80% Lowers?

iefstath

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Has anyone build an 80% lower? I have looked at a couple step by step plans but on paper it seems like quite the endeavor...just wondering if anyone has 1st hand experience. I have all the required machining parts sans jig...
 
Has anyone build an 80% lower? I have looked at a couple step by step plans but on paper it seems like quite the endeavor...just wondering if anyone has 1st hand experience. I have all the required machining parts sans jig...

Finishing and building an 80% lower scares me from a legal point. Do you need a mfg FFL to do this? Last 80% lower I saw had no #s. Where would you get #s and do you need a mfg FFL?

Dave
 
I don't believe you need a number if your personally build it and never sell it.

BUT.... the "system" in MA has a habit of processing people with the unfamiliar. Tear gas equipment (other than handheld sprays) are treated as infernal machines, and inert de-milled military hardware is treated as if it were real until serviceable. Of course, charges get dropped once the damage to finances, reputation and criminal record is irrevocably done.

I would not want to rely on a MA police officer or agency understanding the difference between a firearm with a defaced serial number (illegal to possess in MA) and one legally made without a serial number for private use.

There is also the issue of the required FA-10, and the flags filing one with "NONE" for a serial number would raise.
 
Can't you just make up your own serial number? That would answer the question and solve the problem, no?
 
Can't you just make up your own serial number? That would answer the question and solve the problem, no?

Yes you can. But you have to properly mark the receiver with the relevant info that the ATF defines. You need to properly mark it for the caliber, manufacturer (it'd be your name), and serial number. I ran across the proper way to do it as called out by the ATF but I forget where.

As Rob said, you don't have to do this until you decide to sell the rifle.
 
The legal side of this doesn't worry me, perfectly legal to build and possess. You don't need to mark it unless you sell it and I believe you can legally build and sell upto 4 a year without a manf. license. I like the idea of no numbers, they arn't treated as a firearm yet and I figure it would be cooler than just dropping pins and springs into a stripped lower.
 
80% should be easy. I have now completed two 0% lowers with a third one just started. The first one I screwed up the magazine well by a miscalculation but would probably work. The second one I screwed up the large radius but filled it in with JB weld and re-cut so that one should be fine, just a small amount of filler and won’t be noticeable when coated.. Hopefully the 3rd one will be the best finished one.
I used my NRA membership number as the serial # with a -1, -2 and -3 and the end.
 
How pertinent is this info now that there is a proposal to end 80%?

2A Alert - Ban on 80% lowers

Meh, mill em out, build em out, and move on with your life. The biggest point of 80%s is they don't know you have them, so....

The legalities haven't changed despite the hateful rhetoric the commies in congress are spewing. Legal to build out, no need to serialize unless you decide to sell.
 
I finished a few them years ago, before all the Maura Healey bull shit.... I used a few fixtures I machined to hold the forging in a mill vice. It was fun machining them to spec on an Bridgeport with Old school analog Trav-A-Dials. Was two setups one on the side for the pins and safety, the other vertical for the FC pocket. The fist one I tuned the Y handle the wrong way an made a slight cosmetic mark in the fire control pocket, the second one was damn near perfect, Needless to say that the thrill of it is gone and would probably not do it again, and if i did it would be more like work than fun.
You can use a letter/number punch set from harbor freight for the serial numbers, best to mark them before you machine the fire control pocket to prevent bending from hammer blows
 
Does anyone have a drill press and or a jig I could use to finish my lower? I live in Quincy so with 50mi would be nice but ill drive.
 
Does anyone have a drill press and or a jig I could use to finish my lower? I live in Quincy so with 50mi would be nice but ill drive.


Just as something to consider: A 80% lower is not a reciever, but a finished lower is and therefore an assault weapon according to Healey. Finishing a 80% may not be legal.
 
Just as something to consider: A 80% lower is not a reciever, but a finished lower is and therefore an assault weapon according to Healey. Finishing a 80% may not be legal.
Show me where her interpretation of the law is in the actual law. Technically her interpretation has stated that anyone who OWNS a post 94 "massified AW" is not in compliance, yet she has chosen not to prosecute (as if that is actually her job) at this time. What is the deifference between owning a post 94 and building a new 80% in her eyes? There is no difference, both are JUST as against her interpretation equally. Her interpretation states NOTHING differentiating the two. Only owning vs. buying. Her objectives were to 1) Get noticed by the Hilldog, and 2) Chilling effect on gunshops from selling massified AW's. It worked, but also backfired. Her overreach may have kicked off the lawSUITS (multiple) that blow the way things were out of the water. Her ego may have made things worse / better (dependent on side) in the long run.

*Note, I am using simplified language per Herr MOOORA's viewpoint....
 
Show me where her interpretation of the law is in the actual law. Technically her interpretation has stated that anyone who OWNS a post 94 "massified AW" is not in compliance, yet she has chosen not to prosecute (as if that is actually her job) at this time. What is the deifference between owning a post 94 and building a new 80% in her eyes? There is no difference, both are JUST as against her interpretation equally. Her interpretation states NOTHING differentiating the two. Only owning vs. buying. Her objectives were to 1) Get noticed by the Hilldog, and 2) Chilling effect on gunshops from selling massified AW's. It worked, but also backfired. Her overreach may have kicked off the lawSUITS (multiple) that blow the way things were out of the water. Her ego may have made things worse / better (dependent on side) in the long run.

