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Posted: 10/17/2013 5:04:02 PM EDT

I took the plunge into an 80% lower from EP Lowers since they had their blemished units for $35. I ordered two of them, and with shipping all total was $80. I figured for $35 it would be a good practice run and I was also intrigued with the way their youtube video presented their product.

I have wasted more money on stupider shit in the past, so I figured why not.

Has anyone here had any experience with them?

Posted: 10/17/2013 8:46:35 PM EDT

[#1]

Bought two of them also just received them today and gave it a shot after work. 5 hours later and a ton of plastic shaving and one is now junk.

All I can say is if you are using a dremel take your time and go slow and the trigger pin holes are off as well as the rear takedown pin hole. I am gonna try to epoxy this one up and fix the mistakes if that does not work then I am going to put it through a torture test an post my results here on AR15.com.

Posted: 10/19/2013 8:44:49 PM EDT

[#2]

Got the lowers in a couple of days ago and they look flawless. I am going to finish up them tomorrow. I shall have a range report very soon.

I put them under some stress by torquing them back and forth just by using my hands and the seem pretty solid. There was no noticeable deflection. They seem pretty solid and I did lay into them pretty good.
We shall see how it goes.

Posted: 10/20/2013 10:16:30 AM EDT

[#3]

I ordered one last week. It was a blem in that "zombie green" color. I figured I'd paint or duracoat it later. Anyway, it shipped really fast. I've been using the dremel on it and its coming along. Appears to be of good quality.
I ordered 2 more blem ones on Friday. I figured for the price, I'll make a dedicated .22 one for my 5 year old, I ordered pink for her.
I also picked up a black one.
I've been taking pics along the way. And I'll try to post pics when it's complete.

Posted: 10/21/2013 6:07:15 AM EDT

[#4]

The biggest thing that interests me about these lowers is the fact that you do not have to purchase a jig to finish them. The thing that scares me the most about these lowers is that there is no jig to ensure that you do not mess up and waste your money.

I look forward to reading more from the early contributors here on their experiences before I pull the trigger on ordering one of these.

Posted: 10/21/2013 6:45:34 PM EDT

[#5]

I was able to use the dremel on all of the black portion of my green one yesterday. I used a round cutting bit on it. Took my time so I wouldn't screw up. It's time consuming, but wasn't difficult to do. I recommend having a shop vac to vacuum out the plastic shavings when cutting.
I still need to grind down the inside more and will probably do it tomorrow night.

Posted: 10/21/2013 8:08:00 PM EDT

[#6]

Found out about these on youtube and my first thought was cool I can do that,second thought check AR15.com and see what others have too say about it.Figure I'll buy one of these and a completed aluminum one as a backup in case I screw it up,or it doesn't hold up.I've built an ar using the NFA poly-lower and its held up great.They are kinda high but I think it might be worth the gamble.

Posted: 10/22/2013 8:30:06 AM EDT

[#7]

I've now built a rifle and a pistol using EP80 lowers. They're great for lightweight builds and pistol ARs.
Things I've learned and tips:
1) Take your time, especially when drilling the safety selector.
2) Drill the grip hole all the way thru, then tap it.
3) Squeeze the bolt hold open pin down and smooth the edges, so it won't buldge the polymer so bad when it's inserted. ( I've had to do the same thing to $350.00 billet lowers)
4) 'Metal' epoxy putty can be used to plug a mis-drilled holes. It can also be used to snug up a loose safety selector hole.
5) The only Dremel bit you need to finish the lower is THIS
6) Don't freakin' sand it unless you want it to look like crap. The Dremel bit listed above will actually leave a decent finish.

My 300 Blackout / EP80 pistol.

Posted: 12/12/2013 7:04:30 AM EDT

[#8]

So how are these working?

Posted: 12/12/2013 9:54:10 AM EDT

[#9]

I've done 3. (one first quality, 2 blems) You need to be methodical and careful milling and drilling,

I'm happy with my results. No issues, but no high round counts either.

Posted: 12/12/2013 10:07:51 AM EDT

[#10]

way ahead of you we been working on these for some time

http://www.gunco.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74872

Posted: 12/12/2013 12:00:28 PM EDT

[#11]

So no take down holes in the wrong place?

Posted: 12/12/2013 3:05:43 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
So how are these working?

View Quote

Could not get the buffer to screw in no matter what. Emailed and was told "metal beats plastic every time. Line it up straight and force it."

I decided to keep messing with it just for fun. The milling went fine. I used a 1/16" drill to start the holes and once drilled I sheared the guide pins off to finish the holes up. I then step drilled with my drill press to the appropriate sizes. I flipped the lower over and drilled from the outside. I did not pass all the way through.
When inserting the selector I found they were way out of alignment on the vertical plane.

I have seen similar posts regarding the blems. I also found voids in the lower molding. The filer material was solid but the side walls of the lower had what looked like air pockets in them.

Posted: 12/12/2013 5:53:45 PM EDT

[#13]

The safety selector hole on mine was 1/32" off and I could not get it to work at all. I refilled it with JB Weld and will re-do it at a later date. It's on the back burner at this time.

Posted: 12/12/2013 7:02:41 PM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
The safety selector hole on mine was 1/32" off and I could not get it to work at all. I refilled it with JB Weld and will re-do it at a later date. It's on the back burner at this time.

View Quote

Did you drill the hole out to 3/8" of was it a pilot when you noticed. A 3/8" disk of JB weld seems like it would be an issue

Posted: 12/13/2013 4:08:58 AM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:

Did you drill the hole out to 3/8" of was it a pilot when you noticed. A 3/8" disk of JB weld seems like it would be an issue

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
The safety selector hole on mine was 1/32" off and I could not get it to work at all. I refilled it with JB Weld and will re-do it at a later date. It's on the back burner at this time.

Did you drill the hole out to 3/8" of was it a pilot when you noticed. A 3/8" disk of JB weld seems like it would be an issue

I started with 1/16" drill bit for the pilot hole centered on the pin that was molded in the lower then stepped up the size of the hole to 3/8". The problem was with the molding, it was off center.

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Posted: 12/13/2013 5:55:52 AM EDT

[#16]

I like the concept, but I'm very skeptical. I see plenty who have purchased them.

What I want to see is a torture test to see the durability of these lowers. I've seen some folks here and other forums say the EP lowers aren't all that, so I'd like to see some real world usage.

Would love to see someone run this through a course and at least 1,000 rounds.

Posted: 12/13/2013 9:59:54 AM EDT

[#17]

I've got a couple of the blems... The only thing I did so far was to thread in the buffer tube on one. It was a pain in the ass as it wanted to cross thread very easily. As the other poster said just line int up straight with plenty of pressure and it will go in straight eventually.

I guess I won't trust the markings for the hole locations and will have to get some blue prints of a lower before I drill any.

Posted: 12/13/2013 4:18:44 PM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:

I like the concept, but I'm very skeptical. I see plenty who have purchased them.

What I want to see is a torture test to see the durability of these lowers. I've seen some folks here and other forums say the EP lowers aren't all that, so I'd like to see some real world usage.

Would love to see someone run this through a course and at least 1,000 rounds.

View Quote

Me too. I'd like to get a couple. The price is right, and they sound easy to complete compared to aluminum. But I'm not at all confident in their ability to hold up in the area of the buffer tube threads.

Do they have some kind of steel reinforcement molded in there?

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