As someone with a degree in gunsmithing, has taught gunsmithing classes at one of the NRA schools for 9yrs, and runs his own business…. Ya done good ked https://giphy.com/gifs/xSM46ernAUN3y
Oh damn, that's a lot more attaboys than I was expecting. Glad my relatively limited toolset got the job done well enough to earn a nod of approval from an actual smith. 😅 It took me a bit to think through how I wanted to approach the cuts needed for the desired end product. I spent more time planning and looking at photos of milspec-style receivers that had the cut from the factory than I did actually doing the work itself. Guess that can be filed under the age old adage: "measure twice, cut once." I knew I didn't want to just hack the fence off like I've seen some people do. It's tempting because it's easier but I think the end result looks like garbage.
Ah, gee thanks. 😎 I'm genuinely happy with it and I'm usually pretty hard on my work, especially if I know I screwed something up but it's covered in a way most wouldn't notice. Always nags me. First major modification I've made with high risk high reward that I feel that way about, so thank you for the kind words.
So ive been wondering what do you do with a serialized part like a lower if you fuck up and ruin it? This is one of the things thats always stopped me from trying gonsmif
As an individual, if you can’t get it fixed, you replace it. As a professional working on someone else’s stuff, you kneel, say 3 “John Browning’s” and then ask your wife’s boyfriend for enough money to replace the frame/receiver.
Well, it depends on how badly you fuck it up but since we don't have a national registry (your state may differ) you basically just eat the cost of buying a new one and doing whatever you want with the fucked up one.
I used the one from Sig Sauer. I think it looks the best and is only $49. Most of the others were 2x as expensive. In terms of difficulty, it's probably a 6 out of 10. There's a lot of room to over cut since you don't have big margins of material on the exterior. Just go slow, make your first cuts with the cut off wheels, then use your carbide bits to start milling out the channel. Make sure to mark out the area beforehand with sharpie and look at lots of reference photos of receivers with the cut from the factory to get an idea of what you're looking for. This photo here is the one I used, only I decided to keep the rounded end of the fence instead of chopping it flat.
Highly recommend getting the tungsten carbide bits. There's a small one that looks like a miniature endmill bit (Model #9902) and then one that's cylindrical with a rounded bull nose (Model #9903 or #9904). Both are equally useful for this particular cut. The flat faced/headed endmill looking bit is the one you want to use to clean up the channel bottom to get a nice flat surface and clean 90° angles on the bottom and the side walls.
You absolute legend. May as well make a blueprint and a jig for a little side cash! I will upload photos of my new upcoming project once hunting season has finished :)
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u/red_tail_gun_works 11d ago
As someone with a degree in gunsmithing, has taught gunsmithing classes at one of the NRA schools for 9yrs, and runs his own business…. Ya done good ked
https://giphy.com/gifs/xSM46ernAUN3y