AR Forging

[cuda64]

Hey guys quick question for ya I picked up a raw AR forging the cast still had a lot of left over Aluminum on it. I took it over to a shop that the guy told me that the ones with the left overs on them like that are junk ,and it didn't get sent threw the cutting machine and that's why's that's left on there. I've don't know anything about that kind of stuff but don't want to let a lower get away from me right now .

 

[M-Cameron]

there are Raw forgings, and there are 80% lowers...

raw forgings are just that, straight out of the press and no post machining done to them. these require extensive machining to produce an AR lower



80% have been machined to an extent and only require a bit additional machining to produce a lower receiver.


theres no reason a raw forging cannot be made into a perfectly functional lower....essentially it comes down to how much machining you have to do.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

A photo showing what your version of "the cast still had a lot of left over Aluminum on it" means might go a long way to understanding the state of the forging.

Note that for 99.999999999999999999% percent of folk out there, these forgings in the best state are still only paperweights as the one time set up to complete a single forging's machining and finishing (IF one has the correct plans!) is far outweighed by simply buying a complete or even 80%er.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

It's at best a curiosity of the AR-15 manufacturing process. IE: Paper weight.

Hardly anyone has the necessary machinery, or specific AR-15 tooling & jigs to finish it into a working lower.
Even a well equipped machine shop, unless they already make AR-15 lowers.

rc

 

[barnbwt]

It's at best a curiosity of the AR-15 manufacturing process. IE: Paper weight.

It's also a good excuse to practice machine skills or teach others the same. Just today I hooked up with some local builders who were milling up raw forgings. But since the guy who owns the forging legally has to make his own rifle (since the mill owner isn't FFL), he has to be taught to make the thing.

Brilliant uninteded consequence of laws to make it harder for people to have firearms made for them; they must learn to do it themselves (give a man a fish...)

Now, the rewelds of Suomi receivers they were doing; that looked like an excercise in poor resource allocation. Still neat to learn, though.

Note that for 99.999999999999999999% percent of folk out there, these forgings in the best state are still only paperweights

And yet the prices are still going up *scratches head*. I totally agree that that fraction of folks buying them have no use for one (except for that one guys who's a real whiz with the Dremel )

TCB