I used one of those Stinger lowers from the EE, and an A2 kit from J&T.  Every little piece was there, the lower went together without a problem (and without scratching the finish).  The color match between the upper and lower was just about perfect, and there is absolutely no play between the upper and lower - in fact, there's some resistance as you try to take out the takedown pin.  

Special thanks to A_Free_Man for the tip about using vise-grips to put the roll pins in, and everyone else here for the info I got from reading everyone's posts for the last couple months.  Building these things could easily become addicting.  

Here you can see the match between the upper and lower color is very good.


A not-so-good pic of the whole thing.  Remarkably, it looks a lot like an AR-15!

Congrats; you're right about the addicting part...I'm already planning a couple more builds...it's finding the $$ to pay for it all that's the hard part lol.  And where are the pics of your new baby?

I'll try to remember to borrow the digital camera from work today and get a couple pics up; it's just a regular old A2, but I know people have been looking for pics of builds with the Stinger lowers.  

I just put together my lower this evening and I have only two parts left to complete, both roll pins. Strange that from what Ive read everything else was a piece of cake. Not what I expected.  I didnt have a tool for that front take down pin assembly, but I didnt need it, took me about 10 seconds to do it, I did think about it for about 5 minutes before attempting it, just wanted to be sure how I was going to do it and not let the spring go flying to lord-knows-where. I didnt expect the roll pins to be a challenge, and Ive been wondering all night what to do in the absence of any punches, and I see the suggestion about the vice grips shall be my salvation. Thanks for that little tip!

I also have to agree on the addiction of this hobby. I think its much more enjoyable to build your own rifle. I get more satisfaction out of knowing what goes into the rifle as well as what comes out of it. [:D]

Moneyshot, if you haven't done the pins yet, make sure you wrap the jaws of the vise grips with tape.  

BTT wit some pics.

Thanks for the advice, fortunately I did think of that myself right before I attempted it. I had some black framing tape  that doesnt leave a residue, and had been using it here and there to cover areas during different parts of the building process to make sure I didnt scratch it. I still have the roll pin for the bolt catch. I cant use the vice grip I have because its too large for this one. Im going to go buy a smaller vice in a bit and try that. What the hell, if it doesnt work, I still  have a new tool I didnt have before and will have now the next time I need it. lol

Looks great.  Shot it yet??   Maybe a range report after you shoot it.  I'm sure it will shoot just fine.  It's always real gratifying to get out and shoot an AR that you have put together yourself.  I'm thinking about putting together another one.

It's about time for me to put another one together too. Mine was a J&T kit also.

Nice Job!

looks good man!

-Spaceman

[beer] looks good , dont for get the range report

How about a parts list and end cost.

Stripped lower - $89.00
FFL fee        -  $8.33 (1/3 of $25; ordered 3 lowers at once)
J&T A2 kit     - $468.96 with shipping.

Grand total - $566.29

I might do the next one with different parts, maybe a Model 1 upper and a lower kit from Legal Transfers.  It would be a little cheaper, but $566 for a complete rifle is nothing to complain about.

Are the upper and lower cast or forged?TIA 927

Mega lowers are forged, I'm not sure anyone is making a cast upper.