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Posted: 9/18/2018 12:26:35 AM EDT
[#1]
Most of us that do 80% lowers are not doing it to save money, I have never saved a dime over what I can buy a stripped lower for.
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Posted: 9/18/2018 12:44:59 AM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Can I ask why you would spend money on an 80% lower, a router and a jig for only 1 lower? PSA has them on sale for $39.99 so buying everything for only 1 lower isn't saving you any money...if that is why you're doing it. |
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Posted: 9/18/2018 6:03:05 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Can I ask why you would spend money on an 80% lower, a router and a jig for only 1 lower? PSA has them on sale for $39.99 so buying everything for only 1 lower isn't saving you any money...if that is why you're doing it. But really i just want to say i built my lower and have an evil ghost gun... |
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Posted: 9/18/2018 8:50:47 AM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Most of us that do 80% lowers are not doing it to save money, I have never saved a dime over what I can buy a stripped lower for. |
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Posted: 9/18/2018 5:55:46 PM EDT
[#5]
I used this one and it worked really well
https://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-PCE6430-4-5-Amp-Laminate-Trimmer/dp/B00JTV1A0K |
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Posted: 9/18/2018 5:57:22 PM EDT
[#6]
A trim router might be a bit underpowered.
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Posted: 9/18/2018 7:16:01 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
A trim router might be a bit underpowered. |
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Posted: 9/19/2018 12:48:49 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Can I ask why you would spend money on an 80% lower, a router and a jig for only 1 lower? PSA has them on sale for $39.99 so buying everything for only 1 lower isn't saving you any money...if that is why you're doing it. Other than making a "ghost" lower, some people will finish an 80% because they can do it with simpler tools than a milling machine. I seen a video where the presenter finishes an 80% Glock frame with a hand cranked drill gun and a set of files and rasps. He didn't even bother with an end mill in a drill press. |
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Posted: 9/20/2018 5:38:57 PM EDT
[#9]
Why would the end mill keep lowering on it own?
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Posted: 9/20/2018 6:02:02 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Why would the end mill keep lowering on it own? |
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Posted: 9/20/2018 6:32:36 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Sounds like something is not tightened up enough. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Why would the end mill keep lowering on it own? 
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Posted: 9/20/2018 7:06:16 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Why would the end mill keep lowering on it own? That’s why you need to be careful on selection. |
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Posted: 9/20/2018 7:14:29 PM EDT
[#13]
There is a reason certain tools are recommended, the HF routers have a lot of runout and when you start adding side load to the collet and bearings for the shaft it causes that to get much worse. I buy a lot of tools at HF, but through experience, I stay away from their routers because of the runout and even working with hardwoods from cabinets it can and often becomes a real problem.
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Posted: 9/20/2018 7:21:35 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: DaveP1 is correct, also if the Router has too much runout the vibrations will cause the bit to loosen. Keep in mind that Routers were never designed to mill metal. That’s why you need to be careful on selection. |
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Posted: 9/22/2018 5:54:26 PM EDT
[#15]
just finished it...7hrs total time
Has "chatter" marks and my trigger hole was slightly off so it has a small nick there. But overall I'm happy with it and it definitely looks better than the guys in GD last week. Not sure how to post pics from my phone. |
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Posted: 9/22/2018 9:30:18 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Sorry pal, I don’t hand out participation trophies...and me tellin you your machining is bad isn’t “trolling” I teach machining for a living..... and if one of my students brought me a part that looked like that Ide fail them.... I don’t know what lower you are buying.... but not even my $50 Anderson’s are machined that badly. And no amount of bead blasting is going to take out that massive gouge near your selector hole. I don’t know why you think “shininess” has any bearing on it..... fun house mirror are shiny and they are wonky as hell |
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Posted: 9/22/2018 11:16:00 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
ive never seen any 80% lowers finished with a router that didnt look like complete dog-ass....... frankly youd be much better off searching craigslist for a used Mill/Drill machine....or find someone with a mill and by them a 6 pack. 
 Attached File |
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Posted: 9/23/2018 6:02:09 PM EDT
[#18]
Can i skip the drill bit and just use the end mill for the trigger slot?
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Posted: 9/24/2018 12:39:46 PM EDT
[#19]
Damn. I wrote a whole thing here, and cant post more than 2000 letters. Im gonna separate it into a couple posts, cuz you really remind me of how i used to operate. Anyway, I saw this and wanted to respond because I have some experience with harbor freight rotary tools...I would STRONGLY reccomend against using them. I don't know that router specifically, but my router from them burned out immediately. The worse experience was with a "Dremel" tool I was using for wood carving. I was using a drum sander bit, kinda big and heavy... I wasnt wearing eye protection, and was in front of a wall- the shaft snapped, flew into the wall, bounced back at my face...I'm very lucky I still have my right eye, it whizzed past my head at 100mph like a mm away from my eye. That's not even close to the only tools I've had from them that have broken. They're okay for buying hose clamps and wire nuts, but save your money when you want power tools, especially for building something like a firearm. Harbor freight stuff can also break and injure you, Ill never buy anything with moving parts from them again.
