I screwed up one of my 80% lowers

[HKRick]

I recently bought a few 80% lowers from you guys and love the product and method. Much easier than drill press method. I am using the recommended Rigid trim router but have had a problem with the end mill slipping down. It has resulted in 2 lowers main pocket being milled too deep. So here are my questions:

1) Is there anything I can do to salvage these, JB Weld etc.?

2) I was able to confirm the bit is slipping out even though the collet is tight, any ideas how to address this problem?

3) I understand you offer 50% discount on replacement lowers for those who ruin theirs. How do I go about taking advantage of this offer if it applies to my situation?


Appreciate your help and keep up the good work!

[pleasurewood]

Hey Bud
I'm just a member, but those routers aren't that great. Upgrade a bit, maybe Porter cable.
Those collets aren't the best on the rigids

[HKRick]

Originally Posted by pleasurewood

Hey Bud
I'm just a member, but those routers aren't that great. Upgrade a bit, maybe Porter cable.
Those collets aren't the best on the rigids

Thanks for the input. I took it apart and the collet was damaged. I ordered a few new ones and plan to go really slow with cutting oil. Which model Porter Cable do you recommend?

[350skylark]

Can you post a pic of it? Was it milled to deep as in drilled all the way?

[SkyHawk]

Just use a drop in trigger.

[80% Arms]

Hello HKRick - We have several compact routers at our shop and the Ridgid is the favorite of our staff when they go to grab one. It sounds like you discovered yours had a bad collet. We doubt you'll have a problem with the router after you replace the collet. There are many other routers you can use and our post at the link below has more info. However, you should be good with the Ridgid router.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s....php?t=1028748

After each pass, check the length of your end mill on the built-in Easy Jig gauge before lowering it to the next hash mark. If the end mill is lower after you finished a pass, there is a problem with the router not holding the end mill. (Can be bad a collet, improperly tightened collet, or a bad depth adjustment lock. Some Bosch routers had problems with their depth adjustment mechanism holding.) The natural forces will want to pull out the end mill. So it is important to tighten the collet very tightly, and retighten the collet periodically to make sure it is still tight.

If you milled the FCG pocket too deep it really should not be a problem. That will not impact function at all unless it is so thin that you can poke through it. The floor has little function other then keeping debris out of the FCG area. If it is solid and you have metal around the trigger you should be fine. If it is so thin that it is going to deform when you press against the floor, you'll probably want to replace the lower, or use a drop in trigger but that is rare.

The spec for the FCG pocket depth is 1.249". On our lowers that leaves a floor about 0.1" thick. You can over mill by 0.05" or so and still be good. The photo below shows the floor thickness through the trigger slot hole when the FCG pocket is milled to 1.25" depth. As you can see, there is a good amount of aluminum down there, so there is plenty of wiggle room to mill too deep and still be fine.

When using our lowers and Easy Jig, if there is a problem, simply email us with your order number and a photo showing the damage to your lower, and we'll replace the lower at 50% off. Feel free to contact us direct if we can be of any further assistance.

[Socalspeed]

I did several lowers and had the same thing happen on my porter cable router. The end mill bit lowered out and tore through the final pass. 8O% was amazing and helped with the replacement of the messed up lower. Since then, I mark the bit at the collar with a sharpie, and that way I can check for it lowering. I recheck the collar tightness every couple passes. Solid now


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[edgerly779]

I cut an aluminum plate and jb welded it into bottom then milled trigger slot. worked fine.