Home made rear sight for AK (AR rear sight)

[Dolomite_supafly]

So I was surfing the web the other day an seen where someone else had made a rear sight for their AK. Seemed easy enough so I gave it a try. I traded an AK FCG for a Saiga top cover which is a little thicker. The top cover on my Draco has ZERO movement so I knew if I could figure out how to attach it I knew it would work.
 
This increased the sight radius from 10" to 17.5" which is more than a standard AR carbine.
 
It took me a few prototypes but I finally figured it out.

 
Then once I had the holes for the sight worked out I dimpled the right ear so I could actually zero the rear sight and have the adjustments stay.

And here is a mock up.

And one I was sure everything was good I drilled more holes in the sight and added some plates for the screws.

 
And even though I do not have pictures I disassembled the sight and then heated the wings and plates to red hot and dunked them in used oil to give it a nice dark blued/black finish.
 
After that I drilled the top cover and installed it after I made sure everything was lined up. And here is what it looks like.



And once I am 100% positive everything is good I will have it permanently welded to the top cover.
 
And if anyone is interested I can tell you what parts you need. You can build this exact same setup for under $30 using a brand new sight. I was able to trade for my parts and everything works great thanks so Smith who supplied the top covers for me.
 
Edited to add instructions:
If you plan on welding you use steel but you could also use aluminum to so the same.

In addition to the tools and supplies below I also used:
A hammer
A flat tip screw driver
A few punches
A marker
A vice
A file

I also used a compressor, angle grinder and bench grinder but this can be done using all hand tools.

Here is the 3/4" mild steel square tubing. I bought it at Home Depot but should be at most home improvement stores.
Crown Bolt 3/4 in. x 36 in. Plain Steel Square Tube with 1/16 in. Thick-40320 - The Home Depot
It is 3/4" square and 1/16" thick.

As far as the actual sight I have found the cheap knockoff I got worked great. So any A2 style sight will work but verify the hole diameters before drilling the holes in the square tube. Here is an example of the rear sight I used.
Brand New Tactical Detachable Carry Handle with Dual Aperture A2 Sight Black | eBay
And if you want even simpler you can use an A1 style rear sight.

I needed a way to attach the sight to the top cover so I used this.
Crown Bolt 1/2 in. 36 in. Plain Steel Flat Bar with 1/8 in. Thick-43970 - The Home Depot
Those are the steel pad that are drilled and tapped for the screws to come through the top cover and thread into to hold the sight in place.

To drill and tap all the holes I used this.
DEWALT # 36 Drill and 6 in. x 32 NC Tap Set-DWA1400 - The Home Depot

And here are the screws I used.
The Hillman Group #6-32 x 1/2 in. Slotted Round-Head Machine Screws (30-Pack)-944 - The Home Depot
I did have to thin the head a little to clear the bolt carrier.

Once I verified the size of the sight shaft I then drill the holes in the square tubing for the shaft. First I marked, with a punch, the centerline of the holes which is ~.250" above the bottom of the tube when measured from the outside. The first hole is .140" in diameter and should go through both sides. Then through one side I drill another hole that is .215" in diameter. The large hole is for the screw side of the sight and NOT the zero drum side.

Once I had the holes drilled I took the sight shaft and put it through the housing like I was going to assemble it. I used the zero drum, with the ball bearing and spring, detent to mark the path of the detent by spinning it around a few times. This left a visible ring you can use for marking the detent holes. Then I split the path up with eight marks for where I wanted the detents and used a punch to start the keep the drill bit from walking. I used a drill bit he same size as the ball detent and made sure I did NOT drill through the housing. I guess you could also use a smaller hole and drill completely through but I prefer my way.

Next I cut off the parts we just drilled for the rest of the tube. You can leave as much or as little as you want on either end but realize the tapped blocks need room to hold the rear sight spring in place with a little room for movement. Then I cut out the metal between the two ears. Then I started contouring it for looks/performance.

