Alright you guys talked me into it. i ordered a 0% forging from DSA, it should be here in a week and i can begin milling it out. it seems like it should go pretty easy for the most part as long as i take my time with it. The one part that concerns me the most is going to be locating, drilling and tapping the rear hole for the buffer tube. is there any easy way to do this task? I don't have a OJI jig so i will be marking it all out with a caliper and taking reference off a bushmaster lower. Also once i finish the lower obviously i will need an upper to go onto it. i would like to go with something along the lines of a 20" A3 flat top with a 1-9 twist. how difficult is it to assemble one from parts and get the head spacing and all right? and where should i be looking for these parts? all hints, tips, and tricks, will be greatly appriciated. i will keep you all posted on the progress once i begin. Tac-Wolf
There was a link on the homegunsmith.com forum about the process to do it, along with templates. I agree with you - the "hard" part of an AR receiver will be the threading for the rear buffer tube. Everything else is simply milling and/or drilling operations.
I've made 80%ers, have a jig and drill bits, taps, etc. But this DSA forging is alot of work! I'm at the non-firing movie-prop stage, with still alot of metal in the mag well to remove. All builds make us appreciate guys like Eugene, Mikhail, JMB, etc.
chiroone- "I think the mag well will be the most difficult, I thought they were all EDM, not milled"
i think if you were to mill out the mag well just a bit under sized, probably run a small (1/4" or so) drill bit down each corner than file bit by bit until you like the mag fit it shouldn't be too difficult. just take your time. I'm still wondering about that buffer tube hole though. I guess i will get a better idea once the forging gets here, can't hardly wait.
Yes the 0% DSA is alot of work, it took me along time I did it with handtools. the mag well was the easiest, again I just used a drill press and drilled out the center its alum.
yes doing the buffer threads by hand is tricky, I know I did it. if you have a 80% tannery or a FFL 100% then you can use that as a templete. if this project is to much work then by all means get a 80% and spare yourself. I used a caliper for this and everything came out decent
when I am at the range I like showing people were the drill cut a little deep in the magwell it amazes them that it was done with hand tools
I have a couple pic's of construction and use of my DSA 0%, if you send me a PM with a E-mail address I will forward them.
my jig is on loan I maybe tempted to rent it around for a fair rental fee including the die for the buffer
tools I used were drill press, dremel, old sear's cord hand drill, rat files, large flat file, caliper and good plans
if your a member at Roderus the plans are there free, plus a few build tutorials including anodizing plans (these guys have got this down), I send out my alum to be anodized its cheaper
hay goodluck guys, if I can help or give advice feel free. I did my build in 2000, starting my last sig 228/229 alum 80% frame with hand tools!
I see it as "Zen and the Art of Gun Building". If I won some lottery, and then money was no problem, I would still build even though I could buy anything at a gun auction, because my builds are mine! I don't completely trust any machine unless I've taken it apart, and carefully put it together.
For those that want to try a build from a 0% forging, here's a site I found that has an excellent follow along tutorial with pictures. You will need Adobe to open the pages as it's all PDF files. Click on the section marked "Machining the AR Lower". Find the Click Here for the Book option.
I was about to go looking for that link to post here. I machined a 0% lower by the Ray-Vin plans and it was very straightforward, with good results. Easier than an AK in my opinion, if you have a mill and lathe. If you have a lathe, skip the tap and cut the threads - there's no shoulder or bottom, so thread cutting isn't going to get any easier.
thanks alot one shot! this web site has better information for this project than my book contains. im printing it right now. i hope to get started soon. I would like to find a stripped upper receiver before i begin milling just so I have a good reference to fit it up to. Im still not sure which one to go with. I want a A3 flat top. any good places to look for one that is reasonably cheap but still good quality?
Gene- I have access to a nice lathe but i don't have much experience with it. how difficult is it to cut the threads and how would one go about doing such a task. this would be very helpful seeing as i don't have a tap that big to do it with anyway.
Thaks again :thumbup1: , Tac-Wolf
tac-wolf----You're welcome for the link. As far as finding a stripped upper to fit it with, your best bet (from my point of view) would be to fit it to the upper you plan on using for the assembly.
One Shot- I do plan on fitting up the lower to the upper thats why i need an upper receiver to help me mill it out. I want to assemble the upper as well. I'm looking at the J&T receivers- http://www.jtdistributing.com/store/upper_receivers.html
They have a complete standard flat top for 114.95. are these a good one to go with or should i keep looking?
Tac-Wolf
tac-wolf----Sorry for the confusion brother. It didn't even click earlier when you mentioned the stripped upper receiver. I didn't know you wanted to assemble the top half as well. The few people I know that have put together an AR had done kits with the top half already complete.
As far as wether or not you'd be doing good going through J&T...I can't say one way or another. I myself have never done any business with them, and I don't know anyone that has. Maybe someone else here can let you know about them.
WooHooo... my forging has arrived, now im really starting to get ambitious. School and work has been keeping me pretty busy lately so im not quite sure when i will get started hopefully in the next week or two, i'm still looking for that upper receiver i will probably be going with the J&T ones.also got to get the lower fire controls, buffer tube etc. I will keep you all updated on the progress once i begin, even post up some pictures if i can figure out how.
Tac-Wolf
yea i'd like to see lots of pics of this, I have been considering ordering one. I'm at college and there is a decent mill I have access to. It seems like a big project though. if I make one I want to put an OA-93 upper on it.
I have two blanks due to arrive on Thursday. I have no mill, thinking it might be a good excuse to buy a mini mill. Problaby will try one using the drill press/dremel/file process first.
wow, I can't imagine doing this with my dremel, although the dremel is a mighty tool. I saw one post where the person marked the edge of the cuts in the magazine well with drill holes and then just milled out the inside. If I knew exactly where to place all the holes I think I could tackle this project pretty easily.
well I ordered two forgings and downloaded the book. I figured its only like 12 bucks more with shipping. It looks like a ton of time, but nothing too difficult.
wow, I can't imagine doing this with my dremel, although the dremel is a mighty tool. I saw one post where the person marked the edge of the cuts in the magazine well with drill holes and then just milled out the inside. If I knew exactly where to place all the holes I think I could tackle this project pretty easily.
Take a look at the link I posted. I believe it's chapter nine that discusses the area for the mag well.
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