AR Small Parts Price Tirade/Rant

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H&R Glock

H&R Glock

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I have been infected by the AR build bug and it is starting to take a financial hold on my income. There are many on this web site who are responsible, but none so much as myself. You know who you are! I'm out to get us! :}
Why are take-down hinge pin DETENTS so expensive???? The prices they get are greater, gram for gram than gold!
Little brass pins ought to be $1.50 for 25.
This part must have been designed to fly off into oblivion (during assembly) and enable someone to be a millionaire at an early age.
Sorry, I'm gonna' get some brass brads at Home Depot and with a little file work I can make my own small pins. This will be a little like panning for gold in a known mine.
If any of you'se guys have a source for reasonable bulk pins- please let me know.
 
Well building your own is pleasing but it's always the little things that bite. I've looked into building an A10 but I think I'll be purchasing the finished product because of the little things. Hope you solve your quandry easily.
If you can find out the material data on the pins you could probably find a stick, rod or what ever it's called and cut your own. Just think it might be better then trusting HD stuff in the long run.
I just happen to have seen detent at del-ton .com for .65 if that helps.
 
Entropy- that's the best deal I have seen yet. Thank you! In order to reduce the price further i have to wait till I have something bigger to order from them else the shipping will kill me. I just bought a scope from them and did not know about this deal.
This AR building is a vicious circle of buy and buy more. I love it????
 
You just found the worst part of it. Chasing a deal and spending more money to save money. You want to spend $4 and get free shipping so the next time they have that $300 whatchamacallit on the email flier for $225 your gonna buy it because it’s a good deal and it gets you that free shipping you need for your $4 order which is the only reason you opened the email in the first place.

....experience talks.
 
total recoil said:
Sorry, I'm gonna' get some brass brads at Home Depot and with a little file work I can make my own small pins.
Click to expand...
I don't think the takedown pin detents are actually brass (too soft). I think they are some kind of plated steel.

When I build an AR, I usually hand-pick the small parts from my favorite vendors at gun shows. Since they know me, they cut me a good deal.
 
skeeterfogger said:
I've looked into building an A10 but I think I'll be purchasing the finished product because of the little things.
Click to expand...

I agree... you want to see price shock, start pricing a build for an AR-10 variant. Further complicating the issue is the sometimes proprietary parts some models have. I may or may not ever buy an AR-10, but it will be a complete rifle, that's for sure.
 
Buy parts kits not individual parts. You have to do it for a while to find the vendors you like best. It's a sickness. LOL
 
Casefull said:
Buy parts kits not individual parts. You have to do it for a while to find the vendors you like best. It's a sickness. LOL
Click to expand...
There's no need to buy a complete parts kit when all you need is a replacement detent and spring to replace the one that went into warp speed when launched across the shop.

I buy that set of detent & detent springs from CDNN whenever I place an order from them.

Most often when I need small parts I order them from JSE Surplus. They keep a large inventory of small parts on hand and their web site is user friendly.
They have detents for .50 and detent springs for .50.
https://www.jsesurplus.com/del-ton-1-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.aspx
https://www.jsesurplus.com/del-ton-1-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.aspx

Total Recoil, If you just need a part or two that has gotten away from you, I have plenty of extra small parts.
 
total recoil said:
Entropy- that's the best deal I have seen yet. Thank you! In order to reduce the price further i have to wait till I have something bigger to order from them else the shipping will kill me. I just bought a scope from them and did not know about this deal.
This AR building is a vicious circle of buy and buy more. I love it????
Click to expand...
Check out their magazine prices and (dang that entropy!) uppers. CDNN is where I got the upper for my last build.It's never too hard to find things to order there. My last order had these in it:
https://www.cdnnsports.com/quad-earmuffs-27db-kryptek-typhon-enhanced.html?___SID=U#.XPfFNhZKivM
Not as nice as Walker Quads, but at $30, if I leave them at the club and they walk off, not a major loss. ( I did leave them there a while back, :oops: but they left them in the clubhouse for me.)
 
I built my first lower last month, and admit after reading all the horror stories was tad nervous about losing a spring or detent. But I did the work inside a Lowe's bag just to be safe, and luckily didn't have an issue.

Still though, I keep meaning to buy an extra LPK to have on hand.
 
I thought paying $.49 for detents and $.29 for detent springs at my LGS was bad!

Detents are steel. I've used magnets to find them after they've shot off into the nether regions.
 
total recoil said:
I have been infected by the AR build bug and it is starting to take a financial hold on my income. There are many on this web site who are responsible, but none so much as myself. You know who you are! I'm out to get us! :}
Why are take-down hinge pin DETENTS so expensive???? The prices they get are greater, gram for gram than gold!
Little brass pins ought to be $1.50 for 25.
This part must have been designed to fly off into oblivion (during assembly) and enable someone to be a millionaire at an early age.
Sorry, I'm gonna' get some brass brads at Home Depot and with a little file work I can make my own small pins. This will be a little like panning for gold in a known mine.
If any of you'se guys have a source for reasonable bulk pins- please let me know.
Click to expand...


