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80% lower milling
- Thread starter BostonGuns58
- Start date
warwickben
bubba Kalashnikov
You have to mill it your self .
So you should ask who will teach me on there machine .
warwickben
bubba Kalashnikov
There was a ar build party going on .
I'm hosting a mini buikd for a few friends cause one owns a jig and I have a mill.
I'm hosting a mini buikd for a few friends cause one owns a jig and I have a mill.
Bump.
Also looking at 80% lowers, but what's the draw vs. buying a stripped lower, other than the price? How much time/effort does it take to finish that last 20% (assuming I don't have the tools)? If I don't care about doing it myself, would I be better off just buying either a stripped or complete lower? I assume there's no AWB benefits to buying an 80%, right?
Also looking at 80% lowers, but what's the draw vs. buying a stripped lower, other than the price? How much time/effort does it take to finish that last 20% (assuming I don't have the tools)? If I don't care about doing it myself, would I be better off just buying either a stripped or complete lower? I assume there's no AWB benefits to buying an 80%, right?
KMM696
NES Member
Also looking at 80% lowers, but what's the draw vs. buying a stripped lower, other than the price? Well, there are a few obscure situations where starting with a 80% will make the end project easier, but this applies to 0.01% of most shooters. The draw for me is I like doing this sort of thing, even if it didn't have a useful end product.
How much time/effort does it take to finish that last 20% (assuming I don't have the tools)? Too damn much. If you're thinking of buying tools to finish one 80% lower, then don't. It will not be anywhere near as effective as your next question. On the other hand, if you saw the 80%ers and thought it a perfect excuse to buy a mill, drill press, etc, then it's a perfect project for you!
If I don't care about doing it myself, would I be better off just buying either a stripped or complete lower? Yes. If you're thinking about getting into putting ARs together, a stripped lower and a lower parts kit is the perfect place to start. It's all assembly work, not metal work; and the tools needed are along the lines of punches and a hammer, not a milling machine.
I assume there's no AWB benefits to buying an 80%, right? None. Unless you have a time machine to bring it back to 1993 to finish it.
How much time/effort does it take to finish that last 20% (assuming I don't have the tools)? Too damn much. If you're thinking of buying tools to finish one 80% lower, then don't. It will not be anywhere near as effective as your next question. On the other hand, if you saw the 80%ers and thought it a perfect excuse to buy a mill, drill press, etc, then it's a perfect project for you!
If I don't care about doing it myself, would I be better off just buying either a stripped or complete lower? Yes. If you're thinking about getting into putting ARs together, a stripped lower and a lower parts kit is the perfect place to start. It's all assembly work, not metal work; and the tools needed are along the lines of punches and a hammer, not a milling machine.
I assume there's no AWB benefits to buying an 80%, right? None. Unless you have a time machine to bring it back to 1993 to finish it.
Perfect, thanks.
(note to self: don't tell anyone about the time machine you invented...)
Yeah, you don't finish 80% lowers to save money. You can buy a stripped lower for about $70. Most 80% lowers go for that or more. A great deal on an 80% lower would be $50. A couple of drill bits and you have bought a 100% stripped lower.
It's more about the satisfaction of finishing it yourself. Being in MA, there is no other advantage if you are following all of our laws.
They can be finished using a crappy benchtop drill press, a cheap jig, and an end mill. I've recently done a few. The first was pretty ugly, but it works. They got better as I went along. I didn't save any money, I spilled some blood, but I had fun doing them.
Does your time machine look like this? Believe me, it won't work. I tried.
It's more about the satisfaction of finishing it yourself. Being in MA, there is no other advantage if you are following all of our laws.
They can be finished using a crappy benchtop drill press, a cheap jig, and an end mill. I've recently done a few. The first was pretty ugly, but it works. They got better as I went along. I didn't save any money, I spilled some blood, but I had fun doing them.
Does your time machine look like this? Believe me, it won't work. I tried.
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I have been thinking about picking up a few 80%ers to stash away for later.
What kind of money we talking about for this. Think, real basic set up.
I'm a clumsy baboon when it comes to hard skills like this, but my son is pretty good and really likes fabrication. What am I looking at for a beginners basic set of equipment (sorry if that is a dumb question)?
pastera
NES Member
I have a micro mill and can honestly say just buy a lower.