Next I installed the sight shaft then I slide the sight spring, a flat spring with a slight bow in it, under the sight centered it under the sight. I made the slight blocks from the 3/4" wife and 1/8" thick banding that I drilled and tapped for the 6-32 screws. These blocks serve two functions, to hold the sight spring in place so it cannot come out from under the rear sight when switching between short and long range aperatures. They are also used to bolt the sight itself to the top cover.

Once the blocks were drilled I placed them back in the sight making sure the sight spring was not binding and marked where to drill the clearance hole in the sight housing. Then once I verified they were in the center I drilled out the clearance holes. For the clearance holes you can either use a larger drill bit, like I did, or you can run the drill bit in and out at angles to slowly open up the clearance hole. I put the sight back together again and then I centered the rear aperature. Once centered I lined up the rear sight aperature with the factory rear sight and finally the front sight. Once I was satisfied everything was lined up I had someone else mark the holes in the top cover. Then I used 6-32 screws to go up through the top cover, through the sight housing and finally into the blocks that were tapped 6-32. Then I screw it all together and check for fitment as well as function (I did have to reduce the height of the screw heads). Then once I was happy I disassembled everything the put some sort of finish on it before reassembling it one final time with blue Loctite.

And if I am not clear enough please feel free to ask questions.

It did take me three prototypes before I made the fourth, and final, version. And don't be afraid to cut the sight too long because you can always remove material but it is much harder to add. I cut one prototype too short, a second I reversed the left and right side holes in the housing and one I messed up the detent holes. But now I feel confident enough that I will be making these for a few other guns in the future.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Dolomite_supafly

[shotgunshooter]

You ever consider changing your name to Jim Fuller?

[Garufa]

Excellent work!  :up:

[Caster]

It'd be worth paying a professional to TiG weld that. Anyone worth his welding helmet can make a really tiny and clean weld that will be all but unnoticeable.

Good work.

[DT INC.]

Very nice work

[felinesNfreedom]

That looks awesome, I have always struggled with he sights on the AK. Dolo you have some really solid ideas when it comes to tuning the AK platform. 

[crashgordan]

nice

[seez52]

I'd like to make something like that for ghost ring rear sight on an 870 HD I'm working on. Factory ghost ring sights are way expensive.

[seez52]

most of the ghost sights use a taller front sight than normal. I'm making mine from a vent rib barrel gun and had planned to make the front sight capable of holding a vial of tritium. I've got so many projects going on half done not sure when this one is going to come back up. I've bought a bunch of parts, and there they sit.

 

What did you bend up your base out of?

[seez52]

I started with 3/4" square tubing then cur one side out.

:up:  :up:

[TNWNGR]

Hadn't thought about using square tubing stoic for a rear sight base stock. Now I'll be looking at factory sights and aftermarket winged sight bases and wondering if that's what they did as well. Sheet stock forming requires machined tool stock and hydraulic presses but cutting something to shape from preexisting tube stock is another story.

[JohnC]

That's friggin' awesome! I hate the rear site on my AK Pistol.

[Sugessp]

Can you repost pics

[Moped]

Dolomite hasn’t been on since March of 2018, sadly. He was one of the best sources for both AR and AK modifications and builds. He is missed.

[quedz]

N/A

Edited May 21, 2020 by hughd
N/A

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, Moped said:

Dolomite hasn’t been on since March of 2018, sadly. He was one of the best sources for both AR and AK modifications and builds. He is missed.

Yes he is.

[hipower]

Don't mean to get into anything personal, but is Dolo ok?

I had a few back and forth short conversations with him here, and found him to be an amazing man. 

In fact,  just mentioned him during a talk with my wife today. She brought up the subject of my small collection of 22 rifles. Shouldn't I sell a few?

Just keep a favorite. Well that choice took no time at all.

For me. It is the 10/22 Dolo built some years back. I somehow managed to get it from him.

It is an amazing rifle.

Edited May 24, 2020 by hipower