*Note, I am using simplified language per Herr MOOORA's viewpoint....

Oh, I agree with you, the AG and po-po may not
 
Technically her interpretation has stated that anyone who OWNS a post 94 "massified AW" is not in compliance, yet she has chosen not to prosecute (as if that is actually her job) at this time.

Criminal statute of limitations is what, 6 years?
 
Just as something to consider: A 80% lower is not a reciever, but a finished lower is and therefore an assault weapon according to Healey. Finishing a 80% may not be legal.
Finish as many 80% lowers as u want. It’s not illegal and Maura’s notice don’t mean shit! She will never prosecute anyone because she can’t. Keep it off FA10, that’s the whole point to 80%.
 
Anyone in Mass that has a jig and won't be using it? I finally unpacked my mill and set it up in the basement, busted out my parts and 2 of my jig top plates are missing. :( This really blows as it's an Ares Armor AR15 and i think they got shut down by the ATF.
 
Oh, I agree with you, the AG and po-po may not
Problem with that is she will never convict. It would be the quickest way to get her edict blown up. Right now it is doing what she wants. Keeping sales to F2F only. Besides, the MA AG doesn't do that. Local AG's do. And the Police, HA! What does the LAW say? The LAW didn't change, and her interpretation can't CHANGE IT.
 
Anyone in Mass that has a jig and won't be using it? I finally unpacked my mill and set it up in the basement, busted out my parts and 2 of my jig top plates are missing. :( This really blows as it's an Ares Armor AR15 and i think they got shut down by the ATF.
Which pates are you missing?

Pm me if you want to see one to compare against.
 
Which pates are you missing?

Pm me if you want to see one to compare against.

It's the 2 with the larger openings, i have the one with the trigger hole opening.

Also, I emailed AWC who are what became of Ares Armor. They list the parts on their website but out of stock. I emailed them but nothing back.

They look like these. 2 on top are the ones i've misplaced.

Top_PLate_Set_grande.jpg
 
Anyone in Mass that has a jig and won't be using it? I finally unpacked my mill and set it up in the basement, busted out my parts and 2 of my jig top plates are missing.

If you have a mill, you don't really need a jig at all. Just count the handwheel turns, and be aware of backlash. I've done AR10 and AR15 lowers and 1911 frames - both "0%" and "80%" - with a table top mill-drill and counting handwheel turns. Just takes a bit of attention so as not to lose count.
 
If you have a mill, you don't really need a jig at all. Just count the handwheel turns, and be aware of backlash. I've done AR10 and AR15 lowers and 1911 frames - both "0%" and "80%" - with a table top mill-drill and counting handwheel turns. Just takes a bit of attention so as not to lose count.
I would think it would be much easier to put layout lines on the lower and run up to the lines. Then make a finishing pass to clean it up.
 
New guy here, and a little late to this thread lol! I've got the modulus arms jig and just finished a couple of their raw lowers. After using the jig I've come to realize that a lower can be done on a old school mill like a bridgeport, but one would need to have decent knowledge of reading blueprints, the finish doesn't have to be great but it certainly wouldn't hurt to make the inside as flawless as possible to make sure there's enough material to support the pins for the trigger. I live in Washington state and so far the laws for 80% lowers are vague, even after the passing of our newest set of laws
 
@Michael kemper You don't need to [specifically] knowledge of reading blueprints to complete an 80% lower. You just need a reasonable level of intelligence. I've finished several already (plan to do more in the future) and with a good jig it's pretty easy. Not time consuming either. We got the process down to about an hour. That's including tooling changes and repositioning for the side holes. Of course, the mill had good DROs on all three axis to make things easier.

DO remember to drill AND ream the FCG pin holes as well as the safety hole. The FCG pocket dimensions are +/- 0.010" IIRC (I'd have to look on the plans I have) which means as long as you're not an ape, you'll be fine.

Final bit for this. Before you call it 'done' test fit the fire control group in the lower and make sure it functions properly. It's a lot easier to do some additional machining while you're still setup than get it finished (Cerakote or other) and find out you need to machine a bit more from an area to get it to work as it should.
 
If you want to go old school Dykem the top, scribe your outline then run up to the line.
Aluminum is soft by nature and the FCG holes are susceptible to wear that's why it gets anodized.
To overcome these problems you can cut the FCG holes on the tight side to reduce wear and use anti rotating axis pins. Same for those doing a plastic lower.
 
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It's the 2 with the larger openings, i have the one with the trigger hole opening.

Also, I emailed AWC who are what became of Ares Armor. They list the parts on their website but out of stock. I emailed them but nothing back.

They look like these. 2 on top are the ones i've misplaced.

Top_PLate_Set_grande.jpg
You have a mill , make a new plate!
 
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