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Posted: 1/16/2014 6:23:34 PM EDT
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So, I got one of their blems in zombie green b/c it was $35 before shipping, now I'm wondering about finishing it. I live in a very small RV, so not much space, but I've seen these Dremel tool plunging router adapters? If I use very small endmills, would that allow me to mill out the black plastic insert?
If I totally screw it up, I can just chalk it up to experience. It looks almost as if you could heat it up & yank that black plastic plug out, but I'm not going to try that. I've heard you can Dremel it out, but my hands aren't that steady, but that plunging router adapter looks like it might work. It would be fun to try it on my brother's .458" upper and see how long it would hold up. |
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This is the bit you need.
Don't waist you money on end mills. Be warned that grinding out one of these lowers will create quite a mess of plastic shavings. These lowers make great AR pistols and lightweight carbines, but I would be hesitant to use it with a bigbore upper. |
| I too live in a travel trailer. I got a Vermont American Drill stand off eBay, a drill press base off eBay and a Hitachi drill from Lowes. That and some 1/4 inch end mills make short work of an EP 80%. And yes you can hog it out very easily with a Dremel even without the plunge adapter. Best to have a jig so you can put it in a vise then you can use both hands to guide the Dremel. I hogged out two aluminum 80% lowers with the Dremel. Use a 1/4 inch carbide burr. It has about 10 teeth around it and the burr is about a quarter inch long. I have the variable speed Dremel and the 6 setting works best with that burr. I found a nice bit for the dremel that has a spongy like carbide end and it works very well for finishing the plastic. When you drill the holes for the trigger and hammer pins as well as the selector hole, work from both sides after you have hogged out the pocket. And start with a very small drill like 1/16 and work up in small steps until you reach 5/32 and eventually 3/8. |
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If you have a milspec lower check the pin locations for the holes. Mine were WAY off. I drilled it as described by the poster above. The selector in particular. If you look on their own forum there are a ton of gripes about the holes being off.
Grinding it out was the easy part Getting the buffer tube in was 100% impossible. I tried a Mil spec and a commercial. No amount of aligning or force would allow me to screw it in I threw mine away. |
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Quoted:
If you have a milspec lower check the pin locations for the holes. Mine were WAY off. I drilled it as described by the poster above. The selector in particular. If you look on their own forum there are a ton of gripes about the holes being off. Grinding it out was the easy part Getting the buffer tube in was 100% impossible. I tried a Mil spec and a commercial. No amount of aligning or force would allow me to screw it in I threw mine away. Looks like you had the same experience as I did. Mine was a blemish. Dremel the fire control pocket = easy. Buffer Tube = 98% impossible. Hammer and Trigger pin hole locations = incorrect. I threw mine in a box instead of the trash. I'll get back to it after I get an 80% jig. |
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Tip on the buffer tube. I tried to screw in my rifle tube last night, and it was a no go, despite the commercial tube already in there. Threw a stock on the commercial tube, and screwed it all the way into the thread's edge, and all the way out. Did that a couple of times, and the rifle tube goes in now. I'm guessing the small interruption of the threads @ the bottom of the commercial carbine tube scraped just enough plastic out that the rifle tube now fits.
Looked @ this @ Lowe's last night, it's got two inches of travel: http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Attachments/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=220-01 Would this allow me to drill the fire control holes precisely enough? I'm a bit leary of hand drilling the FCS, especially the safety. One of the reasons I'm considering this is I live in a 19' Class B RV, so I've not got space for a regular drill press. |
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Quoted: Would this allow me to drill the fire control holes precisely enough? I'm a bit leary of hand drilling the FCS, especially the safety. One of the reasons I'm considering this is I live in a 19' Class B RV, so I've not got space for a regular drill press. You would be better off buying a jig and drilling by hand. Using a drill press means you have to set the lower parallel (square to the bit) to the base, which is difficult without a machining vise. Don't remember who has a jig with hardened drill bushings on BOTH sides (most have only one) but I know they are out there. The location of the safety doesn't have to be dead on, just close. If you look at the way the safety works with the flat in the fire position, you will understand. Being off a few thousandths would just mean it isn't 'mil spec' but then again neither is poly. |
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