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I have built Ar lowers out of aluminum and wanted to try out polymers.
I like the polymer products that I use in my everyday work so I first tried out the 80% Glock.
I am very happy with it and so far it seems to be holding up.
Alright so for this month I ordered and received a Polymer 80 , Genesis 80, and a EP Armory lower. Next month I will review the Tennessee Arms and James Madison lowers.
I am not a professional but I am very mechanically inclined. I am using a tabletop drill press and mostly common tools. I also use some uncommon tools like fixed reamers, dial calipers, depth micrometers , and a x-y vise. Really the only necessities are the drill press and the x-y vise.
I will list what I liked and what I don't like, these are just my opinions.
First up is the EP Armory lower. It is very inexpensive($29), it uses stickers in place of jigs and it does not include mill or drill bits. The magazine well is nicely beveled and it will accept magpul gen3 mags along with everything else I have. I milled this in a little over an hour. I tapped the grip hole even though it is not recommended. It was drilled all the way thru so you can use a trigger adjuster. The trigger guard is fixed and is large enough to use with gloves. The sidewalls are not flimsy but they are also not reinforced. I used a standard mil-spec lower parts kit and everything fit and functioned well.
Bottom line, yes I would buy another.
Next is the Polymer80 Phoenix. It is also very reasonably priced($59), comes with a very good one time use jig, and includes all the mill and drill bits. The magazine well is beveled and all my magazines fit. Again it took me a little over an hour to mill this. The grip is held on with a square nut in a recess so you cannot use a trigger adjuster.The trigger guard is fixed and is large enough to use with gloves.The sidewalls are reinforced all the way from front to back and it feels extremely sturdy. I used a standard mil-spec lower parts kit with the exception of the bolt release pin. Polymer 80 gives you a pin and setscrew instead of the roll pin. Again everything fit and functioned well.
Bottom line, Yes I would buy another and so far it would be my first pick.
Next is the Genesis 80%. It is reasonably priced($59), comes with a good one time use jig, and includes the mill and drill bits. The magazine well is beveled but will not accept the magpul gen 3 magazines. This is because the trigger guard is oversized. I was initially pleased with the brass inserts for the buffer tube and grip but upon inspection the grip screw is like a 8-32 instead of the mil std 1/4-28. Also you cannot use a trigger adjuster with this receiver. I was going to use a mil-spec lower parts kit but I am unable to complete this lower. The bottom of the trigger pocket is hollow and the floor is less than 1/16" thick after milling to 1.25". I understand that things can go wrong with injection molding and this one is just not useable. Next problem is the bolt catch pin. The supplied pin is a 3/32" pin that is threaded on the end. If they had used rolled threads instead of cut threads it would be great. instead we have a pin that has smaller diameter threads than the body. Totally useless. Next is customer service. I have emailed and telephoned the manufacturer with no response after two weeks.
Bottom line, No I would not buy another and I would not suggest anyone else buy either
I have mated the EP Armory and Polymer 80 to standard ar uppers, both fit well, no problems. The Genesis lower misses the rear takedown hole by .025". I have run 20 mags thru the EP Armory and Polymer 80 and I have seen no problems.
As a afterthought I did change both of these to non rotating pins, this was done for my convenience.
I like the polymer products that I use in my everyday work so I first tried out the 80% Glock.
I am very happy with it and so far it seems to be holding up.
Alright so for this month I ordered and received a Polymer 80 , Genesis 80, and a EP Armory lower. Next month I will review the Tennessee Arms and James Madison lowers.
I am not a professional but I am very mechanically inclined. I am using a tabletop drill press and mostly common tools. I also use some uncommon tools like fixed reamers, dial calipers, depth micrometers , and a x-y vise. Really the only necessities are the drill press and the x-y vise.
I will list what I liked and what I don't like, these are just my opinions.
First up is the EP Armory lower. It is very inexpensive($29), it uses stickers in place of jigs and it does not include mill or drill bits. The magazine well is nicely beveled and it will accept magpul gen3 mags along with everything else I have. I milled this in a little over an hour. I tapped the grip hole even though it is not recommended. It was drilled all the way thru so you can use a trigger adjuster. The trigger guard is fixed and is large enough to use with gloves. The sidewalls are not flimsy but they are also not reinforced. I used a standard mil-spec lower parts kit and everything fit and functioned well.
Bottom line, yes I would buy another.
Next is the Polymer80 Phoenix. It is also very reasonably priced($59), comes with a very good one time use jig, and includes all the mill and drill bits. The magazine well is beveled and all my magazines fit. Again it took me a little over an hour to mill this. The grip is held on with a square nut in a recess so you cannot use a trigger adjuster.The trigger guard is fixed and is large enough to use with gloves.The sidewalls are reinforced all the way from front to back and it feels extremely sturdy. I used a standard mil-spec lower parts kit with the exception of the bolt release pin. Polymer 80 gives you a pin and setscrew instead of the roll pin. Again everything fit and functioned well.
Bottom line, Yes I would buy another and so far it would be my first pick.
Next is the Genesis 80%. It is reasonably priced($59), comes with a good one time use jig, and includes the mill and drill bits. The magazine well is beveled but will not accept the magpul gen 3 magazines. This is because the trigger guard is oversized. I was initially pleased with the brass inserts for the buffer tube and grip but upon inspection the grip screw is like a 8-32 instead of the mil std 1/4-28. Also you cannot use a trigger adjuster with this receiver. I was going to use a mil-spec lower parts kit but I am unable to complete this lower. The bottom of the trigger pocket is hollow and the floor is less than 1/16" thick after milling to 1.25". I understand that things can go wrong with injection molding and this one is just not useable. Next problem is the bolt catch pin. The supplied pin is a 3/32" pin that is threaded on the end. If they had used rolled threads instead of cut threads it would be great. instead we have a pin that has smaller diameter threads than the body. Totally useless. Next is customer service. I have emailed and telephoned the manufacturer with no response after two weeks.
Bottom line, No I would not buy another and I would not suggest anyone else buy either
I have mated the EP Armory and Polymer 80 to standard ar uppers, both fit well, no problems. The Genesis lower misses the rear takedown hole by .025". I have run 20 mags thru the EP Armory and Polymer 80 and I have seen no problems.
As a afterthought I did change both of these to non rotating pins, this was done for my convenience.
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