making an ak-47

Making an AK-47 Prop



This project takes a lot of work and patience, but it costs next to nothing, usingmaterials found around the house. If you don’t own all the following materials theyshould be fairly cheap to pick up.

MaterialsWoodCopper Piping (around 15mm diameter)Sturdy Card (not corrugated)Pipe ClipsMetal 'Gribblies'

Before I begin, I feel it necessary to point out that my AK-47 isn't to perfect scale,and wont be an exact replica of the real assault rifle either.

These materials and items are not the only things that would work for this build, forexample the copper piping could be easily replaced with PCV pipe or even woodendowel. Most of the sights and metal details are made from random metal bits found inthe garage, on my rifle I used a nail, a strip of metal, a pipe connector, a pipe end, anda few bits I cant even put a name to.

I started this project by drawing up some concepts of how I wanted the rifle to look,and what the pieces were made out of. The concepts were based on pictures of realAK's that are all over the internet, a quick Google search works wonders for referencephotos. A quick look at the two pictures below, and the material list should give youan idea of what materials I have used, and an idea of the dimensions. If you are usingthis guide to create a different assault rifle, or need the dimensions of your AK-47perfect, I would strongly suggest drawing up some concepts as I have done.


The first question that arose was, where do I start? So I decided to start with thehandle to warm up my wood working skills for the trickier bits to come.

I started by drawing the shape for the handle onto my designated piece of wood.Keep in mind the dimensions that you assigned to the handle when choosing the pieceof wood.

Next I took out my jigsaw (You could use a hacksaw for this, but it would takelonger) and cut the handle. As you can see it doesn’t look too pretty just yet.


After a bit of sanding the handle looks a lot better.

Put the handle to one side for now and get two pieces of wood the right size for whatI will call 'the middle bit.' Make sure the dimensions of the wood are not too big orsmall, particularly the width, because if your piece of wood is too thick, you will havea lot of trouble on your hands trying to make it thinner. The 'middle bit' consists oftwo sections, the bottom section (that holds the clip, handle etc) and the top section(that holds the sights etc).

As with the handle, measure and draw the shape of the bottom section onto your firstpiece of wood.


Although it isn't necessary to use a jigsaw for the cutting of this piece, it is a lot fasterthan using a handheld saw. Cut out the shape and you should have something similarto the picture below.

The top section is a little trickier than the bottom section, but isn't too hard. I wasn'tgoing for a perfect replica of an AK-47, as I have said, but I noticed from myreference photos that the top was slightly bevelled. The piece of wood I chose for thetop section was already bevelled, but with a little experimentation, I'm sure it wouldn'tbe too hard to get the same effect on an ordinary piece of wood. The top sectionrequires two sections to be cut out. The first is an angle at the back, and the second isthe place where the empty shells come out of the rifle. This ended up causing moreproblems than it was worth however, and I ended up scrapping the plan of having it


open. If you don't have any software to implement bullets flying out of the gun, it maybe a good idea to follow my example and cut out the extra section, but I wouldsuggest leaving it due to the problems I had later on. If you are determined to cut thissection out, it may help to use a bullet shell when measuring.

The angle at the back end of the top section is more important than the cut explainedabove. The exact angle (unless you have the real dimensions) doesn't matter, as longas it looks right. If you are unsure of how it looks, take a look at some referencephotos, or look at the angle I cut below. As I have mentioned many times before, itisn't perfect, but it looks absolutely fine on film and in real life.


The next stage is a nice break from cutting, all it involves is a strong glue. I used aglue called IMPACT from a brand called Evo-Stick. Wood glue or any other strongglue would do the job just as well.

Leave the glue to dry for however long it takes. You can use this time to find a nicepiece of wood for the stock. Make sure the width is the same as the 'middle bit' andthe wood is of a fairly high quality, since the stock wont be painted. I used an oldshelf for my stock. If my handle looks different to yours in the picture below, it isbecause I got ahead of myself and started to apply wax to it. I will come to thissection later.


Once you have found your piece of wood, you can begin drawing out the stock. Itsharder to get the shape right this time, since its mostly freehand. It's a good idea todraw some lines with a ruler to help keep the shape under control. I apologise for thelack of a picture here.

Once you have your shape drawn out, grab the jigsaw (it's very useful for this kind ofcutting, but again, you can attempt it with a hacksaw). With the jigsaw, the shapeshouldn't take too long to cut out. You should end up with something like the picturebelow.


I also cut out a curve at the end of the stock.

The next step is to smooth the rough edges out and give some shape to the stock. Ipulled out an electric sander for this job and finished it off with regular sandpaper, butthe whole thing can be done with sandpaper, it just takes a bit longer.

Make sure to leave the end that attaches to the gun as straight an edge as possibleotherwise it will just create more problems as you get to that stage.


If all went to plan you should end up with a structure similar to this.

As you can see, I got ahead of myself again and waxed the stock. I wouldn’t botherdoing this yet, as its easier doing all the wood together when it is all ready.

The next area we come to is the grip. If you have some scraps left over from the stockthat are the right size, use them for the grip, but if not just get another similar piece ofwood. As always, begin by drawing out the shape onto the wood.


