80% Lowers

[dave2176]

Ebay for the full float handguard. PSA has their premium bolt carrier group on sale today.

 

[Rick Leslie]

Palmetto is good. I also use JSE from time to time. http://www.jsesurplus.com/

 

[Keith Foor]

Yes, it would require internal threading and a bore / drill and ream to size for the bullet to pass through. As long as those two things are done correctly, the rest is up to your imagination and machining abilities.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

I'm not sure if the question has been asked, but how difficult would it be to do an 80% lower without the jig? I mean could you mic the thicknesses measure the pocket size or???? Once you purchase the 80% and jig, you are WAY OVER what it would cost to buy a complete one. The satisfaction of doing your own would be great and having a gun, but is it worth 3x's the cost? Just thought I'd ask.

 

[Karl_T]

The jig just makes it easy. can even do it with just a drill press. anyone with a mill can find a way to fixture it for free.

 

[Eddyde]

Agreed, if you have a mill, especially with a DRO, you don't need a jig.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

Man! I don't know! I could see my drop in trigger drop right on out. I wished buying a mill came with some free skills with it! Perhaps i could disassemble one of my lowers and "copy" ? Being the AR15 platform is standard, that would work....no?

 

[P T Schram]

Curious. As I remembered it, there was a lot more negative response to my comment about the jig being a crutch.

I started another one (yes dear, another AR-15) using the jig.

Because in spite of my fancy private college education, quite frequently I am an idiot, a world class, well educated idiot, but idiot nonethe less.

I now have an AR-15 that I'm certain I will spend every day of shooting it explaining that the extra holes are not for an RDIS, but are due to my having the blank in the jig kattywampus-as my mother would have said it!

Yeah, either that or I could say it was semi-skeletonized-LOL

Had I laid it out using traditional layout practices, I (might have, remember I'm often an idiot) likely would have noticed that the holes were mis-positioned before I started making chips.

Before the tragic saltwater boating accident, I had ARs I'd made in .223/5.56, 300 BLK, 458 SOCOM, and am currently working on one that might be a 6.5 Creedmore, and a poly that will probably be 9mm. Damn that boat accident!

While I'm admitting to my stupid mistakes, I also have an AR that will never accept stock trigger groups as somehow, one side of the bottom of the receiver accidentally got milled away.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

Well PT, I am unsure if you are pro Jig or not, but I'm picking up the vibe that you don't recommend freestyling it? Its funny you mention the skeletonized AR15. I absolutely love F1 firearms skeletonized AR. I'd really love to pull that off but i like to think a lot of nerdly engineers laid that design out, not just random.
Is it not really worth doing the 80% free hand in your opinion?

 

[Rick Leslie]

I did my first several 80% lowers with nothing more than a homemade plate to hold it square and a dial indicator. The jig just makes it faster. The thing about buying a jig is you will be able to use it on many, many more lowers.
The dimensions are available everywhere on line. Just do a quick search.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search...1=20171110&p=ar15+lower+dimensions&type=adnor