My first Ar-15 built with the 80% Arms Easy Jig. It was truly EASY!
I have wanted an AR-15 for the
longest time. I recently thought it would be fun
to build my own gun. Having never owned
an AR-15, let alone assembled one before, I was quite new at all this. I looked around for different options and
decided on an 80 percent lower. When I
came across a video on the Easy Jig from 80% Arms, I knew that I had to try
it.
I ordered the Easy Jig and a flat
dark earth 80% lower. I found a DeWalt
D26670 Compact router on sale for $69. I
bought the 3 drill bits. I found a 4
inch long ¼ inch diameter four flute end mill with a 1 inch cutting length from
Niagara Cutter on Amazon. The 1 inch
cutting length was great, as it made it so I could go right to the edge of the
jig on the first pass without damaging the Easy Jig templates for the trigger
pocket and the top shelf. This is
because the Easy Jig’s template spacer is just less than 1 inch thick. Do not let the cutting edge of the end mill tough the jig template at any time. Go slow and steady. One other caution: check to make sure that the end mill has not slipped in the router. You will know cause it will immediately chatter.
To drill all the holes I used a Ryobi
cordless drill, and everything went perfectly.
The thickness of the jig walls make it impossible to drill the holes
crooked. The only hole on which I used a
drill press is the starting hole for the trigger.
The whole process took me about 3
hours, which is not bad for the first time at it.
All I can say is that the Easy Jig is
extremely easy to use, and fun to do. Just
follow the directions, and take your time to do it right. My finished lower
receiver went together easily. The upper
fit great to the lower, and the gun shot perfectly.
My finished AR-15 has a DPMS upper,
an ERGO Grip, a Magpul angled front grip, a GL-MAG butstock from Fab Defense
and UTG scope.