Carl Nisarel wrote:

BottleBob wrote

Carl:

I don't know about expert source, but it would seem to me to be quite
difficult to drill the barrel with only a handsaw and files.

Is the barrell the only item that would be a problem? What about
springs? Would the tight fit tolerances among the various parts be
difficult to achieve?

Carl:

I'm not exactly sure what you're driving at here. I'm not a gunsmith
so I'm not familiar with all the internal workings or parts of an
AK-47. Coil springs can be made by wrapping piano wire around a pin,
flat springs can be made out of sheet spring steel with hand tools.
Filing, sawing, sanding, "can" achieve some pretty close tolerance
"seeming" fits. They might not look pretty but they might function for
the application. Clock makers centuries ago did some really nice work
with mostly simple hand tools.

--
BottleBob
http://home.earthlink.net/~bottlbob