bad experience with instructed milling vendor

[SloChicken]

Incorrect milling/drilling the FIRST time is what killed the lower.
If it was milled/drilled correctly, it never would have needed to be reworked.

Measure twice,

Cut once.

[teg33]

If you can't get resolved, file small claim court.

[curtru]

Looks to me the trigger/hammer holes is to far forward and why the hammer is hitting the front wall.

Did you use the correct jig for the lower?

this sounds about right if you had the jig it would have been right but looks like the good Dr.Death is willing to help you out.

[toddh]

DR. Death....you are a class act stepping up like that and helping the guy out.

To the OP
...it looks like "lovetobuild" and "rafthound" might be the same guy.

Looks like he's using rafthound as an alter ego to bump his threads, or to post where a vendor is not allowed to post.

Let the mods know about it. You'll have the last laugh if this guy's breaking the rules and gets banned.

[sfhondapilot]

FWIW, I believe that Rafthound is John. Lovetobuild is Clint. They are partners. I've met both when they used to have CNC builds in Santa Clara.

[VictorFranko]

This is the risk you take by circumventing the usual manufacturing process where a knowledgeable/capable manufacturer makes the receiver from 0% to 100% and then properly finishes it so it is ready to be assembled by the end user.

80% receiver + 20% work rarely equals the quality of a 100% receiver.

OP's risk was using an unknown machinist (and I use the term machinist very loosely) to complete his lower.
Use a qualified machinist with good equipment and you most certainly can achieve the same quality work as the lower manufacturer, in some cases better.
You wouldn't believe the crap I've seen and had to rework in recent 80% lowers.
I prefer TM for my 80% lowers, always GTG.

[latesvak]

That really sucks. I myself wouldn't shoot it. Go with Dr-death. Great guy and great instructor. And he said he would give you a new one for FREE.

Latesvak

[Zartan]

Bummer

[mdib870]

Op take dr death up on his offer

[Spyguy]

While I sympathize with the OP, he and everyone building a firearm from an 80% must realize that there is an element of risk involved in the process. That risk can be financial (loss of materials and time) or it can be injury (kaboom). I understand that he paid extra for instructed milling, but he and the machine shop are walking a fine line: the point behind an 80% is that you, the owner, are machining the remaining 20% yourself.

My advice to those who've never operated a mill before (and especially for those who are not mechanically inclined) is to find a shop that will allow you to use a CNC mill for you to complete your lower. A firearm is the simply the wrong project to start learning manual milling techniques, even with a jig.

[Bullets&Whitewalls]

While I sympathize with the OP, he and everyone building a firearm from an 80% must realize that there is an element of risk involved in the process. That risk can be financial (loss of materials and time) or it can be injury (kaboom). I understand that he paid extra for instructed milling, but he and the machine shop are walking a fine line: the point behind an 80% is that you, the owner, are machining the remaining 20% yourself.

My advice to those who've never operated a mill before (and especially for those who are not mechanically inclined) is to find a shop that will allow you to use a CNC mill for you to complete your lower. A firearm is the simply the wrong project to start learning manual milling techniques, even with a jig.

This is well said. I have machined a fair amount of aluminum and my first attempt at an 80% did not go as well as I thought it would. I too use a manual machine. It does take some knowledge to understand how the tooling cuts and what types of endmills work well. Frankly I spent a lot more than I would have just buying the completed lower, but for me it was fun and I enjoyed the challenge and in the end it left me wanting to do another just to see if I could make it cleaner. I do understand though that my situation is quite a bit different because I have a mill to use when ever I need it and the OP had to rent time. sorry to hear it didn't work out for you OP and my point is even guys like me with some experience can mess one up so don't be too hard on the guy who tried to help you.

[fevillago]

Just reiterating the above in case you missed it. I have been to the DR's and you will be impressed. Sac isnt that far from lake county.

Yes I plan to . I will schedule something with him. I really appreciate him helping me. This shows really good character.

[Sunday]

You either know what you are doing or you don't.

[Spyguy]

This is well said. I have machined a fair amount of aluminum and my first attempt at an 80% did not go as well as I thought it would. I too use a manual machine. It does take some knowledge to understand how the tooling cuts and what types of endmills work well.

Knowledge and experience. Besides selecting the right type of tooling and how to set it up correctly, there's "speeds & feeds", depth of cut, conventional vs climb milling, etc. It's like drinking from a fire hose for someone who's never done any machining before and is trying to learn on an 80%. Sure, many people have hacked up a paperweight to produce a functioning firearm. But I wouldn't want one of those.

[AKSOG]

Big surprise there. I made the mistake of purchasing a lower from the same vendor earlier this year. I asked a plethora of times what jig would work on it and was ignored every time.