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Posted: 1/17/2008 9:43:06 PM EDT
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What companies machine lowers (as apposed to forging them)??? please no hearsay I'm looking for facts. Which is highest quality? Does Noveske machine theirs? |
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All lowers are machined. Forged lowers are machined from a forging, billet lowers are machined from a plain billet of material. Billet lowers that I can think of: Sun Devil (photo here) Magpul SMOS Arms POF JP Rifles couple of makers that are now out of business. I think the consensus is that Noveske's lowers are OEMd from CMT/Stag. They are standard receivers machined from forgings. |
Both billet and forged lowers are machined. The billet lowers are machined out of a block or "billet" (hence the namb billet lower) and the other is machined out of a forged blank that looks like a receiver. As noted above by Keith, the forged lower will be inherently stonger due to it's grain structure being changed by the forging process. I believe Noveske lowers are being done by LAR but I could be wrong. |
For comparison, here is a forged lower before it is machined: It needs to be finish machined. Holes for the fire control group, take down pins, tapped for the buffer tube, magazine well, etc. A billet reciever starts as a rectangular chunk of aluminum. It is completely machined from scratch. The holes, mag well, and outside contours are all done with cutting tools. A forged lower may have a slight edge on strength. A billet lower may have a slight edge on precision. Both are used regularly. The forged is just more common. ETA..... Here is a piece of aluminum stock. Not a great picture, but basically how a billet reciever starts life. 
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The way I heard it (from this site) is noveske previously used CMT forgings, but switched to LAR. The CMT's say safe fire, and the LAR's say safe semi. I bought a noveske stripped lower a few days ago and it was one of the CMT's. Apparently many of the stripped lowers they sell are still CMT. EDIT: also, for those that say there's no difference between forged lowers but the logo, I beg to differ. Although both function the same, the differences in machining between my doublestar lower and my noveske is dramatic. Maybe not worth it to some, but certainly worth the extra 20-40 bucks to me. |
Noveske better i assume |
HAving just recently purchased three Noveske lowers from Rainier Arms. Yes much better than most. |
Id much rather have a billet unit tho. I know its a different application, but billet crank shafts and rods are much stronger than forged units. |
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Im a race car guy my self, and i was actually thinking the same thing! I know my billet crank will hold way more power than a forged one. |
You run aluminum cranks?  Are forged cranks dimensionally identical to billet? Bet not. Closed die forgings have serious draft angles to assure plastic flow. |
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