When you use the phrase "fly off into oblivion" I'll assume you're talking about the pivot pin detent.
Do you have a quarter inch rod to help install that particular detent? A lot of detents can be bought for the price of the rod, if it has to be bought instead of make it yourself. But it sure makes life a lot easier.
 
I treat AR parts like sprinkler parts; every time I go to Home Depot for sprinkler stuff I grab a few extra pieces and put them in a bin in my garage... I do this so I don’t have to run out immediately the next time I get a cracked pipe or head.

Same for AR parts, when I place an order for something from somewhere that sells AR stuff I’ll get something else like a spring kit, detent and pin kit, extractor, gas rings, a new bolt in case one loses a lug, etc. I do this since I’m paying for shipping anyway, and far I haven’t been left out in the cold with a downed gun missing one of its parts.

Stay safe!
 
This part must have been designed to fly off into oblivion (during assembly) and enable someone to be a millionaire at an early age.
Click to expand...

Get in the shower and cover the drain, when installing, you’ll send them to the poor house.

Or you can get the proper tool and never eject another.
 
A LGS sells a package of 10 detents for $20.00. That is a nice markup for them but when you need one in a hurry. Plus now that you have so many pins you need the springs to go along with them. And all of those pins and springs are just wasted sitting in drawer so they need some lowers. And lower are not any good without upper receiver...

It's madness.

I have also adopted the habit of ordering a few extra pins, springs and other small parts when doing a bigger order.
 
I really need to do an inventory before I order extra parts. I know that I have three complete LPK's and two LPK's without the fire control groups. I have five or six fire control groups. But it's all the other small parts I need to inventory.
I have tried building more AR's to get rid of parts, but it didn't work.
 
Buy parts kits. I've never come out spending more on a home built AR-15 than I would have on a comparable factory built gun. Parts kits are the best way to get the little pieces included with some of the other pieces you'll need (like a trigger - though you can also buy parts kits minus the trigger if you have another trigger in mind).
 
coloradokevin said:
Buy parts kits. I've never come out spending more on a home built AR-15 than I would have on a comparable factory built gun. Parts kits are the best way to get the little pieces included with some of the other pieces you'll need (like a trigger - though you can also buy parts kits minus the trigger if you have another trigger in mind).
Click to expand...
I think you missed the point of the topic. The OP is fussing about parts flying across the room when building a lower. This most often happens with the front detent pin and spring. Sometimes those parts are very hard to find, especially if you’re old and have a hard time getting on your hands and knees. :)
Some places charge a dollar or more for each detent and spring, and then there’s shipping.
He’s not talking about buying each part separately to build a lower.
I remember building my first lower. It took me more time to find the detent and spring that I launched across the room then it took me to build the lower.
 
I'm glad you all seem to agree with me that there is a secret cabal of retailers that conspire to drive the amateur AR builders to bankruptcy or the edge of their patience. :)
Yes I have the universal clevis rod for pin installation. I found that one end of it is slightly beveled and that is where the pin went into orbit. I will grind the end perfectly square before my next install. My second real build is underway because of the fact that I had ordered extra parts kits in the first place to prevent problem I have now,.... and the fact that PSA is almost giving away their stripped lowers.
The sellers have successfully manipulated me into a mindless automaton that desires nothing more than to build ARs...... and order extra parts.
Keep your cards and letters coming as I appreciate the info on when and where to buy parts. I am on the mailing list of about 10 places now. Gunny steered me to the "on sale" buffer kit that will finish my lower off and you guyz will ultimately steer me to my next "on Sale" upper.
WestKentucky- you think like me :)
 
I just now thought about this... I once lost a detent and as an expedient repair I chopped off the end of a clothes hanger and filed the tip down. Still there. Been a while...probably 4 years or so. Never noticed a problem.
 
I’ve built a few AR’s for myself and a couple friends and we’ve launched a few of those pins during assembly but I’ve had enough spares to get the job done anyway. After the firearm is finished I can generally find the lost ones eventually and put them back in the spare drawer. I have noticed that those pins look a lot like the pins locksmiths use to key locks. If I ever got in a situation where I needed one to finish a build I think I’d go see the local locksmith. I bet they could fix you up cheap!
 
I use a banana box to build my lowers in using an exacto knife to hold the pin in while installing the pin. I have launched a couple but they all stayed in the box, recently I got an easily lost parts kit for WHEN I loose a small part so now I just need to build more lowers so I can utilize the kit:)
 
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