Once you have finished drawing out the shapes, get the jigsaw once again and cutthem out. The process is pretty much the same as the stock and handle.

As you can see the grip is made from two parts. The larger part slots into the sectionwe cut out of the 'middle bit' earlier, and the smaller part backs right up onto the topsection of the 'middle bit' and ends at the end of the larger part. It sounds confusing,but it isn't really, just take a look at the pictures and it will all become cleareventually.


After sanding down the rough edges the grip looks a lot better. Make sure that youdon’t sand the ends that touch the 'middle bit' so they will fit securely.

And yes, I did get carried away again.

We have finished with the wooden bits for now, so put them all to one side.

I'm going to show you how to make sights for the gun, and detail the 'middle bit.' Soyou will need to get hold of some card. Cereal packet card isn't ideal, but it will do thejob. I used card that was a bit thicker and sturdier, so if you can find any it will be


better, especially if you intend to use the prop in any stunts, or if you think it will behandled roughly.

I had to look at a lot of reference images to detail the gun, and it is by no means aperfect copy, so in the following steps I will just show you the basic principles ofworking with the card and the thought processes I went through whilst detailing it.

Start by measuring and then cutting out a strip that fits along the bottom section ofthe 'middle bit.' Now cut out a side piece for your sights. This should extend over thetop section a little and be in the irregular shape seen in the picture below. To createthe hole, mark with a pen where you want it to go (as close to the middle of the smallsemicircle shape you can get) and then use a hole punch. Trace around both piecesand create a copy of both of them (one for each side of the gun).

The two long strips are different on either side, one of them requiring a couple ofextra cuts and the other requiring multiple pieces, but both are fairly simple onceyou've worked out what to do. I wont go into excessive detail here since the pictureexplains this better than I can.

The first thing to do is cut out a rectangle on both strips as you can see in the picturebelow. The best tool to do this with is a craft knife, since using scissors tends tocrease the card which doesn’t look as good as smooth, undamaged card. A triangle isalso cut out of one of the strips. Another piece that isn't pictured directly below willgo here, but I will come to that shortly. The picture shows various other shapes that Ihaven't described yet. The smallest rectangle can wait, but the irregular shape (with amissing section in the shape of a semicircle, and a triangle sticking out of the top) andthe slightly longer rectangle should be cut out at this stage.


Get out your strong glue again and begin gluing on the pieces as shown in the picturebelow. Make sure they are all lined up well. I would also like to point out that if youare not careful you may have to end up ripping the card off and starting again as Ilearnt the hard way. I stuck one of the strips on the wrong way round and onlyrealised when the glue had dried. Be absolutely sure when you apply the glue that youknow which way round everything is going.

Making the sight is pretty easy if you can find the right pieces. Just have a lookthrough your garage and find any small metal 'gribblies' that you think would lookcool. This isn't ideal if your making an exact replica, but to be honest, I think on azero budget, an exact replica is a bit beyond my range anyway. I ended up using anail, a piece of card and two pieces I didn’t recognise. Cut out a piece of card the width of the 'middle bit' and the length of the first piecewe cut out for the sight (with the hole). The assembly of your sight really depends onthe bits you have chosen to use. I assembled my sight by attaching the two


unrecognised pieces to the card and then laying the nail on top of them so it projecteda little. I then cut out a small piece of card and glued it to the head of the nail.

Glue the sight down in between the two pieces you cut out earlier. The rest of thedetails are quite simple, I used mainly card.

The handle type thing that sticks out near the sights is simply card stuck to the gap Icreated for the bullets to come out of. I ended up not using this gap for what it wasoriginally intended for, so I covered it up using more bits of card. The piece that Ithink is the trigger lock (I'm no gun expert) is another piece of card with a holepunched at one end and another 'gribblie' on the other.


Before we look into attaching the pieces of the gun together, I will show you how tomake the barrels.

First of all cut your copper piping (for the main barrel) down to the right length.Leave about 1 - 2 inches excess. Ignoring the excess, cut the pipe in half and then re-attach the two pieces using a pipe connector. Find two pipe clips. I found one thatlooked just like the sight on an AK-47, this one doesn’t need to clip onto the pipe. Theother pipe clip does however need to fit onto your pipe, so make sure you have theright size. If you stick the two together at this point the sight wont work correctly (orat least with the clips I used, so check before following the next few steps). I used afew pieces of card glued together to give the sight extra height, but I would stronglysuggest using a different material to add height, since the card has only caused meproblems.


Glue the two clips together, with the card (or another material) in between if you feelit necessary and then clip them to the pipe as seen above. Take some more card and draw a shape similar to the one above. It's very importantto get the measurements right for this shape, otherwise it won't stick down in the rightplaces. Measure a couple of millimetres in from the triangular shape and cut out asmaller triangle, leaving just the frame and the rectangle that extrudes from it. Gluethis shape to both the barrel and the pipe clips. Your barrel should look something like this now.

The second barrel should be half the length of the first, excluding the additional 1 - 2inches that should be left. Glue a pipe end to one end of the barrel, and both arefinished for the time being.


