It is the priciest to complete and the priciest to get the tools to complete but the color options are unlimited, and the performance is close to anodizing. My 80% Lower Project About the Video Series Below Introduction and Inventory Setting Up the 80% Lower Jig Configuring the Router for the milling process of the 80% Lower Pilot Hole on the 80% Lower Explained Drilling out the 80% Lower … I'd like to know if one of the smaller milling machines like the ShopFox or Harbor freight milling machines would be adequate for the job? The R&B Tactical Tooling 80% Lower Receiver Cutting Tool Kit was created, designed and manufactured by us. Reasons Our 80% Lower Tool Kits are the best We’ve been building tools right here in the U.S. for over 40 years. The cost is relatively cheap (you can get lowers around 50USD) and you can easily knock it out in an afternoon. Mil spec Hard Coat Anodizing is a great option and will match any of the ARs already in your collection and many of the parts purchased from other companies. The jig includes plates for the different steps of machining out the lower, as well as a … One of the challenges of the past was finding a way to coat your 80 lower once you were finished milling the 80 lower. Seems a bit crude. We are The Masters of the Black Arts of Tooling ™. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. If you're milling with an end mill too short, you will not be able to reach the required depth, the same goes for drill bits, they must reach. Not only do we sell world-class 80% lower receivers for you to make a precision rifle, we are home to the world’s first router-based jig to complete milling your lower. We’re going to cover many of the considerations you should consider when doing these projects. There are several real coating options both commercially available and available for the home gunsmith. 80% has brought to market no compromise 80% lowers in both AR15 and AR10 patterns. 80% Lower Jig | Finish Your 80% Lower at Home | 5D Tactical Route out the trigger slot using the routing pocket as a guide. There are plenty of optional tools that'll make machining even easier: 1. Right now, the most popular way is to use a router jig and a drill press. TLDR; an 80% lower receiver is an unfinished lower that is nominally sold as a “paperweight” or other novelty and not a firearm. This is because it is a more difficult product and can require more specialized tooling. If I were to pick a coating for the home gunsmith this would be the first choice. There are many jig options for each platform, which we will cover below. Load the 1/4" end-mill and set the final milling depth as before in Step 15. 1/4" 3 Flute, 3/4" LOC, 4" OAL "ZrN" Coated Carbide End Mill, For 80% AR15/AR10/.308 Lower Receiver Jigs, Compatible with Easy Jig, Modulus Arms $ 29.99 Compatible High Performance 5D Tactical Pro Jig "ZrN" End Mill and "TiN"Drill Bit Combo Make sure you prep the lower and remove all oils and grease. A billet lower receiver normally is purchased because of it's cosmetic appeal. M1 Machining is the industry standard in high quality AR10 & AR15 lower receivers. No prior CNC knowledge or experience is required to manufacture from design files. A lower parts kit will not even fit in an 80% Lower until it has been machined into a complete firearm. 34.00. Let alone the prize of building out your custom firearm in the end. The number one way is to use router jig designed to be used with a drill and a router to complete 80% lowers. Each platform requires different tools to complete. An 80% Lower is essentially a partially milled lower receiver for a firearm. I’m relatively handy in the garage, but certainly not a machinist or even close so the idea of milling out a receiver seemed like I would likely be throwing money away on a failed effort. I personally had wanted to build one for years but was slightly intimidated and just never got around to it. Consumable tools are what is used in the machines to complete the lower or receiver. As it is not completed it is not considered a firearm and can be shipped directly to your door (No FFL or paperwork). I’m not an expert, nor do I claim to be. If you want to simplify your purchase, check out our 80% Build kits. An 80 lower leaves just enough to allow the home builder to use a drill press, router jig, or jig kit to complete at home. We recommend a 5/16” end mill for our jigs. With that said, we will cover the tooling you need as well. We have continuously expanded the option to add laser engraving to our products. Chapter 2 The First Setup With forgings (as well as castings and weldments) that require final precision machining, the big problem is where to start. Center line of take-down pin hole Left side face Zero Z axis this face Trigger slot 5/16 end mill (R.156) Fire control pocket 1.250 .010 7/16 end mill (R.219) Many of our platforms include the option for an anodized receiver or a raw aluminum receiver. Every receiver we manufacture meets our precise quality control standards. Our prices can't be beat. This is absolutely legal and you do not have to register the weapon, at least from a Federal point of view. What is a billet or what are billet