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DPH arms flat bending jig

6516 Views 24 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  DPH arms
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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:
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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 ([email protected]). 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
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.
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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.
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
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