Powerfisher
New member
I just picked up a couple of 80% AR 10 lowers and I need them finished. Besides a jig, what type of tools will I need to finish them? It seems like the hardest part is to mill out the trigger area.
AR 10 80% Lower
- Thread starter Powerfisher
- Start date
Plant.One
Well-known member
depdning on the jig you select - the jig mfg should have a list of tooling needed to complete their project.
we did a few lately with the 5dtactical router jig... super easy to do, but expensive. its the only jig on the market that you can easily finish multiple lowers on without the jig wearing out as the cutting tools never interact with the jig itself, other than the drill bits which line up thru what i believe are hardened drill guides
takes about 45 mins to an hour to mill each lower, but you get a nice clean product when you're done. trick is to take your time and go slow.
we did a few lately with the 5dtactical router jig... super easy to do, but expensive. its the only jig on the market that you can easily finish multiple lowers on without the jig wearing out as the cutting tools never interact with the jig itself, other than the drill bits which line up thru what i believe are hardened drill guides
takes about 45 mins to an hour to mill each lower, but you get a nice clean product when you're done. trick is to take your time and go slow.
Powerfisher
New member
Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.
spotstalkshoot
Well-known member
However long it takes to fill out a 4473 and wait for background check. Plus a transfer fee, if you order/auction buy. Time and money saved.
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Plant.One
Well-known member
Originally Posted By: pyscodogHow much money is actually saved with an 80% lower? By the time you buy the lower plus all the tooling and your time...was any money saved?
unless you're making a pile of them, and bought all your lowers back when pricing was normal... none at all. good tooling is hundreds of dollars to setup - which is what you'll need to spend to get more than a few lowers out of your tooling anyway, no less have them turn out nice.
if you're only doing one or two - you're better to find a friend who has the tooling, buy them a box of of their favorite beer and use their tools to build your toys. In my case it was some steaks on the grill.. but whatever floats their boat right?
but i dont think the allure of making 80%'ers has ever been about saving $$... i believe its more about the mystique of having the elusive unserialized "ghost gun" in your collection - or simply being able to say "i made this myself"
my $0.02 USD
unless you're making a pile of them, and bought all your lowers back when pricing was normal... none at all. good tooling is hundreds of dollars to setup - which is what you'll need to spend to get more than a few lowers out of your tooling anyway, no less have them turn out nice.
if you're only doing one or two - you're better to find a friend who has the tooling, buy them a box of of their favorite beer and use their tools to build your toys. In my case it was some steaks on the grill.. but whatever floats their boat right?
but i dont think the allure of making 80%'ers has ever been about saving $$... i believe its more about the mystique of having the elusive unserialized "ghost gun" in your collection - or simply being able to say "i made this myself"
my $0.02 USD
I use to be a half azz machinist when I was working. I know the cost of tooling and it isn't cheap even if you buy cheap stuff. That was the base for my question of money saved. Maybe what Plant One said is closer to the truth, the mystique of having a "ghost gun" out weighs the cost. For me today, with not much more than a cheap drill press and a grinder for tools, I would FUBAR more 80% lowers trying to make one good one, that just buying a lower would be much more reasonable. Just to say I made it myself.....not that big of a deal to me. Maybe if I still had access to my Brigeport...I might have different thoughts.
Plant.One
Well-known member
the kit i was able to use is about $500 worth of tooling for the jig, router and drill/mill bits it uses. and thats assuming you already have a 5" bench vise on hand, and some kind of corded or cordless hand drill.
but thats a buy-once-cry-once kit (other than the drill/mill bits anyway, which any knucklehead can easily damage thru mis-use) that will allow you to mill out pretty much as many lowers as you could imagine wanting to have, milled to some kind of quality that doesnt look like your dog chewed the FCG pocket out for you or you let your nephew chisel it out with a hammer.
its definitely not the kit that joe-hobby is gonna get to mill out one or two lowers, unless your intent is to do so and then re-sell it to get some $$ back out of it.
but it also comes down to the age old "how do you want your work done" conundrum
fast, right, cheap - pick any two!
but thats a buy-once-cry-once kit (other than the drill/mill bits anyway, which any knucklehead can easily damage thru mis-use) that will allow you to mill out pretty much as many lowers as you could imagine wanting to have, milled to some kind of quality that doesnt look like your dog chewed the FCG pocket out for you or you let your nephew chisel it out with a hammer.
its definitely not the kit that joe-hobby is gonna get to mill out one or two lowers, unless your intent is to do so and then re-sell it to get some $$ back out of it.
but it also comes down to the age old "how do you want your work done" conundrum
fast, right, cheap - pick any two!