I been inspired by some of the rifles I've seen on this forum, so I want to build my version of the ultimate ?Evil Black Rifle?. I started by collecting the components I want to use. When I have all of them, I will order a VZ-58 Military rifle and convert it. I have an Ace stock with Stormwerks adaptor, a polymer pistol grip from Czechpoint, an EOTech 512 and an inexpensive front vertical grip I found strangely enough on Amazon.com.
But for the handguards, I couldn?t find anything I liked. Some of the aluminum handguards available were close, but not exactly what I wanted. They are also a bit pricey. So I made my own.
I found an aluminum channel in my scrap pile. The flange is the same depth as the VZ-58 lower handguard. I cut the excess out of the web and welded the two pieces back together. I used a router to round the edges of the channel. After a lot of hand filing and fitting, I had a lower forearm that fits very tight. I added a Leapers rail to the bottom for a vertical grip and one to each side for a tactical light and maybe a laser.
For the top handguard, I used a piece of 1? x 1 ?? aluminum bar stock. I clamped two pieces together so I could drill an off-center hole. More hand filing and fitting until it fit the standard metal jacket. Screws through the metal jacket into tapped holes in the aluminum hold it together. I added a Leapers see-thru rail on top to hold an EOTech 512. I have no idea how well it will hold zero, but sems tight. Matte black paint to follow shortly. Or maybe Duracoat.
The VZ-58 itself wasn?t in the budget until January, but with the price increase looming, maybe an early New Years present for myself. Will post photo of finished rifle.
