I started to assemble my new SBR today and I screwed up royally!!! I have a JBO billet lower. It has a threaded bolt catch instead of using a roll pin. I thought that was an awesome feature. So anyway, I got my lower registered, paid my tax stamp, got it engraved and had it professionally cerakoted. Today I went to assemble lower a and i could not get screw in piece to thread in. It looked like the cerakote added just enough thickness to it that it was too tight and the screw began to strip. While it is not meant to use a roll pin with, I thought what the hell. I will never probably take bolt catch off so I drove the roll pin in and together the gun went. So alittle later this evening, I went into shop to play with new creation and I put a lot of upgraded parts. One of them was a Striker enchanced bolt catch. It looks cool and it has a bottom paddle on it so its easy to get bolt to hold open. Instead of pulling from top, you can push on bottom. I went to push on bottom to get bolt to hold open and realized that it wouldn't do it. I quickly got a empty magazine and then realized that it wouldn't lock open on it either. It turns out that my billet lower is beefy under bolt catch and this extra paddle doesn't have the room to fully operate. So in the state it was in, I could not lock back bolt and it would not lock back on empty mag. The roll pin was close to surface so I tried and tried to pull it out with this and that. There is only one opening, and no way to push it back out the other way, because as I mentioned, this lower was not designed to use roll pin. So I got the brilliant idea that I should use a drill bit and try to twist it and catch inside of roll pin then pull out. I ended up knocking it in even deeper. Then I got the idea, that there may be tons of room on the other side of bolt catch inside billet and thought if I could push it the whole way through into a possible void then I could replace this aftermarket catch with standard catch and get another roll pin in even if I had to shorten it. I ended up breaking off bit inside roll pin. Now I am convinced this thing is in there for life. I guess I just have to get used to the idea the gun will not lock back on empty mag and I will always dry fire at the end of each mag. It sucks because if I didn't pay for tax stamp, cerakote and lower itself, I would almost buy a new lower just to be fully functional but between stamp, refinishing and engraving, thats a lot of cash and time. I am just so bummed.

So an after thought. Should I leave it how it see and have it never lock back or should I dremel off nub on other end of catch so it will always lock back. They I would just have to drop empty mag to close bolt. Thoughts?

Stop! Sleep on it.  Reflect on it in the morning.  I dont know the best answer but anything you do right now is most likely going to make it worse.  You may have to suck it up, bring it to a smith and tell him exactly what your stupid friend did to fuck up your newly sbr'd lower.

Stop trying to fix it.  Take it to the best gunsmith you can find within 100 miles and let him try to unfuck it.

This advice is too late now, but the threads could have been chased with the right size tap to clean up the threads where the cerakote gummed them up. And, as already mentioned; stop trying to do half-ass attempted fixes because this is getting you nowhere. As for the direction to go now, several pictures would help to see what you are working with.

You could always punt and notify ATF the SBR was never made, get your refund and SBR a new lower.

Yep. That'll save you at least the stamp cost.

Good advice to put the tools down and step away from the bench.

Find a 'smith that is competent with Black Rifle and let him unfuck it.

The fact you say no coming back from this one tells me you need to take this to a gun smith. It can be fixed fairly quickly by someone with the right skill and tools

1. Stop.
2. Sleep.
3. Use a dremel to chop off the lower tab of the bolt catch that is interfering, touch it up with a bluing pen and call it good.

BTW, nobody pulls on the paddle to lock the bolt back with a standard bolt catch, you just push on the little nub at the bottom.

Cut the bottom paddle off, leave a nub to use.  Kinda like a stock piece ;)

Thanks for the replies all. I have been sick over this issues. I have plans to see a local gunsmith at 9 am tomorrow. If he sounds confident he can fix it, I will leave lower with him. If not, I have a second local gunsmith to try and then a guy from this site I could send it to. Very worse case I'll contact ATF and try to get SBR fees refunded and get another lower. I will update you guys to let you know how it goes.

Thanks
Jason

Best advice, aside from that. Please, find a gunsmith and have your lower repaired professionally.

 

Since the OP did not properly assess the situation at hand and chase threads as the #1 task and instead cascaded into a series of bad decisions, he needs to let a professional bail him out.
And he is doing that, sounds like.

Sometimes we have to fuck up and fuck up good in order to learn.

It's impossible for me to read anyone's post when they don't double space. Before my eyes started to cross you mentioned an aftermarket bolt stop. Try a standard unit.

Sorry. I typed it out on my phone. My mind was scrambled and I was not in a good state of mind and it came out poorly formatted.

While we're on the subject, why would they over complicate things by threading the bolt stop pin hole? Roll pin works fine.



Is there a good reason for it that I'm not seeing?

Ease of removal, since a lot of guys treat AR's like barbie dolls, can't leave well enough alone

That's bananas.  Never occurred to me that anyone would want to swap it out.

