AR Sponsor
Posted: 11/27/2009 2:33:35 PM EDT
|
What issues can be expected from mixing normal ar15 lowers and parts with piston uppers?
Carrier tilt? Unever parts wear? |
| I am sure what Recon means is that in the AR15 after market, quality is from one end of the spectrun to the other. Some examples are buffer tubes. They should be out of 7075 Alum. Some of the cheaper ones are 6061. Hard to tell the difference but tensil strength is vastly different.Anodizing can vary greatly.This is an area that short cuts are taken often, unfortuneately.Type 3 hardcoat,MIL SPEC calls for a .002 hard coat thickness. That takes a far more expensive chilled acid bath system than std ornamental anodizing.Current control is far more elaborate and length of time in solution is longer. You can sort of check with an OHM meter. Any thing less than .001 thick will get a value reading. Any thing over .001 will not conduct and have a zero reading.You cant tell if .001 or .002. Old MILL SPEC used to be .001. I think it changed in the 80's. Lower parts sets really vary alot. Hammers and triggers that have identfying script markings usually are of good quality.Unidentifiable parts are the ones that I have seen the most problems with.Disconnectors can be a problem. Good ones are hardened and ground on both sides. The edges will be clean and sharp on both sides. The cheap ones have a rounded edge on one side. Good springs have anti-corrosion coatings, cheap ones dont. This follows true with every part of the gun,unfortuneately.I could go on and on.An AR that is built out of quality parts and set up properly is a very reliable rifle. AR 's unfairly get a bad reputation for reliability because of poorly built.out of spec bastard guns. For guys who only build one or two guns, its really hard to always tell. I have built close to700 or 800, and more than just a few times I have bought some real shit. Every once in a while I think back about those first 40 or 50 guns and wonder what kind of crap I might have put in them not really knowing as much as I thought I did. Scarey actually. |
|
Quoted:
I am sure what Recon means is that in the AR15 after market, quality is from one end of the spectrun to the other. Some examples are buffer tubes. They should be out of 7075 Alum. Some of the cheaper ones are 6061. Hard to tell the difference but tensil strength is vastly different.Anodizing can vary greatly.This is an area that short cuts are taken often, unfortuneately.Type 3 hardcoat,MIL SPEC calls for a .002 hard coat thickness. That takes a far more expensive chilled acid bath system than std ornamental anodizing.Current control is far more elaborate and length of time in solution is longer. You can sort of check with an OHM meter. Any thing less than .001 thick will get a value reading. Any thing over .001 will not conduct and have a zero reading.You cant tell if .001 or .002. Old MILL SPEC used to be .001. I think it changed in the 80's. Lower parts sets really vary alot. Hammers and triggers that have identfying script markings usually are of good quality.Unidentifiable parts are the ones that I have seen the most problems with.Disconnectors can be a problem. Good ones are hardened and ground on both sides. The edges will be clean and sharp on both sides. The cheap ones have a rounded edge on one side. Good springs have anti-corrosion coatings, cheap ones dont. This follows true with every part of the gun,unfortuneately.I could go on and on.An AR that is built out of quality parts and set up properly is a very reliable rifle. AR 's unfairly get a bad reputation for reliability because of poorly built.out of spec bastard guns. For guys who only build one or two guns, its really hard to always tell. I have built close to700 or 800, and more than just a few times I have bought some real shit. Every once in a while I think back about those first 40 or 50 guns and wonder what kind of crap I might have put in them not really knowing as much as I thought I did. Scarey actually. Good commentary but I would still like to hear direct from ReconHM. I see he has logged in since my earlier reply but I assume he does not or can not articulate a response. Hit and run comments without giving supporting arguments when asked, makes the original comment worthless IMHO. What I do find interesting about your points that I think for the most part are valid, is that while there maybe material substitution on many parts, that many parts still go together and work a lot of times. I have lost count of the many "spare parts" rifles I have built, shot and sold over the years that was a typical "Heinz 57" of the AR world. Very little to no problems with these rifle and many were just sold to fund bigger and better projects rather than be a lemon. |
AR Sponsor