Don’t dive in too far, those rivets are the devil in the details.
Something you may like to see,
http://www.akoperatorsunionlocal4774.com/2015/06/the-best-starter-ak-below-600-goes-to-wasr-10/
AK4774 operators union has a great video on their website that shows a quality build and the work involved, worth watching several times.
http://www.akoperatorsunionlocal4774.com/2015/11/building-ak47-akm-with-definitive-arms/
Personally I think the WASRs are still one of the best deals available.
However they are not up to the same standards of a custom, or semi custom build such as those by Rifle Dynamics or others.In a rack grade gun, I still prefer the Hungarian (FEG) AMD-65 folders.
Thank you for the links. I will check them out.
For some reason, the best deal with regard to availability and price was the WASR. Not sure if it means anything, but for $619.99 out the door I couldn’t complain about that at least.
Those rivets do look a bit harsh. I find it interesting how everything is riveted rather than welded. Since this is my first AK, I will be doing a lot of investigation and messing with it to learn how it all works. Seeing how they are built from parts/flats to firing would definitely help a lot.
http://ageofdecadence.com