Take a drill bit the same diameter as your barrel and carefully drill a hole into boththe top and bottom parts of the grip. If the hole is too shallow for the excess pipe,either make it deeper, or remove the unwanted excess.

Glue both barrels into the top and bottom parts of the grip, and then glue the twoparts of the grip together. Cut out a shape from card that fits in between the barrels, asshown below, and then glue it into place. The last thing to do is get a wooden skewerand glue it along the bottom (not pictured, sorry) of the main barrel with about amillimetre gap created using a snippet of card.

The last section before attaching the gun together, making the clip and painting it all,is the trigger and trigger guard. I decided not to put a trigger in, since I didn’t have a clue on how to make it move,and if it was static, not only would it get in the way, but it would be very vulnerable todamage. A trigger could easily be crafted out of card, metal or even 'borrowed' from atoy gun. The trigger guard is simply a strip of metal that I bent into shape using a vice


and pliers. The detail was made using card - as usual. When gluing the trigger guardin place, make sure you know where you want the handle and the clip to go.

The clip, like the 'middle bit' is just wood and card. Start by drawing out the shapewith a line the same length at either end. Use the Jigsaw to cut out the shape, beforesanding the roughness down a little. Don’t overdo the sanding though because the clipis metal and has much more angular edges than the stock and other wooden bits.

I chose my piece of wood very badly, I realised when I saw the enormous knot. Itwill be covered up, but I would still advise to check your wood before starting on it.The detail of the clip is very simple. I had a look at a couple of clips on the internetand decided to go for a very simple design. Trace round the clip onto some card and


draw your design on it. It’s a good idea to keep an extra template of your design ifyou wish to make extra clips at some point. For now, just make two copies of thedesign, cut them out and then glue them onto the wood.

The clip was the last piece of the puzzle. You are now ready to start putting thewhole thing together. I pondered over how to do this for a while, before settling on dowels. Not only wouldthis give me extra flexibility if needed, but it would give the heavy pieces strongsupport, rather than glue which wouldn’t last a second.


Doweling is a fairly simple and easy process. It is the same for all of the pieces. Firstchoose a drill bit that matches the size of your dowel. I would suggest testing this onsome scrap wood first of all. Drill the same amount of holes as you want dowels,about as deep as half the length of a dowel. The name escapes me, but this handy little'tool' should come with the dowels when you buy/ find them. It is basically a smallmetal stud that fits into your hole. Put one into each hole and then align the twosections that you are attaching together. Once they are aligned push them together sothe studs create indents on the other piece of wood. The indents mark where you aregoing to drill the next set of holes. Stick a dowel in each hole and then push the twosections together. They should hold fairly steadily.


A few pieces could require glue to hold them better, but for both the sake ofpracticality, and easy movement I decided not to glue all of the dowels. Here is a listof where I used them, how and why.

Stock- I didn’t glue any of the dowels on the stock, this means that the gun can be used

with and without a stock. It can also be replaced by a different stock.

Handle- Although it makes sense to glue the handle down, I didn’t, since it means the gun

can be dismantled for transport.

Grip- I glued the grip because it wasn’t steady enough without glue. I also drilled my

holes slightly wonkily, and without glue the whole end of the gun would bepointing in a slightly odd direction.

Clip- I didn’t glue the clip, because it is useful to remove for certain shots. And, again it

helps with transport.

Carrying prop guns in public isn't generally advised, and by not gluing everythingtogether you can carry the prop in a bag and reduce the risk of people thinking youare carrying a real gun.

Painting the gun is almost as important as the actual building of it. Before startingprotect the wooden bits using masking tape. You don’t need to cover the whole thingif you are careful with paint, but it’s a good idea to cover the areas where metal meetswood.


Paint the whole thing apart from the wooden sections black.

Once the black paint is COMPLETELY dry, get some silver paint, a large fluffybrush and a tissue. Dab the brush in the paint and wipe away the majority on thetissue. The idea isn't to completely cover the black paint in silver, but to just literallytouch the corners and edges. Experiment with different amounts of paint until youhave a level you are happy with. You might need to apply multiple coats.


Be careful not to get a streaky effect (unless you want a streaky effect). Thisgenerally happens when there is either too much paint on the brush, or the brush isslightly wet.

You could leave the painting at this stage, or move on to make it look slightly moreweathered and used. To get this weathered effect simply get some brown wax and acloth and apply it in patches. Another way to add more character is to get some blackshoe polish and apply it everywhere except the edges. Both of these techniques wereused in the picture below.


The wood was very simple to colour. It simply involved covering the bare wood inmultiple layers of brown wax. There are many different finishes that can be achievedwith different waxes and woods, but I was going for a weathered look, so I put somescratches in using a knife (only small ones, there is no need for large 'wounds' in thewood) and applied a layer of black shoe polish over it. I wiped the polish off, leavingit only in the scratches. To finish the look I took a piece of rough sandpaper andgently rubbed some of the wax off the edges.

Once it's painted, assemble the rifle, and if you left it till after painting as I did, gluethe dowels that you want to have a permanent fix.

Congratulations, you have now finished constructing your AK-47 prop.


Written and created by

Chester Carr

making an ak-47

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