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Posted: 9/24/2018 12:40:39 PM EDT
[#20]
(continued):
I recently completed my first 80%, I am also on a budget. I got a refurbished Makita from eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/MAKITA-RT0701C-1-1-4-HP-6-5-AMP-VARIABLE-SPEED-COMPACT-ROUTER/362424757438?hash=item546232ecbe:g:aHYAAOSwEDtbh0zc I've been buying refurbished everything for years, and haven't once had a problem. The router did a fantastic job with the 5d jig. I've used it alot for wood sculpting too, I'm very happy so far. Like I said, I'm on a budget. I bought the cheapest stuff I could find for years to save money. Here's what I learned; you don't save money, you end up spending more... Junk breaks, or doesn't work right, and you have to buy it again, and eventually, after alot of aggravation and problems, you end up buying the quality model anyway. Sorry for the long winded rant lol...I saw this and had to reply. This was a major theme of my life for a few years. When I decided I wanted to build an AR 15, It was still my first impusle to get cheapshit. I have to slow myself down and remember what happens. Every time. I saved up for a month, got the Makita, a good lower, and the 5d pro jig, cuz I'm sure I'll wanna build a .308 someday. I'm happy with it, and am not once again out money with broken crap to be ashamed of. Keep an eye on the Makita auctions, the price does drop to 62 bucks sometimes, if you're really scrounging |
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Posted: 9/24/2018 12:55:50 PM EDT
[#21]
Also, you do use the mill for the trigger slot. But you need to drill a hole first. You're going to need the drill bits. The mill won't make holes like a drill. It cuts away the metal on it's side. A drill is a spiral blade, it cuts the metal and lifts it out and away. Learn from someone who has made alot of stupid shortcuts and cutcorners.... It's far better to wait til you have the money to afford the proper tools. If you don't have money, it's not like you'll get it done and be able to use it anyway, you won't be able to buy bullets....
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Posted: 9/25/2018 5:53:59 AM EDT
[#22]
Thanks for the reply(ies?) And link to the refurb. Wish i would have thought about that, but had to make the HF work. Overall i'm happy with it after i figured it out. And given it was a plunger type i was able to mill the trigger without having to drill first.
Don't know if id buy again, but i didn't have to stop everytime to adjust the depth or have to predrill the slot. My second lower took 4 hrs and looks almost perfect |
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Posted: 9/26/2018 12:27:27 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That was all in response to the ATF letter of 2015. But specifically called out businesses allowing customers to pay to use their facilities to complete basically a factory built lower and in doing so, circumvent the manufacturer regulations. The public took it to mean you can't borrow your neighbor's hammer to work on a firearm without being charged for manufacturing without a license. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted: “It is also illegal for a private individual to complete an 80% in their friend or neighbor’s garage using using the friend’s equipment. Essentially this means the only way to complete an 80% lower is to buy your own equipment (jig, drill press, drill bits, or CNC machine, etc.) and finish it in your own home.” Thus, you cannot "rent" time in a machine shop that you do not own or control to manufacture a firearm (while you can machine parts for aircraft, motorcycles or a marital aid without concern). The only "workaround" that was discussed here and elsewhere that involves a machine shop might be the following: The machine shop owner sells his shop to an interested party, fully furnished, for a fair market value of all the equipment and materials contained therein, but only requires a deposit for the new owner to take possession. He signs the contract - including a clause providing him with first right of purchase should the business be made available for sale, and a clause that stipulates that all machinery would be in the same or better mechanical and operational condition that is was delivered in or it would be repaired - but otherwise reliquishing access to, and use of the machinery, tools, and equipment to the new owner, including the surrendering of keys to the property - at 4:45 on Friday. Thus all the equipment, as property of the new owner, is available for her unlimited use. If the machines had been preset to perform certain actions, and the new owner had been provided a tour of the property and equipment, including blank placement and machine operation, then there's no need for additional technical assistance - although as long as the new owner is the one performing the tasks. And if there was a problem, as the owner - you know, the one with all dominion and control over the equipment, there's nothing that says they cannot hire technical advisers, as long as the owner is the one performing the action. But running a machine shop can be a difficult endeavor....the life of a small business owner isn't for everyone, so perhaps, after a day or two, the new owner decides that that's not the path they wish to follow, and they back out of their purchase contract on Sunday, surrendering their deposit, and the keys. The amount of the deposit? It might correlate to the going rate for the number of hours the machines were in use, but that's just an idea. |
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Posted: 10/8/2018 12:04:09 AM EDT
[#24]
Would you / could you use a router from Sears?
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