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Posted: 2/15/2011 6:22:03 AM EDT
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I'm in the process of putting together a build I intend to SBR. Right now it's seeming nigh impossible to get the bleeding thing engraved with my name and local in a timely fashion locally. So, I'm thinking of sending a lower to Ident for the SBR engraving along with some retro goods.
I just had two simple questions. What's their "average" turn around time, and do they ship the finished product to you, or does it have to go into an FFL (again)? This whole engraving thing is proving to be more of a pain in the *#& than any of the other steps. |
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I dont mean to hijack the thread... But I heard some gunshow rumor that laser engraving is no longer legit according to some new NFA rule.
Not like a rumor... More like a serious discussion while trading some parts. It doesnt effect anything I have, because I prefer the old style punched letters that arent layed out straight. Also, it never has to leave the house (whatever that is worth to you). |
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I had great luck with Jason and Gordon at Ident Marking. They did three lowers for me with 2-3 week turnaround times and excellent results.
However, I sent a Moderator to them 2 1/2 weeks ago and they have not yet given me any response to a couple of e-mails or phone contacts, so, I am not sure what is going on right now. |
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Quoted:
It doesnt effect anything I have, because I prefer the old style punched letters that arent layed out straight. Also, it never has to leave the house (whatever that is worth to you). So you just use letter punches to mark you NFA pieces? Can you give anymore info? I'm very very very open to DIY solutions at this point. |
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Use pencils, chalk, masking, tape etc to figure the placement of the letters. and spacing.
Support the are you are going to punch. Say you want to do the port side magwell....... Put a block of wood in the magwell. Hold the board in a vice. Use clamps to hold that side of the lower to the wood. I would not put much pressure on the lower, and use duct tape to protect the finsh Stamp. Take time. Make even strokes. It might not hurt to practice on some scrap aluminum. The anodizing may flake. Mine did in the upper R The letters have to be a certain size and depth. Don't quote me but I think the size is 1/16th min. That is all I know about it. Good luck. My first did not turn out like i wanted. The next will be better. |
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Quoted:
I had great luck with Jason and Gordon at Ident Marking. They did three lowers for me with 2-3 week turnaround times and excellent results. However, I sent a Moderator to them 2 1/2 weeks ago and they have not yet given me any response to a couple of e-mails or phone contacts, so, I am not sure what is going on right now. My package sat in the UPS facility in Mesquite Texas for over a week before being delivered to Ident. I suspect the bad weather in the Dallas area caused a backlog of packages to the area. Nobody at Ident returned my emails either in the last two weeks. I simply asked them if they had received my package. |
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Well... in light of that, I'm certainly not sending anything that way for the time being.
I'm not too concerned about the 1/16th height requirement but the .003 depth requirement kind of bothers me. I suppose if I could drive/engrave the letters to about 1/64th I'd be more than good to go. Almost from the get go of the idea, I've been thinking of just using the dreaded Dremel to engrave the info into the front of the mag well. |
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Quoted:
Use pencils, chalk, masking, tape etc to figure the placement of the letters. and spacing. Support the are you are going to punch. Say you want to do the port side magwell....... Put a block of wood in the magwell. Hold the board in a vice. Use clamps to hold that side of the lower to the wood. I would not put much pressure on the lower, and use duct tape to protect the finsh Stamp. Take time. Make even strokes. It might not hurt to practice on some scrap aluminum. The anodizing may flake. Mine did in the upper R The letters have to be a certain size and depth. Don't quote me but I think the size is 1/16th min. That is all I know about it. Good luck. My first did not turn out like i wanted. The next will be better. 1/16" letters .003" minimum depth from the surface of the original material NOT from the top of the ridges formed when a stamp displaces metal. |
| I have seen Ident's work and it meets the size and depth requirements by ATF. I don't think .gov cares about the method, just the size and depth. Some laser shops are using weak lasers and not getting any depth at all. I have even seen some silencers by a reputable maker that I will not name that were just marked on the surface not removing any material at all. You have to get someone who knows what they are doing, Ident gets it right. As for turn around, I sent in a lower a month and a half ago and I am staring at a UPS notice right now telling me that I need to go pick it up in the morning. |
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Quoted:
I have seen Ident's work and it meets the size and depth requirements by ATF. I don't think .gov cares about the method, just the size and depth. Some laser shops are using weak lasers and not getting any depth at all. I have even seen some silencers by a reputable maker that I will not name that were just marked on the surface not removing any material at all. You have to get someone who knows what they are doing, Ident gets it right. As for turn around, I sent in a lower a month and a half ago and I am staring at a UPS notice right now telling me that I need to go pick it up in the morning. If it is a reputable manufacturer then they may have a variance for the marking requirements. Let's face it. It is doubtful even the batfe would go after anybody whose engraving or stamping has some noticable depth into the metal. The whole purpose of these size and depth requirements was to keep people from just using an etching pencil/hand scribe/magic marker and marking their firearms in a way that could easily be "removed" or "obliterated". |
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Well, I'm looking into construction a pantograph right now. I have no trouble getting suitable depth (.003 really isn't that deep) with my tools, I just need some uniformity.
I hate to sound like a whiner but, my plan was to build a "retro" pistol and submit the papers for it so I could enjoy it this spring while I waited for approval. If it's going to take half of the wait time to have 20 tiny letter engraved by a pro... then, I have to look for another option. |
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Quoted:
Well, I'm looking into construction a pantograph right now. I have no trouble getting suitable depth (.003 really isn't that deep) with my tools, I just need some uniformity. I hate to sound like a whiner but, my plan was to build a "retro" pistol and submit the papers for it so I could enjoy it this spring while I waited for approval. If it's going to take half of the wait time to have 20 tiny letter engraved by a pro... then, I have to look for another option. Stamp it inside the trigger guard - on the receiver part. Or, stamp it on the bottom or bevel of the magazine well opening. Just make sure that wherever you do stamp it it can be seen fully with the gun in assembled trim. |
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I was going to put it on the front of the mag well. I almost wonder if I could "press" some letter stamps into it with a large metal c-clamp. Sort of like a rudimentary screw press. I mentioned in my steps that clamping down on the lower with force may not be a very good idea. Especially the magwell area. I would go with the ball peen hammer, as light as possible.. |
| Yeah I saw that. What I was thinking, was putting the inside of the clamp inside the mag well, so that it's not crushing the receiver, just sandwiching the letter punch between the clamp and one of the mag well walls. I have no idea if it would work or not and obviously, I would test if first on some scrap. |
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Quoted:
Yeah I saw that. What I was thinking, was putting the inside of the clamp inside the mag well, so that it's not crushing the receiver, just sandwiching the letter punch between the clamp and one of the mag well walls. I have no idea if it would work or not and obviously, I would test if first on some scrap. 10-4.. I gotcha. |
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Well, for the record, my idea worked. I couldn't use it however because the letter punches slipped out of my clamp. If I could have fashioned some type of holder for them, it'd work like a dream.
So, alas, I attacked my brand new lower with letter punches, a hammer, and then followed that up with a Dremel to increase the depth, using the punch markes for a guide. It's acceptable and the depth is good however... I will never ever post pictures of it. 
I will continue the SBR process because, I never intended for this to look good, its a beater and I have far worse in store for it. So, it will forever be a testament to my impatience causing me grief. One of these days I'll learn. 
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