Polymer 80% lower

[TheAdvancedNoob]

**sorry this is my first post and am just learning how to post and stuff**I bought an 80% polymer lower receiver and when I got it I was impressed with the strength of the material so I thought I would go ahead and get started even though I have never undertaken such a task. the first thing I did was test fit it to the upper and the pin holes were not lining up. so I contacted the company and they were not very helpful, the money was already spent and I had the lower in hand so I decided to proceed in milling. so after lots of hours of drilling measuring sanding and more measuring I was ready to drill the pin holes. after getting a small bit and putting it on the stud that had been protruding to mark the pin locations I began to drill and work my way up to the appropriate size. It seemed to all be going smoothly. the drill was perfectly centered on the polymer studs and once I got up to the right size hole, a tiny sliver of the guide stud remained so I wiped it off with my fingers and I knew I was exactly centered. After that I scrambled for the parts that go in the fire control group, this is what I had so far. once the trigger was in, next went the hammer. I felt so excited, like it was finally accomplished. I ran through a functions test, everything worked as expected. The next thing I grabbed was the selector switch as I started to put it in and I saw it wouldn't go in. I sure let out more than a few choice words because the selector will not fit. From this point I don't exactly know what I should do other than take it to a gunsmith's shop and see what they say. I still want to do more of these in the future as it didn't require any extremely expensive tools. I also love the fact it gives more power to the normal law abiding citizens. when its all said and done I'll have less than $500 in it and I found some cheap 40 round mags so that brightens my day

**update** I did some fitting and now everything works and functions flawlessly

[Alera]

Ar-15, right?

Good build for cheap! That's for sure! I'm not technically old enough to build my own yet, but I've done a pretty thorough amount of research for when I can build my own, since I like to go out to the range with friends and family frequently.

I've talked to my friend that got stationed in Germany about half a year ago about it under the Army, and he's given me an infinite amount of wisdom with his level 7 Armory classification. If I were you, (and take my advice with a grain of salt. I'm only sixteen after all) I would splurge a little bit for some nice plastic mags and a great butt stock. I know that plastic mags sounds strange, but they actually have a lot of good qualities about them.

1. Lighter weight. Not a huge deal, especially as a civilian, but it's still nice in some cases.

2. If it drops, it's either going to break or stay in one piece. It's not going to dent and cause unforeseen jamming issues later down the road.

3. They just plain have a tendency to jam less.

Cons:

1.Double the price for a good quality one.

2. Doesn't have that nice rugged feel that bare metal does.

And as far as the butt stock goes, recoil can be a capital B.... If you're pushing a significant number of rounds through. I'm not saying you need to go super expensive or fancy, but a good spring would be your shoulder's friend.

Happy shooting friend

And remember, take what I say lightly. In the end. you do what makes you happy, and that's all that matters.

[jharveee]

Good to hear you got the lower built. What was the issue with the selector? Been tossing around the idea of buying a polymer but was scared, So now will go forward and buy one before they stop selling them.
Thanks

[Alera]

Good to hear you got the lower built. What was the issue with the selector? Been tossing around the idea of buying a polymer but was scared, So now will go forward and buy one before they stop selling them.
Thanks

They're gonna stop selling polymers?

[DennisK]

I bought one of those,but so far have been scared to attempt the machining of it.
I guess one of these days I'll have to put on my big boy pants and give it a go!

[TheAdvancedNoob]

Good to hear you got the lower built. What was the issue with the selector? Been tossing around the idea of buying a polymer but was scared, So now will go forward and buy one before they stop selling them.
Thanks

I think the hammer pin hole was just a little off causing it to push down on the trigger and that blocked the selector from going in. If you get one just double check the pin locations. I look forward to seeing yours and other peoples builds.

[TheAdvancedNoob]

I bought one of those,but so far have been scared to attempt the machining of it.
I guess one of these days I'll have to put on my big boy pants and give it a go!

Good luck and take your time. It will be there waiting for you the next day if you don't finish.

[TheAdvancedNoob]

They're gonna stop selling polymers?

On their FB page they said they were not going to stop selling them. Its an awesome company and will for sure do business with them again because when I bought it it was $65 and by the time it got to my house they were $50 and so I called them and told them all of what was happening and asked for the difference in price but they refunded the whole $65 so I only have $435 in the whole rifle. and another bonus is that when you call during business hours you can talk to a real person that speaks plain and clear English. also I picked those mags because I can get two 40rd mags almost the same price as one 30rd polymer mag so less reloading and won't have to worry about dents I can set them down on the bench at the range.

[DennisK]

I bought one of those,but so far have been scared to attempt the machining of it.
I guess one of these days I'll have to put on my big boy pants and give it a go!

Good luck and take your time. It will be there waiting for you the next day if you don't finish.

Thanks for the solid advise