TexasCHLforum.com

Ladies and Gents,

Between the forum and some other people I know, it looks like there is enough interest to move forward with a group buy.

After some hours of research, I have narrowed down the list of potentials to 4. Each link is directly to the chosen lower.

Anderson Rifles
Ares Armor
Colfax Tactial
Right to Bear Arms and Supply

I had planned on simply making a decision and moving forward, but I'd rather let the interested parties decide. All of the lowers will come "in the raw," meaning no finish has been applied. I will offer my equipment for Duracoating to those interested, and of course, I am still planning on hosting one or more build parties. All of the lowers will require the same amount of work to finish them. Of the four options, there are only two major differences.

#1 - Forged vs. Billet
Three of the lowers (Anderson, Colfax and RTBAAS) are forged lower receivers. This means a billet of aluminum is heated until it is soft enough to be forced into a mold at high pressure. It is different from casting, since the metal isn't melted in forging.

Ares is CNC machined from a forged billet.

I have no dog in this fight. Cast, Forged and Billet lowers are all more than strong enough to support the AR15 design.

#2 - Three options (Anderson, Colfax and RTBAAS) are essentially mil-spec, and have ears machined for a trigger guard to be added. Ares has an integrated trigger guard CNC machined with the rest of the receiver.

I have been able to speak to Anderson, Colfax and RTBAAS to get group pricing information. Ares hasn't returned my calls or emails yet, but they've only had a few days. I'll still give them time to offer a better price.

Anderson has offered $40 per lower.
RTBAAS has offered $48 per lower.
Colfax has offered $70 per lower.
Ares "sale" price is $69.92 per lower.

Having never done this and knowing absolutely zero about it, all else being equal, I'll vote by price unless someone comes up with a reason one of the more expensive options is the better way to go. Thanks for doing all the researching etc. for us.

The only hit against Anderson was some shill marketing 4 years ago over on ar15.com. Their product has reasonably good reviews, and all AR15 forgings come from a small number of manufacturers, so no matter who does the 80% of finishing they all start with good quality.

If we're finishing it, and the work is the same, does the so-called manufacturer matter very much? Other than price?

Man, I'd love to make a trip to Austin for this, schedule permitting. Get some Franklin's, spend the day finishing up a lower. Sounds like fun to me.

Whereabouts in Austin?

Hindenburg wrote:If we're finishing it, and the work is the same, does the so-called manufacturer matter very much? Other than price?

It does matter. Finishing a lower from a forging can be a difficult undertaking. If they are cut incorrectly the tolerances of the finished receiver can be too far off. I chose those 4 because they had enough good reviews that I was confident we'd get a good product. I personally voted for Anderson, but I wanted everybody to know what else was available. Informed choice, you could call it.

LAYGO wrote:Man, I'd love to make a trip to Austin for this, schedule permitting. Get some Franklin's, spend the day finishing up a lower. Sounds like fun to me.

Whereabouts in Austin?

North of Austin, probably 45 minutes from Franklins if you factor in traffic. I don't like posting where I live publicly, so specifics will be distributed by PM when it's time for the build party.

I'm not sure that I'll be able to let anybody use my CNC mill for finishing. I've been in touch with the Austin ATF office seeking clarification, and the agent I spoke to is researching it. I'll pass along that info as I receive it. Using the jigs and a manual machine is ok though. It seems intimidating at first, but it's not bad at all.

I'm still interested in both the lowers and the build party. Thanks for putting this together!

dcphoto wrote: I'm not sure that I'll be able to let anybody use my CNC mill for finishing. I've been in touch with the Austin ATF office seeking clarification, and the agent I spoke to is researching it. I'll pass along that info as I receive it. Using the jigs and a manual machine is ok though. It seems intimidating at first, but it's not bad at all.

From the other things I've read, you can't provide (direct?) help, but what if there was a video on the internet showing the steps on how to finish it with a CNC machine similar or exact model to yours?

LAYGO wrote:

dcphoto wrote: I'm not sure that I'll be able to let anybody use my CNC mill for finishing. I've been in touch with the Austin ATF office seeking clarification, and the agent I spoke to is researching it. I'll pass along that info as I receive it. Using the jigs and a manual machine is ok though. It seems intimidating at first, but it's not bad at all.

From the other things I've read, you can't provide (direct?) help, but what if there was a video on the internet showing the steps on how to finish it with a CNC machine similar or exact model to yours?

My current understanding is that each person would have to write their own G Code, connect with their computer and use their own licensed CAM software. I can give a definitive answer once I've heard back from the ATF.

I voted for the lowest cost and my experience with Anderson has been decent.

dcphoto wrote: My current understanding is that each person would have to write their own G Code, connect with their computer and use their own licensed CAM software. I can give a definitive answer once I've heard back from the ATF.

If that is the case, it should be a fairly easy hurdle to overcome for most people. Free, open source software can be easily installed on any inexpensive laptop and sample gcode for the needed operations is available for free from multiple online sources. I look forward to hearing their interpretation of how to stay within the boundaries of the law.

I'll follow the herd, but at $40 I might be inclined to make more than the 1 I raised my hand for in the initial survey.

RoyGBiv wrote:I'll follow the herd, but at $40 I might be inclined to make more than the 1 I raised my hand for in the initial survey.

I would do two as well (mostly because I would probably screw up the first one).

AlaskanInTexas wrote:

RoyGBiv wrote:I'll follow the herd, but at $40 I might be inclined to make more than the 1 I raised my hand for in the initial survey.

I would do two as well (mostly because I would probably screw up the first one).

Having been born with two left thumbs I definitely resemble that remark. At $40 I will get two also for just in case.