I went to see two gunsmiths today. First gunsmith wouldn't touch it. Said he would ruin finish and if didn't want to have it refinished again then he didn't want nothing to do with it. The second gunsmith said that roll pin with broke off bit was never coming out unless I got someone with a EDM machine to chemically burn out pin and bit however he could shave down wings on paddle so it would function like a normal bolt catch. He also said he would not mess up finish. $125 and two week turn around. I couldn't leave it with him today because I had to bring it home and strip it back down or he would charge extra to disassemble. I thought about taking a dremel tool to the nub on inside of catch so it would always lock back on empty mag and just drop magazine to close bolt but I think I am going to opt for the $125 paddle shave down. I would like everything to work right. Just as long as be preserves finish or I would have been better off just buying new lower and getting refinished as lower was only $130 with free shipping. I will update this thread with how it goes.

Thanks
Jason

have you also considered the fact that's it's now a NFA item and cannot be left with a run of the mill FFL? (I think, if I'm wrong, excuse me).




there are some really sharp people on here, ( M60 Joe comes to mind, John Thomas in the retro forum, or maybe even Adco,) why not slow down and peruse your options.




 
 
 

I have not received my form 1 back yet. It's pending. I talked to ATF yesterday to find out procedure to cancel application and get refund if things go South. I'd be happy with this gunsmith milling down paddles to get it to function. He ensured me he wouldn't mess up finish. I have lower stripped back down and will drop off with him on Tuesday.

So I got a call from the gunsmith today saying he milled the wings on the bolt release off. I asked "So its working good now?" To which the answer was "It's working better than it was". When the cost of this repair is $125, that answer had me concerned. So when I got to his shop, he milled the wings off and there was exposed silver on both sides and bottom. I figured, OK, I guess I can get some kind of black paint marker or aluminum black stuff. But then when I went to push on bolt catch, it was VERY stiff. He got a magazine and we discovered that a mag follower will not move bolt catch so in essence, it still wouldn't work. So I wasn't about to pay him and walk away with the same non functioning bolt catch, even worse really as now it looks like crap on top of it not working. He is going to try something else to mill catch out of slot. Hope that works or else I am just going to start from scratch with new lower, cerakote, engraving and restart form 1.

Maybe if he can mill it out enough to get some needle nose pliers on the roll pin...

That sounds like the plan. He is going to mill out the bolt catch and then work the pin out. Hope that works, I really don't want to start from scratch! I am in week 8 of my form 1 wait so any day now. To go from any day now or stamp in hand to canceling and starting from scratch would be a bummer.

Crap.
This guy sounds like he's over his head.
At this point, you need a bona fide gun surgeon.
I would take it away from him and find that wizard that you need to fix this.

Dude if you haven't gotten your stamp yet, you should just start over.... Although at this point the stamp could very well be in the mail.

I am going to see how this turns out. The ATF said as long as it hasn't been built yet I can get refund and reapply with new lower. I already have money invested in cerakote, lower and engraving so if he can fix it properly I would be happy with that. But any flaws in cerakote or function then I'm better off letting him keep lower, never picking it up, buying all new and starting form 1 over again. Well see

This guys is supposed to be the best in the area. We will see how it goes.

If I "take" it from him, he will want his $125 and I'm not paying that if its not fixed. I will just leave him with lower before I will pay $125 and then require more follow up in it. The lower is a Joe Bobs billet lower. $130 shipped. Then $70 to cerakote lower then $30 for engraving. So I got $230 in it. I'm not spending another $125 unless it's plug and play good to go. Otherwise I will just start over from scratch. The extra $95 bucks would be long forgotten to go from scratch. Restarting the 8-9 week wait is what would suck the most

I'm just wondering something here, before going down this rabbit hole trying to have someone make an attempt at creating a fix, did you think about contacting the company that manufactured the lower receiver, explaining to them the mess up you made; and see if you could have sent the lower to them, so they could destroy it in order to replace it with another lower receiver with the same serial number?

If that was possible which it might be, it would solve the 8-9 week wait problem but then I'd have the $125 gunsmith fee, the $130 for the new lower, the $70 for the cerakote and the $30 for the engraving. I'd be better off just restarting paperwork.

Edit:
I reread your post. I will be honest, I never thought this could be an "unsolvable" issue for a skilled gunsmith. I thought when I went in today this whole saga would be coming to an end and I was excited to reassemble lower tonight.

Agreed on all points there!

I had visions of just milling the entire hole slighlty oversized to get to the bit and roll pin and mill right through them as well.  Retap the hole for a sliglhtly larger screw-type pin, and simply open the hole up on the new bolt catch to match the size of the new pin.  DONE.  Normally I'd say just go to a slightly larger roll pin and don't jack with the screw at all, but I'm not sure how much material is left and may be too weak to handle the installation of another pin.  This way is low on the the parts stress and get's you back to fucntioning.  Touch up the cerakote and move along.

Oooh boy...not that simple.
If I were to armchair this, I'd say you'd have to drop an end mil or a die grinder w/ cutting wheel perpendicular  to the receiver centerline, not parallel.
You would destroy the center section of the bolt catch, wide enough so both pieces could be removed from between the bosses.
This would be a skillful maneuver with the added complication of a broken drill bit (hardened steel) in the middle of it all.
A tough row to hoe, for sure.

