Gunco Forums banner

DPH arms flat bending jig

7K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  DPH arms 
#1 ·
I received the new flat bending jig that dph arms is going to be selling soon, for testing and to review.


I received it yesterday and my initial impression of the jig is that it is well built and well thought out. Today was my first chance to be able to test out the jig to see how it works, ease of operation, consistency, etc. I found that the directions sent for the jig were well written and concise, also that it pays to read the directions fully before being in a hurry to get started. After reading the directions I loosened the side bolts (but didn?t remove them) and also removed the bolts on the bottom plate. Removing the bottom plate reveals that there are two pins that are in place for the two alignment holes on the bottom of the tapco flats. These two pins make it so that there is no measuring involved with finding the centerline.



After the flat is on the alignment pins then the bottom piece with the flat is put onto the center piece. There is even a recessed area on the center piece for the part at the front of the magwell that angles up.



The bolts are then put through the bottom and threaded into the center piece. After these 5 bolts are snugged tight, then the bolts on the side pieces are tightened down (4 bolts) after the side pieces are inspected to make sure they are flush with the flat. I used some wheel bearing grease along the edge where the bottom bends will be to help give some lubrication for the upcoming bends. The outer box of the jig is very smooth inside (it is flycut). After aligning the flat and centerpiece with the outer box of the jig on the press, it was just a simple matter of using the press to mash the flat down into the outer box of the jig.




To help insure that everything was going in easily (plus the fact that I am particular about how I do things) I did stop about halfway and readjust the jig so that everything was even. There are stops inside the outer jig box so that the flat isn?t pressed in to far, and it makes for a nice stop so that one knows when to stop pressing and also the blocks help to keep the jig even (seeing that an AK receiver is tapered slightly). I released pressure on the press and moved the whole jig into my vise. From there I used a few different style hammers to see what worked best for me. I tried a rubber mallet, a 4lb. deadblow hammer, and finally realized that for me I preferred a 3lb hammer and a small bucking bar. After the top rails were bent over, The flat and center section was removed from the outer jig box.



The bolts on the bottom were removed, then the bolts on the sides were removed and the center piece slid out allowing the two sides to collapse in for ease of removal.





I found that this jig is consistent (I have bent three flats total with this jig so far) and that it is easy to use. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being difficult and 10 being easy, I feel that this jig rates an 8-9. On my third flat bent I was feeling comfortable with the workings of the jig and from the start of the process until the flat came out of the jig completely bent was around 10 minutes. For those not sure of their mechanical skills, I feel this jig would be easy to use and wouldn?t pose a problem for those wanting to build an AK type rifle using a receiver flat. For those thinking of wondering if the FCG holes line up, I put a FCG into the receiver and installed the pins with no problems with alignment.


The rest of the holes appear to line up as well.

DPH arms is going to be selling these jigs soon as there is a run of these jigs being made in the shop now. From what I have been told the jigs being made now will have symmetrical sides so where the bolts attach on the sides there won't be a step to the bolt holes - but the taper will follow the center piece along the whole edge. When these are ready the jigs will be posted in the classifieds section of the board.

Also on a side note, This is similar in design to other jigs out there now, but from what I can see there are some improvements on the jig that DPH arms is going to sell. The designer of the dph arms jig (who would like to remain anonymous) has the following to say, "I would like to thank fellow members for posting ideas like brake bending, vise bending, etching, laser cut, roderuscustom, 555th, I even saw a 4 X 4 front spindle dropped onto a box to bend one, as well as some other high priced offerings found on the net! For inspiring me to make my own".
Some quick pictures of one of the flats bent.





next to a vulcan receiver for comparison:
 
See less See more
14
#2 ·
Cephus said:
Man that is some piece of equipment aand a very concise interview of same. Looks like a winner to me. I'm going to ask all the questions, when,how much and how easy? Now i feel bad about asking all those things today when you were so busy next time tell shut the #%^%$^&*&%$ up LOL
Now to answer your questions, lol :D . When - Scott (DPH arms) would be better able to answer that - but it should be soon. How much - I would rather Scott answer that so that I don't say the wrong price. How easy - well now here is one I can answer, ha ha. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being difficult and 10 being easy I would put it around an 8-9. I feel it is quite easy to use and that the design is well thought out.

Oh and Cephus no need to feel bad about asking - maybe next time I will be able to ask you the questions - ha ha :D .
 
#6 ·
7.62x39 said:
Great review Sniper.

All these new bending options becoming available just in time for September 14th is really exciting.

I have the feeling that we are going to see a lot of cool new builds, in the near future.
Lots of cool new builds is a good thing, right? (like I have to ask, lol) :D
 
#8 ·
Grendeljaeger said:
That looks great!! And I agree with everyone that said you write a heck of a product review Sniper!!!
you all flatter me, lol :) ;) .

On a different note...I am planning on calling FAC today to order one of their underfolder flats to bend with this jig. Once I receive the underfolder flat and bend it, I'll report on how it looks and post some pictures of that too!
 