lowers? Move the cutter around the pocket in a clockwise direction (conventional milling direction). Our AR-10 lowers are both offered as forged lowers and billet lowers depending on what your price range is. We were the first manufacturer to offer custom engraved 80 lowers and have since expanded our laser engraving operations. “Unfinished receivers”, also called “80 percent receivers” or “blanks”, are partially completed receivers with no serial numbers. With simple tools and point and click software, the machine automatically finds and aligns to your 80% lower to get to work. This really does make it a straight forward and simple job. RJ556U Universal Jig for Milspec 80% AR-15 Lower Receivers • RJ556U Instructions PDF: Click Here .308 WarrHogg Lower Receiver • WarrHogg instructions (PDF): Click Here . Drill trigger, hammer, and selector holes first, then mill the fire control pocket and trigger slot. Mine runs around $300.00. I've seen a few video where guys complete these with only a drill press. Cosmetics aside, there isn't a huge difference between billet aluminum and forged aluminum other than price and freedom of design. Forgings offer significant cost savings and no real drawback. Many 1911s are made from Korean castings and then machined in the USA by the Korean company’s USA division. If you’re buying a finished AR lower, you’re technically buying a firearm in the eyes of the ATF. With that said, Stealth Arms produces a set of tooling for manufacturing a 1911 frame without using a mill. Jigs allow you to transform an 80 percent lower receiver, viewed by the ATF as an unregulated hunk of metal, into a fully functional AR15 receiver! Most portable style drill … It is worth mentioning again this is my first time doing this. It will not adhere great and will rub off easily like type 2 anodizing but it is cheap and you can always repaint it. The receiver or frame is the part of the firearm that can be controlled by the Gun Control Act of 1968, the same act that ensures your right to manufacture firearms at home. Now that you have made the wise decision to purchase the new Juggernaut Tactical AR-15 80% Lower Receiver, you will need to finish the machining procedure. You can get it or learn more about it, Configuring the Router for the milling process of the 80% Lower, Final 80% Lower Mill Prep and Shop Vac talking points, 80% Lower Mill review and Trigger Pocket Setup, Drilling out the final Holes on the 80% Lower, Evaluating a Location’s Risk; CSC Approach, What Koalafying Taught Me about Leadership, It’s a Seedy Situation: Heirloom vs. Hybrids. Some forgings are designed for companies and include those features like the flared magwell as well. The most difficult is no Jig, many people complete the lowers this way, but it is truly difficult to do unless you are a skilled machinist. The good news is the AR-15 upper receiver and all the other parts are completely uncontrolled as if it was a receiver blank. Best Prices on 80% lowers and fast shipping! Some of you may not have heard of an 80% lower and if so, no biggie we’ll explain it real quick. Tactical Machining is the best source for 80 percent lowers, build kits & accessories. AR-15 80% Lower. Other jigs use very generic tooling, I recommend sticking with what the manufacturer of the jig kit recommends or finding a very similar replacement. I would consider it middle of the pack for a coating option. This isn't to be confused with a rifle kit which includes every part to build an AR Platform firearm. In the nine videos below I run you through the entire process as I build my first lower. With the right required tools picked out, your project should run smoothly. Most you can use any drill you choose that meets the length of cut requirements. The one exception to the cost is I would recommend purchasing or borrowing a good 80% lower jig. Better than bare aluminum not quite as good as hard coat or Cerakote. Please consider supporting me on my Patreon page. It is an extremely durable coating and has extreme hardness and great wear resistance. that once you Keep in mind start drilling, milling, or altering your 80% lower it Most companies compromise the quality of the end mill and drill bits with low … For AR lowers the main methods are below. Some examples of consumable tooling are Drills, End Mills, Keyway Cutters, Ball End Mills, Counter Sinks, etc. It also typically isn’t as affordable as the AR lower tooling. A lower parts kit will not even fit in an 80% Lower until it has been machined into a complete firearm. Compact routers have been to this point, the popular choice for enthusiasts who wish to finish 80% lower receivers at home in conjunction with a router based lower receiver jig. After our parts have been cnc machined they are then taken to laser engraving if necessary and finally sent off to be coated. We manufacture our own stripped upper receiver from both billet aluminum for our 308 ar lowers and an aluminum receiver blank or forging for our AR-15 line. 1/4" X 3/4" Cut X 4" Long 3 Flute Extended Reach Carbide EndMill AR Lower Jig I2. Our jig normally retails for about half of some of our competitors jigs. Spare End Mill and Drill Bits. One of the most modified parts is the lower receiver and there is a whole sub-market of 80% lower receivers, ready for you to finish. If you don’t have milling experience, it very well may be a good option. Likewise for those of you who are well seasoned at this process please feel free to share some of your expert tips with the community below as well. You can get it or learn more about it HERE. With that said, our jig is an affordable option but is not the best option for a router. 