[sickwitems]

Why do you have to remove the barrel from the trunnion? It seems like allot of "extra" work. My friends dad is building some AK's and has built many. He says hes never removed the barrels on ANY of his builds!
Is there a "right" or "wrong" way to do this...or any type of "shortcuts", which I know is not the proper way of doing this. I just want to know what is wrong and what is REALLY wrong...or right and REALLY right...the ins and outs!
I'm just a little confused because the build tutorials I've read through does not specifically say WHY the barrel needs to be pressed out. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it!!!

[just_a_car]

I'm not 100% sure, but it may be because you have to have so many parts that are made in the USA to be legal under 922(f) and the barrel is one of the parts that "counts" as a separate part for that list.

If that's the case, then having the required amount of parts elsewhere on the build without removing the barrel would put you in the clear.

[BattleRifleG3]

You have to remove the barrel to remove the old rivets from the trunion. This is not an issue if you are doing a screw build.

You should check headspace anyway, but you should definitely check it if the bolt and trunion are not matching numbers.

[sickwitems]

ahhhh...thanks for clearing that up...he said that he drills out the rivet and welds in the hole so he can tap it...i dont think hes ever NOT done a screw build. i keep hearing people bitch about the screw builds but if you use red locktight and paint them, it should look and work just as good as rivets!