I hope you get it fixed, the smith you're using doesn't sound like he knows how to machine anything, I would run with my lower to someone that is a machinist turned smith like has been said above

And just FYI (for all readers not you specifically)

There 2 kinds of EDM; sinker which uses an electrode (machined to mimic shape to be removed) to "cut/erode" conductive material away and then wire EDM to cut/erode the conductive material out of the way, there is no chemical edm process (he doesnt have a clue)

Any pictures?

1)All that needs to be done is to cut/mill out the catch
2)Then knock roll pin debri and broken drill bit and crap into now vacant catch slot,
3)Then setup and drill out roll pin in back pocket (through fucked up threaded hole)
4)Next thing would be to to plug back hole and drill for a support hole that is size of catch hole
5)Drill/thread front hole for larger SHSS
6)turn down a SHSS to use as a pivot pin and support catch as it's threaded into front hole
7)Re-assembly

That is just an example of a fix; there are numerous other ways like loctiting alum threaded rod into front hole and then retapping it original size or roll pin size

This is not an easy fix for a person at home with a dremel and hand drill (I would try it though, knowing I could just bring it to work and fix it )

If you can not do this yourself, a new lower and paint would probably be cheaper than fixing it if it's really fucked up (loosely based on say $60 an hour)

Sorry so long, just hate people trying to fix stuff that is over their head, but too stuborn to admit it, GOOD LUCK and have fun with the new stamp'd toy

No pictures as the lower is still with gunsmith. I am thinking he may get the bolt catch and roll pin/bit out but I am guessing based on how he was ready for me to pay for and pick up a non functioning lower that he will not re-tap or help with getting a new bolt catch in place. Even if he machines out old bolt catch and gets roll pin out I am stuck with a messed up threaded hole for the bolt catch screw (which I don't even have anymore). So I will likely have a whole new set of headaches even if he is successful. I am so close to just starting over. I just don't want to have to restart that ATF wait

OP, you may recall we bounced some messages back and forth when you initially posted.  If you end up with completely dorked up bolt catch ears, you are not completely out of luck. The ears that traditionally hold the bolt catch are not mandatory.  The bolt catch and lower receiver can be modified and the catch recessed back into the receiver.  I've done a few of these along the way (see pic below).

Good luck getting everything worked out.

John Thomas

Well I called gunsmith today as it's been two weeks and I have heard nothing. He said he decided to not mill it out. That it's under tension and when the part is about to give that tension would break his bit and mess up receiver so he is done trying. Wish he would have at least called and told me that. I called ATF and faxed letter to cancel application. I am ordering a new lower in morning. I will have to restart entire form 1 wait, have lower re engraved and recerakoted. What a lesson I have learned on patience. In the end it was a $250 10-12 week mistake. Wouldn't be using that gunsmith again that goes without saying.

Depending on what the receiver is made from, and if.the roll pin is carbon or ferric, you can strip it of all else and soak the receiver in ferric chloride - it will dissolve the roll pin after a week or so and then you'll have a bare hole.

If the receiver is aluminum then you can't use this method.

I don't know how it will impact the cerakote, probably won't, but that is unknown to me.

I have had to do the above to get broken taps out of titanium.

I used to get ferric chloride at Radio Shack, it was called "etchant"  or Iron Chloride.

best

mqqn

You paid $250 for one hell of an education. Pretty cheap price. Frankly, you're lucky. Had the stamp gone through you would have been in a real mess.



FWIW, the dimensional change from coatings, no matter how slight, is responsible for SO many threads here. NiB, Cerakote, etc, they alter the dimensions. Period. I prefer metal processes like nitride that don't add any thickness.



I have this old school "how to assemble an AR book" that talks about spinning a drlll bit by hand though all the various pin holes. I used to think that was crazy talk from by-gone days of assembly line production from type writer factories. Now I realize that it's just plain smart. Worst case of undersizing I've ever run into was on a Spike's tactical CHF barrel with factory pinned GB. Both the gas block pin hole and the gas tube pin hole were severely undersized. No pin was going in there for love or money. Used the drill bits, created way more shavings that I ever would have thought, and the pins were still tight.



Point is, don't believe that premium this and slick-ass that will mean everything should fit together no problem.



-Stooxie



 

How are there so many 'smiths that have zero machining skills? Why on Earth wouldn't they be able to drill out the pin, retap over size if necessary, and enlarge the bolt catch pivot hole??
Seems like more and more 'smiths are just "parts replacers" anymore with no real machining skills

ETA: I'd advise taking it to a professional machinist (who could fix that with their eyes closed), but unfortunately they are probably not legally allowed to touch it without the proper license.

I believe that as long as the item isn't left with the machinist, no problem.  That is if you can stay with the item while being worked on.

I don't think there's that much money in gunsmithing to justify the cost of a full size EDM.


That is a pretty cool setup. Actually the whole web site has cool stuff but the electronic side is way beyond this old machinists capability. Making your own circuit boards, wow. I stand on a rubber mat when I change the batteries in my aim-point.