You will drop $500 on a small mill and then close to double that for tooling. Then you start breaking things before you learn to make things.
If you want to use it as a hobby, start at about $1k for a basic setup. However, I would recommend a lathe to start learning on (just not useful for lowers)
You will drop $500 on a small mill and then close to double that for tooling. Then you start breaking things before you learn to make things.
If you want to use it as a hobby, start at about $1k for a basic setup. However, I would recommend a lathe to start learning on (just not useful for lowers)
the_shootist
Banned
You can finish these with a drillpress and basic tools. Check out
www.weaponsguild.com
Join up and post a few comments, input and questions. There's all sorts of tutorials for different gun builds and this (AR 80% lower) is detailed quite well. The site is loaded with gun builders and machinists.
www.weaponsguild.com
Join up and post a few comments, input and questions. There's all sorts of tutorials for different gun builds and this (AR 80% lower) is detailed quite well. The site is loaded with gun builders and machinists.
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=4165194
$90 for a jig kit is the cheapest I could find
$90 for a jig kit is the cheapest I could find
There are community jigs available for loan from the Ares Armor Group buy.
Contact Golddiggie here on NES. We also know someone with a Bridgeport
with DROs. We have been running about 1 hour to process a lower on it,
My little mill the best I could do is about 2 hours. Others were running 3+.
I still have to install the DROs on my Mill before it gets used again.
Malodave
Contact Golddiggie here on NES. We also know someone with a Bridgeport
with DROs. We have been running about 1 hour to process a lower on it,
My little mill the best I could do is about 2 hours. Others were running 3+.
I still have to install the DROs on my Mill before it gets used again.
Malodave
A lathe with a milling attachment is a very versatile setup - could easily do a lower with one.
A small vintage Atlas or South Bend lathe & milling attachment would be a great setup for moderate amounts of home gunsmithing, for not too much $$
About a year and a half ago the ATF cracked down on build parties and CNC shops were prohibited from allowing customers to rent their machines. The ATF expanded and "clarified" their position further in their January 2, 2015 letter. Anyone planning on allowing others to use their tools to finish lowers, should read this letter first. Here is the link:
http://www.atf.gov/sites/default/fi...ling-2015-1-manufacturing-and-gunsmithing.pdf
We have customers that are finishing lowers using our Easy Jig in under an hour. Keep in mind this is after doing a few of them. First timers will take longer to finish their first one. Our jig uses a router and has built in depth gauges which makes it much faster and much more fool proof compared to the traditional jigs where you use a drill press to mill the lower. With our jig you can finish your lower with a hand drill and a low cost compact laminate router.
This thread is a little old but the January 2nd 2015 ATF letter is something anyone planning on doing a build party should now be aware of.
Golddiggie
NES Member
Just be prepared to spend a few hours per lower on that mill. Maybe more without good DROs.
pastera
NES Member
If you use a jig to drill out the bulk or just print out the centers on paper and glue, it won't actually take that long.
Did mine on a micro-mill (much smaller) without a jig or DROs and could probably do it in 1.5 hours now that I've done it once and much less if I had a jig.
I use a couple of sets of digital calipers to make a poor mans DRO (zero them between the edge of the table and a fixed point for relative position).
71montess
NES Member
Here's the harbor freight 1 1/2 hp mill for $899.00 till midnight !http://t.harborfreight.com/checkout/cart/
I've been wanting to do an 80% lower for some time now. In my basement I have a Bridgeport Milling machine with a 36" table and a 10" swing lathe along with belt sanders, buffers, etc. I would think a lower would be pretty damn easy! That being said I've always been too lazy to procure a lower and borrow a jig 
pastera
NES Member
No need for a jig - just mill up a couple of plates to hold the lower.I've been wanting to do an 80% lower for some time now. In my basement I have a Bridgeport Milling machine with a 36" table and a 10" swing lathe along with belt sanders, buffers, etc. I would think a lower would be pretty damn easy! That being said I've always been too lazy to procure a lower and borrow a jig
I think the plans I used were from ray-vin
Anyone know the real law on the 80% lowers? I heard from the local CLEO that once you mill it out you have manufactured a firearm. He says its a big no-no.
I could write a book on laws that cops don't know...No offense to any LEO...Gun law is tricky and I don't expect them to know it.
I could write a book on laws that cops don't know...No offense to any LEO...Gun law is tricky and I don't expect them to know it.