#9 ·
i have bought a ton of stuff from scott, through the mail & at the charlotte nc gun shows. i have no hesitation ordering anything from him. and if he's putting a bending jig out here for sale..no doubt it will be very well made!!


sniper69, thanks for the heads up man:thumbup1:
 
#11 ·
Thantos and everyone else,

I sent this jig to Sniper69 for the very reason you see here. My only request of him was to be brutally honest about this jig and beat it up. I will not put my name on something that I dont feel is a superior product. This jig has a lot of time invested into development and a lot of time invested in the machining (as mentioned earlier, thanks to all who came before and had such great ideas to get these things going). The finish work and detail is machinist quality because it is being made in a machine shop therefore, cost on this thing is tough to nail down. I want this thing out there at a resonable price. The shop will be giving a final cost per lot soon because we are still negotiating the absolute bottom dollar! The shop ran some more today to lock down the machining time and are calculating run time (according to lot sizes) so that they can schedule runs into the work schedule. I am busy doing the math on actual lot sizes and delivery times! Since the shop took a three day weekend like most businesses, I expect to back in touch with them early next week and if all goes well we will have something to offer late next week or early the following week. Keep an eye out because this is a well made AK jig and it WILL be available soon!

Thanks
Scott
 
#12 ·
We are working it....we are taking in all of the new ideas. That being said, we are also trying to keep the price down. The flats that have been bent on this jig so far look great. I have gotten some feedback on the bend radius not being as sharp as "factory" and we have tried to get them tighter but I'll be honest with you guys, I feel like we are putting a lot of time into a minor detail that doesnt affect the fit, form or function of the gun. The fit of the trunions is perfect as well as the fit of the furniture (as seen in sniper69's post). We have made one impovement that will add some strength to the sides of the "box"...the bolts that hold the forming block together are now gone. We are using countersunk allen head bolts and that allow us to keep the "box" sides solid (no slots cut out for the bolts to go down through).

Keep checking out this thread, it won't be long now.

Scott
 
#13 ·
Here are the pics of the trunnions and stock set fitted up to the bent flat. I basically raided parts from another build to put on the bent flat. The stock set on there was one I have fitted to a vulcan receiver and I didn't need to remove any additional material from the stock to fit the bent flat. The area on the top rail was fitted for the trunnions. I haven't completely cut the top rail yet, I just wanted to quickly get this fitted so that you all could see the results. (BTW please excuse my mess in the picture, thats what I get for not putting stuff away before taking the picture :D). Also on the bent flat I am planning on doing my next one a little different when bending the top rails. It should make for an even better fit if the idea I have works.





Now that I know these fit I am going to put them back on my vulcan receiver as that build is near done. As for the bent flat I am going to use a different parts set on that and that parts set isn't prepped and ready for fitting yet (i.e. I still have to remove rivets, etc). Hope this helps give an idea of stock set fit.
 
#14 ·
DPH arms said:
... I have gotten some feedback on the bend radius not being as sharp as "factory" ...... We have made one impovement that will add some strength to the sides of the "box"...the bolts that hold the forming block together are now gone. We are using countersunk allen head bolts and that allow us to keep the "box" sides solid (no slots cut out for the bolts to go down through).
Scott
That's great Scott.

I have a feeling the latter, might take care of the former.
Thanks for making these available to us.
 
#15 ·
I'm getting a lot of email and pms on this jig, here is where we stand.

I am hoping to have these available today or Thursday. I'm finalizing the instructions right now. It looks like there will be 10 available at first and the shop is working on more. Cost is going to be $140 + sh. I have beat the shop up pretty bad on the cost so lets hope that their shop rate doesnt go up on us. This thing has over 3 hours of machine time alone, not counting fabricating time.

Several have been spoken for in advance so as soon as I get all of the particulars together I'll let everyone know.

Thanks
Scott
 
#19 ·
The first jigs are going out Monday. Those who are getting them have been notified. I will be contacting the next 10-15 people on the list as soon as I know when they will be available. The shop is trying to put out at least 10 per week.

Thanks
Scott
 
#22 ·
Guys,

We have shipped 42 jigs to date and we are shipping another 10 today. If you are on the waiting list and you have not heard from me in the last week, shoot me an email (scottgull@aol.com). I want to make sure that I havent jumped over anyone yet. There are currently 23 more on the waiting list. We will be getting 10 more jigs from the shop next Friday.

Thanks
Scott
 
#23 ·
Guys,

Here is a pm that I got from another member who bought one of my jigs. I did not include his name because he asked me not to. You guys may want to try this (I have not tried it yet).

Scott

Scott,
I have one of your jigs and had one of 555's jigs. Both work fine but yours is more refined and the dowels make for a much quicker set up time.

What I noticed about both of your jigs is when bending the top rails that because the form sits about 1/2 inch below the bend the sides want to bend out slightly as you are trying to bend thbe top rails. What I have been douing which really gives crisp bends is after the initial press into the form I remove the jig and flat and place it in my vise with soft jaws. I position it so the jaws of the vise are almost level (slightly lower) than the top of the jig and then bend the top rail with the rubber/plastic mallet as normal. I found this makes nice sharp top bends. When finished I remove the bottom piece and while still in the jig I flatten the mag well lips that tend to not bend sharply either. I am not complaining at all and find your jig made very well and just wanted to share my experiences in case you or others were interested.
__________________
 
#25 ·
SangRun Hunter said:
That is slick! I didn't even know this thread existed until I saw DPH post it for sale tonight.

I guess I have been spending too much time working on being the PR guy.

And doing a damn fine job on the PR stuff as well.

To date we have sold/shipped 93 jigs. This thing has far exceeded my expectations.

Scott
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top