80% Arms and other 80% lowers using only a drill press and a few common tools. Our 80% build kits include an upper receiver that we manufacture and also include our handguard. Simple enough, some people don’t coat their 80 lowers and may elect to leave the raw aluminum finish or even polish it. Many companies offer complete uppers which are ready to bolt on to your lower, or partially complete uppers that are in need of just a bolt carrier and a charging handle. The 80% AR-15 Lower Receiver started it all, this was the first commercially available receiver on the market and had a determination from the ATF saying it was not a firearm. It’s a paperweight that looks a whole lot like a functional receiver. On an AR you will need the following tooling: The tooling for a 1911 frame isn’t anywhere near as standardized as the AR lower, what we recommend is below. For those who prefer traditional machining, we also offer drill press jigs. I cover it in the video, but I utilized an Easy Jig Gen 2. We haven’t used it here at Tactical Machining but have had some customers say it is doable and takes a while. Unlike some of our competitors, our investment castings are made in the USA and then CNC Machined in-house in the USA. Enjoy FAST SHIPPING and SAVE at 80-lower.com today! In order to ensure your drill bits hit the right spot, you'd have to count the turns on your bridgeport handles or rely on your digital read out. Spray paint from your local hardware store works pretty well believe it or not. This is just the core components, an upper, lower and handguard. 56.00. After that I like to bake the lower to about 150-200 degrees and then paint it. Specifically designed for their 80% lowers but compatible with any mil-spec lower, the Optimus Defense AR-15 Lower Drill Jig is capable of completing a lower to mil-spec tolerances. The market has been trending towards purchasing 80 lowers that have already been anodized black. Manufacturing 80% Lowers Since 2009 This is great news for the home gunsmith as it opens up your options on what you can purchase. This bit is also most commonly provided as the pilot hole bit for the FCC, which is why most jigs and 80% lower kits come with 3/8" end mill bits. There are a few basic ways that the home enthusiast can complete an 80 lower receiver. 80% Lowers is a premier retailer and YOUR source for 80 percent lowers, 80% lower jigs, build kits and more. Place the jig assembly on its side (Side Plate screw heads UP), and use the 3/8″ Drill Bit to drill the … Some jigs, like the 5D Tactical jig have extremely specialized end mills used in their system and require you to use their end mill. – A drill press is a pedestal style drill that is mounted to a stand. 18. We plan on adding complete uppers in 2020 and just recently started offering AR-15 handguards in late 2019. It requires less machining because it has been shaped into a receiver blank, and has the advantage of the metal grains following the shape of the part. The lower is 80% of the way there, but requires some finishing to make it an actual firearm. More elaborate artwork can be done as well but it is a case by case basis. AR Lower Receiver Step-by-Step Chapter 2 9 Begin by clamping the forging to your milling machine table using the passenger side clamping pad. ShopFox M1036 Features ~$400 Motor: 0.2 HP, 2A, 110 Volt, single-phase But that really doesn't mean all that much except to your wallet. With that said, the billet lower receiver does have the advantage of having all sides machined in the milling machine and in some cases allows you to add features like an extremely flared magwell or an ambidextrous bolt catch. You might be interested in our 80% Lower Guide. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Dimension shown in ( ) are for reference. To get a clean, precise cut on your 80 lower with a handheld router and end mill bit, you'll need to mill your 80 lower using the highest allowable cutting speed. Once you’ve tried it out and decide it’s something you’d like to continue to do then you can spring for a good quality jig. It isn’t easy to hardcoat anodize at home and is best purchased that way or by bringing your completed firearm to a local anodizer. It fits nearly all billet and forged AR-15 lower receivers with only a few exceptions. In order to actually utilize it you must finish milling it out with a drill press and/or router. This tool kit is the industry’s first that is specially designed and manufactured to optimize the machining of personal built lower receivers. Again, it really is a draw, there is no clear winner here. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. 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