guy like him or Turbo to a random like SOF is silly. Not all gunsmiths are created equal nor have the same backgrounds or willingness to invest in their own skills to improve the hobby as a whole. I'd much rather take a chance with a guy like AK John, who has the welding background as well as spending his own money on kits to learn how to do rewelds, than a guy who is interviewed and known in social media.

SOF/Mario/whatever his name is, is a random when it comes to work like this. Just as I would be a random if someone wanted me to do customized speed-gunning AKM Gucci builds. I do not have the background nor experience to take a project on like that nor would I expect people to think I would be able to. So if me saying AK john or Turbo are the top choices for rewelds, then yes, I am 100% trying to influence people, such as yourself, not to send your stuff to other places and get it messed up.


If you want there to be more options I encourage you and others to learn how to do this type of work and invest thousands of dollars into it like guys such as Turbo and AK John have done to be able to prove themselves. I will be your first customer. But apart from that, just don't send your stuff to randoms, It ain't worth getting your stuff fkd up dude.