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Posted: 7/5/2007 4:37:04 PM EDT
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Here it finally is, my first build, my first AR, and from a 80% to boot. any and all comments, good or bad, are welcome. I have to say thank you to all on this board. Though I have not posted much, I have been lurking, reading and gathering info. The info on here is awesome. A while back I decided to give it a go and start from scratch with a 80% lower. Being no stranger to tooling and metals, I figured what the hell. Well I ended up with 4 of em and finished em all out, then got em anodized professionally. So here is where I ended up.... four 80% lowers.........................................................................$120 each one gun show flat top upper........................................................$140 DPMS lower parts kit...................................................................$60 gun show 7-pos stock w/buffer & spring........................................$65 RRA bolt/carrier assembly...........................................................$110 DPMS 16" 1/9 chrome moly carbine barrel w/A2 sight & gas tube.....$145 gun hsow carry handle w/A2 rear sight..........................................$45 ETA:I took it to the range for it's test run on July 4. Put 100 rounds down range. Not a single hiccup at all. tried 3 defferent mags, and 2 types of ammo; federal 50 gr. flat base HP, and remington 62 gr fmj. after one mag full to test it out, I started adjusting the sights. After that I put 17 out of 20 rounds in a hole roughly 1" in diameter. Granted this was only at 40 yards, but I've no optics and couldn't see the target out at 100 yds. Any suggestions for decent optics at a reasonable price??? One complete home built AR15 .223 rifle.....................................href=[img=img265.imageshack.us/img265/4492/1004714fl1.th.jpg] [img=img145.imageshack.us/img145/4220/1004713rz8.th.jpg] [img=img54.imageshack.us/img54/4066/1004715ai4.th.jpg] [img=img514.imageshack.us/img514/5254/1004710xh3.th.jpg] [img=img358.imageshack.us/img358/2403/1004440ex6.th.jpg] |
That'll be 100 bucks for the fix. I take paypal. 
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I didn't know 80% lowers were that expensive. Is that just the market value in NJ? Does that include the professional anodizing? Kinda seems like a stripped lower would be more cost effective. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm truely curious. They came out quite nice. Good work. |
stripped lowers usually are more cost effective. the 80% thing is because you can, not because it's the best deal. |
Took em to a anodizing shop in Philly, total cost was $65 for all 4 of em. But that's his minimum lot fee, so I guess if I brought him 100 and he could fit em all in one rack into one tank at once, it would be the same cost. |
I figured that was a possibility too. After building my first upper and buying the tools I realized it may not have been the most cost effective thing to do. I just needed the knowledge, and the ability to put together the parts that I wanted. I just wasn't sure if there was normally an economic advantage to using the 80% lowers or if the market in that area was that inflated on prices. I just noticed that the upper was $140 which may have partially answered my question too, since they can be purchased for about $100-120 in FL, GA area. |
The 80% lower is $120, no bearing on location that I can find. The complete, mass produced stripped lowers around here average around $140. So with the cost of tooling split up between the 4 units, plus the cost of each 80% lower, I'm running right around the same for an of the shelf lower, but where's the fun in that??? |
Thanks for the info. I just haven't priced the 80% lowers. I do get the whole "satisfaction of rolling your own", thing. For what it's worth, the Stripped lowers in Fl, and Ga. run about $110 from most manufacturers. Again, nice work on the finished product. I envy your metal working skills, I have no experience in this area but would love to learn more. Craftsmanship is a more seldom appreciated thing in todays fast food world. |
Yes it is. And thanks for the compliments. Seeing as this is my first AR, I apreciate every one I get. If you do go the 80% route, may I recommend heavily to go with Justin's jig and Kevin's lower. The only thing I changed from the instructions was to pin an upper into the outside of the jig so when i set up the lower, I could use a straightedge to make sure the rear of the uper and tower of the lower would line up properly. After that, snug down the jig bolts and go to town. hope this all helps |
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