There definitely seems to be some interest here. The rub will be figuring out who can host the build party, and how many would be in for the location of the hosts. We can work out gear, knowledge base, and supplies after we have groups committed to locations.
So if you are willing to host a build party please indicate how many builders you are comfortable hosting and your general location in the thread.
Also if you want a hand in organizing this speak up or send me a PM.
If this goes down in the Pasadena GB area I have some build tool I could bring. Don't have an AK build at the moment. Wouldn't mind picking the brain of a few seasoned builders though.
I'd be interested in a build, but like a few others would need to (still) buy all the parts.
If there is a build party, how long does it take to do a build? Especially if there are multiples to be built. Depending on time commitment, I can host a party. I have a lathe, mill, and drill press to add to the already offered tools made by others.
For a basic AKM build on an NDS receiver with trunnion holes already drilled, you're looking at probably 2 hours give or take, less if the demilling isn't too much of a pain. No way to know until you start getting into it though. A few of the early kits came already demilled (rivets removed from trunnions/trigger guard, etc) and we had working rifles built within 30-40 minutes of starting. If you have to remove the rivets, though, 2-ish hours is a decent time to build one. That's not including finishing, of course. I don't have a blasting cabinet or park tank (yet) but I'll get there eventually. Blasting, parkerizing, and duracoat or molyresin usually takes about another 45-60 minutes.
Get 3 presses into the mix, and you can press rear rivets in one station, trigger guard at the next, and front rivets at the next. Then once all those are done, set up all three for pressing barrels and you're in good shape. Would probably speed up the process a bit.
I want very much to attend a build party. I own 3 AK's but don't know how to build one. If we want this to happen we need to make it worth while for the guys with the knowledge and tools, like we might want to make it profitable for them. If one, two or three guys who have the tools and knowledge teamed up to organize a build party I would gladly pay an admission fee.