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Posted: 7/15/2010 6:09:06 AM EDT
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I want to make my SBR lower into a slabside.
I dont have an end mill, which I suspect is vital in doing a proper job. Would it be a bad idea to go at the fences with a file, after taping up the surfaces I dont want scratched up? |
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while I haven't gone full slabside, I have turned a full fence 80% lower into a partial fence lower using a dremel, hand files, and some emery paper..wasn't that hard to do.
going full slabside though, you have to worry about how deep the channel for the detent is. I think m1sniper has some pics of this, as he has done it to some 80% lowers that he has completed I don't know how you are concerning the finishes on your rifles, but if it were mine, it would need to be sent to Victor after such major surgery for a complete refinishing job here's a pic of my first attempt at making a partial fence from an A2 
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| Do you have a drill press and dremel bits? I made up a simple jig that holds the lower flat on it's side.Used a small dremel end mill bit in the drill press,and just nibbled away at it.As cracked said tho,the 2 tactical machine lowers,the front detent housing hole was originally drilled very tight to the inside rather then centered in the hump,so the end result after the finish hand filing and emory cloth work still showed a very shallow gouge.Victor was able to somehow fill it with the anodizing and now you can NOT see where it was. |
I used to do them with a Dremel before I got my vertical mill. You just need to be careful. I don't know if I have the patience to do it with a file. Why don't you just pickup a Dremel at Walmart? They don't cost too much, and you need one anyway. 
"Friends don't let friends Dremel AR's" 
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Do you have a drill press and dremel bits? I made up a simple jig that holds the lower flat on it's side.Used a small dremel end mill bit in the drill press,and just nibbled away at it.As cracked said tho,the 2 tactical machine lowers,the front detent housing hole was originally drilled very tight to the inside rather then centered in the hump,so the end result after the finish hand filing and emory cloth work still showed a very shallow gouge.Victor was able to somehow fill it with the anodizing and now you can NOT see where it was. He had to have welded it to get it flush. Victor is the best! |
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NO,welding will NOT take the anodizing right.He told me that from the getgo when I sent it to him.I don't know what his trick is,but it works.It's also NOT a JB weld type product either. Very interesting. I can't imagine what he does short of pouring molten aluminum onto the gap. Victor must have powers like Magneto from the X-men comics. |
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NO,welding will NOT take the anodizing right.He told me that from the getgo when I sent it to him.I don't know what his trick is,but it works.It's also NOT a JB weld type product either. Very interesting. I can't imagine what he does short of pouring molten aluminum onto the gap. Victor must have powers like Magneto from the X-men comics. Yep,,he certainly does.He's worked MAGIC on a couple of items for me. |
| Don't know if I understand the question. But I converted a RRA lower to a partial fence lower using a die grinder from Northern Tools for $9.00 & 2" scotch-loc pads from the auto parts store. The pads took the fence down fast. Just make sure you hold the die grinder straight so the pad is flat to the receiver. It leaves a nice smooth finish with no file scars. I was also able to re-profile the front take down pin area using a rat tail file & the pads. I filled in the RRA logo & fire/safe marks with JB Weld and hit them with the scotch lock pads. But then I cheated & bead blasted the lower & painted it with Brownells to match my 604 upper. |
| The hardest part for me was right up next to the front takedown pin detent tunnel (whatever it's called). It has to be real flat around the mag catch button and then a nice crease at that area. Used a Dremel and various files. on a a DPMS cast lower and then shot the upper and lower together with Aluma-hyde II Dark Parkerizing Grey. The Matte Black is also good. Just let it dry for at LEAST a week before you even THINK about touching it. I stuck them in the attic and went on vacation for two weeks. |
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Maybe this will help.The jig is just 2 pieces of scrap corian I had,I ran one side thu the tablesaw to create a channel that the selector stops fit into.Counterbored the holes for the bolts so they sit below the surface.When I tighten the bolts up,I just check the 4 corner measurements,then good to go.Since I free hand this this under the spindle,I just take my time with a very strong hand(it can and will yank the sucker if you don't hold real tight) and I nibble away little bits at a time.Turning this to a partial fence and the section below the mag button took me about 35-40 minutes.
ETA,to get a soft beveled edge in that area around the mag button I put a tapered stone bit in the press and work it back and forth a few times then hit with emory cloth. 
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So would I go to retro hell if my 80% loewr has "fire and "safe" stamped on the right side and I did not bother to modify the rear reinforcement from A2 style to A1 style? Did you mill out the fire control pocket yet??? If not you can take a ball peen hammer.Set lower on a real solid surface,using the ball side,start tapping away.You will have to "get the feel" of how hard to tap.You want to tap the area around the letters,oh,a few hundred times,ever so often using the flat side of the hammer.Like sheetmetal 101.The idea is to displace the metal with the ball.It will look like HELL while you're doing it,but you can put a file to it ever so often.Then I wrap emory around a small block of wood.If you already milled out the pocket,,well that's a different story.I did one that way.I had a solid 1/2" + - thick piece of steel I put into the FC pocket to back up the lettered areas,then did the same ballpeen treatment.But you HAVE to be a lot more careful as you could distort the receiver.Took about 3 times longer. |
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So would I go to retro hell if my 80% loewr has "fire and "safe" stamped on the right side and I did not bother to modify the rear reinforcement from A2 style to A1 style? Did you mill out the fire control pocket yet??? If not you can take a ball peen hammer.Set lower on a real solid surface,using the ball side,start tapping away.You will have to "get the feel" of how hard to tap.You want to tap the area around the letters,oh,a few hundred times,ever so often using the flat side of the hammer.Like sheetmetal 101.The idea is to displace the metal with the ball.It will look like HELL while you're doing it,but you can put a file to it ever so often.Then I wrap emory around a small block of wood.If you already milled out the pocket,,well that's a different story.I did one that way.I had a solid 1/2" + - thick piece of steel I put into the FC pocket to back up the lettered areas,then did the same ballpeen treatment.But you HAVE to be a lot more careful as you could distort the receiver.Took about 3 times longer. Unforutnately yes, the fire control pocket is already milled out, darn it! Good tip, though. |
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So would I go to retro hell if my 80% loewr has "fire and "safe" stamped on the right side and I did not bother to modify the rear reinforcement from A2 style to A1 style? Here's an SP-1 clone I did last year or maybe year before that, can't remember now. NoDak didn't have any A1's available for a while so I took one of my cheap (sub $100) A2 lowers and made it into a slab side using just my bench grinder, flat file and sandpaper. This was a low quality lower that was either forged or machined off center, so I couldn't remove the rear reinforcing because it would have left the metal around the buffer tube less than the thickness of a dime. I think it turned out ok. I filled in the selector roll marks on the right side with J-B weld then painted it with my own blend of GunKote colors to match my buddy's real SP-1's gray/green color. 
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My Dremel died and I have resisted getting another. It had 10 speeds and would randomly select any of the 10 intermittently regardless of the speed setting you had it set on. Sounded like a rabid squirrel on crack trying to fuck-start a weedeater.  Put new brushes in it. It is the circles on the sides with a small slot in them. that should make it run like new. |
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My Dremel died and I have resisted getting another. It had 10 speeds and would randomly select any of the 10 intermittently regardless of the speed setting you had it set on. Sounded like a rabid squirrel on crack trying to fuck-start a weedeater. Put new brushes in it. It is the circles on the sides with a small slot in them. that should make it run like new. +1! I thought mine was toast too, until I found and bought a set of brushes!!!
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