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Posted: 7/3/2008 5:16:59 AM EDT
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Nice repair job!  Is that a POF receiver?
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+2 to clharr on the repair effort. To getafterit: An echo to what clharr said. I too doubt a company is going to exchange a new lower & destroy the damaged one since most will not warranty/repair/exchange/replace a part that was not deemed defective from the manufacturing process or poor workmanship from the factory vs. a part that the user broke due to his or her own mistake. A tx to the vendor wouldn't hurt but don't expect that your wish will come true. Buy a punch & tap set for any future work. Hammer to lower = disappointing results most of the time. |
Wow. That's a nice repair job. I didn't think it could be done that well. How strong do you suppose it is? |
| Thanks for all the kind words. I was pretty pleased with the result. It seems fairly strong. I picked it up by that piece and shook it around a bit. Not real hard though. It might be able to take a roll pin again. Haven't been bored enough to try it yet. I am sure it is strong enough for general use and wont be broke again by droping or being banged around. I am confident enough with it that I used it for one of my Denny's Operator builds. |
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Nice repair job. Recently, I pooched a RRA lower and would like to fix it but have yet to come up with a repair plan. The front pivot pin detent got stuck in the hole and would NOT come out. So I made a little fixture to drill the detent out on the drill press.....and the drill bit broke. So.....I had to drill the broken drill bit out which has left me with a hole that is too large for the front pivot pin detent. Any suggestions? Also, any ramifications to some of the anodizing being gone of the front of the lower? |
| I once had one of AR15.com's site sponsors replace and rebuild a lower using the same serial number after I broke it, free of charge (even after they told me it would cost me). It took about 4-5 months to get the replacement, but for a free, brand new lower, I was NOT about to complain. Sometimes you get lucky by being nice when you call/email a company. |
I would try the MIAD full kit or just the trigger guard. The front portion doesn't use a detent but a little allen screw instead. Just screw it in enough that it catches in the hole. I wouldn't worry about the anodizing. If it bothers you just spray some black spray paint on it. There are a ton of AR/M16's that have the finish wore off in places. |
KNS push pin here. |
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FYI, if you use JB weld you can't attempt welding it afterward with out grinding into anything that the JB weld touched. JB penetrates the metal and trying to weld the two pieces will cause a bad weld that will not hold. The Magpul integrated trigger guard sounds like an excellent idea as a solution with the weakened fix. Good luck |
I thought about going that way but have heard they are junk and would like to retain the original apperance. |
+1 worked great |
Shim with aluminum tube, glued in place with JB Weld. Then ream to the correct ID and clear out the drain hole on the rear of the detent tunnel. 0.097 +-0.004 is the finished diameter. Coat with PermaSlik G and cure. JB Weld can be used to build-up damaged areas. Refinish with Perma Slik G, following the instructions for air cure. Do NOT handle the receiver for 24 hours as it takes a while to harden properly. See the -23 TM for the preparation procedures. It will no longer be black but a silver-grey. You could try any of the other finishes. Oh, where to get the aluminum tube? Hobby shop. If the damage is extensive, as in break-through, use stainless steel hypo tube, from Small Parts Inc. www.smallparts.com look under hypodermic tubing. They have some with 0.092" ID and a .125" OD... |
Brazing will WEAKEN the receiver, don't do it. |
+1. It takes a lot of heat to braze. TIG welding is a much more localized application of heat, and like the cliche says a good TIG welder will be able to weld a soda can back together without any distortion. That means very little excess heat going into your lower. |
Maybe a Colt screw type take down |
I repaired a spot welded little arm on a copier once with JB weld, it held a bearng with a shaft going through it that was under a lot of tourque, it held for 4+ years before the customer traded the machine in for another copier They put 500k copies on it after that, not bad.
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I was thinking the exact same thing actually Keith, I think that is a great idea. I wish I could tig weld the entire hole up, stick it in the fixture and redirll it on the drill press but I'll never get deep enough with the welder. |
I wonder if a good TIG welder could fill engraving.... 
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yes |
| I built two lowers years ago without any concern about breaking off the trigger guard 'ears'. Naturally I supported them and was careful. Later, when I realized what might have happened, I broke into a sweat. I was definitely tapping those roll pins in with a hammer. Even with support, there's still a little play possible because the trigger guard is obviously a little smaller than the space between the ears. I halfway expected to see a crack on any of the four ears for years after that. It's probably the most likely place on the AR-15 to really mess up during assembly and ruin the lower. Its like the grip screw bushings on a 1911-type pistol - you just don't screw around with them because its ridiculously easy to strip the threads in that thin section of frame. Not that it can't be fixed, but with an expensive collectible you don't want any alterations. |
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