My 80% polymer blem lower arrived today

[on the fritz]

I ordered it Friday about 2pm. $45 to my house. It shipped 2 day priority through the USPS and got here today.

It is really light but seems to not be cheap/junky. The only real "blem" parts that I could see is that the finish is not quite as smooth or consistent and it doesn't mate up perfectly with my BCM upper. That's pfectly fine wth me as I don't get too wrapped up in looks. It would eventually get some beauty marks on it anyway and I have ordered numerous blem pieces in the past.







Also: the inside of the back of the magwell does not have that thin spot in mine. I don't know if I got lucky or they fixed there injection molding process. That seemed to be a point of cotention with some people about these lowers.



I put in 3 different mags to see if they would bind in it and none of them did. I tried a Troy Battle mag, P-mag gen 2 windowless, cheap U.S. made mags for the Canadian military (forget the name right now). All 3 inserted and fell out with no bnding.

I will keep you guys updated wth how the milling goes. I am planning on gettng an inexpensive drill press and an end mill.

There is a machinist at my work, so I'm gonna show him this and get some advice. It shouln't be to difficult anyway, but any bit of advice from a pro can only help. I hope to get started on this this weekend.

comments,.... questions......

[on the fritz]

Forgot; I got it from these guys: http://www.eplowers.com/

[on the fritz]

I machined it out this afternoon on a borrowed x,y,z mill and it now looks like this:





The back of the trigger pocket was not centered, but it was milled to center.  That may also may be a eason why it was a blem.  I have to drill the holes for the trigger pins, etc., but I will do that this weekend. 

[Hardwood83]

Nice, I like the FDE and you did a nice job on cleaning out the FCG pocket.

I got 2 OD green blems from them today. The 'blem' is some rough texture above the trigger. I'm pleased.

[bkoenig]

Looks good, I need to give these a try.  Unfortunately right now all they have for blems is zombie green and pink.

[on the fritz]

Looks good, I need to give these a try.  Unfortunately right now all they have for blems is zombie green and pink.

Aww,... c'mon.  Pink would go well with you.  LOL.  You could get the matching Hogues zombie green grip and fore end. 

I have been told that you can take some RIT dye and dunk these in it to cover over whatever color it already is and/or color over it in any number of ways.

[Hardwood83]

I have a 'Plum Crazy' plastic lower too, I've used it with a dedicated .22 for a couple of years. These seem sturdier than that one, but less flexible. I'm not sure if that is a benefit or not, but thought worth mentioning.

[on the fritz]

OK, I got all the holes drilled and everything looks great;............. except the selector hole on one side.     It's a little oblong, but I "fixed" it so the holes lined up.

That's ok, however because I read that it can be repaired with an automotive plastic filler. This is why these holes should be drilled wth a drill press and not a hand drll. I just don't have a drill press.

It's done; I just need a lower parts kit to finish it.





I will be getting my own drill press and end mills, and I wll be ordering more of these lowers. I will be watching for sales over the holidays and different colors.

[RobertH]

could someone finish a lower like this with hand tools or small power tools?

[on the fritz]

could someone finish a lower like this with hand tools or small power tools?

Definitely.  People do it all the time with a dremel, end mll bits, sanding drums files and a hand drill.  Search you tube for 'eplowers' or 80% polymer lowers and get your learn on. 

You will just be less likely to mess up like I did if you can get use of a nice mill and or drill press and the proper bits & end mills. 

[bkoenig]

Well, that's a bummer.  I was going to buy one today but they're all out of blem units.

[abbafandr]

Well, that's a bummer.  I was going to buy one today but they're all out of blem units.

Don't tell me, someone beat you to the pink one

[bkoenig]

Don't tell me, someone beat you to the pink one

I was actually planning on buying whatever they had and dying it black.  Oh well...

[on the fritz]

Another update:

I took someone's advice and took my air tool and put an aggressive rotary file on it.  The wall thickness needs to be 0.090" thick, which means all of the black and some of the tan needed to be removed so the trigger components would fit. 



That polymer is surprisingly tough. It came off nicely, but I took my time & measured frequently. I ordered a LPK (2 actually) from PSA along with a blem upper.

Now to fix the oblong take down pivot pin hole. 



I put some JB Weld in there. I will drill it and the detent & spring hole out tomorrow. I will also clean up around the outside of the hole. I taped the inside of the lower to keep the JB n only the outside.

I'll update further when things have been drilled and cleaned up.

[on the fritz]

Here it is after I (properly) re-drilled the holes.  It drilled pretty easy with no drill bit wandering.  It seems like it should be a permanent fix, but we'll see. 



I won't know how well this whole thing will work  until my lpk comes in. 

[RightWingGunNut]

Which BCM upper are you going to use?

[on the fritz]

Which BCM upper are you going to use?

I have two BCM blem uppers, one blem upper from Joe Bob Outfitters and one blem upper coming from PSA.  I guess I'll use whichever one fits better. 

[RightWingGunNut]

I have two BCM blem uppers, one blem upper from Joe Bob Outfitters and one blem upper coming from PSA.  I guess I'll use whichever one fits better. 

I'm anxious to see how it looks when it's all finished.

[on the fritz]

I had time a few evenings ago, so I figured I'd put my lpk in. What a pain in the @55!!! I put my first (aluminum) lower together with only a small part of the problems I had with this thing.

1. The bolt catch seems to be too tight. Not sure if it would work properly. The hole for the pin was too small. I should have drilled it out, but didn't really realize it until t was too late. It stretched the plastic and made it turn a lighter color.   

2. It may have been me, but the pins for the trigger and disconnector seemed to be a little more dfficult to get in.

3. The detent for the front pivot pin doesn't fit right. It doesn't hold the pin in place.

4. The detent for the takedown pin is the same way. I even drlled this hole out.

5. The safety is waaaaaay tight. It works properly, but way tight. The detent for it was the same as all the rest.

6. The shroud around the takedown hole needed to have material removed so the pin would even fit.

7. Now for the cous des gras;....... I somehow cross-threaded the buffer tube.

I am not sure if the threads were that way or not. If not, then the threads were/are way too soft for this IMO. I won't argue that cross-threading it could have been 100% my fault, but I was and am very creful about these things usually.

A member on another forum said it best;..... belm does not mean out of spec.   It makes me think the non-blem units would be suspect as well. Oh well. I guess let this be a lesson for everybdy else.   

pics:





I don't know if this will even cycle, but I won't have time to find out until after Thanksgiving. I had very high hopes for this/these, but it has proven to be a failure. Too bad the non-blems aren't price competitive.

I have been reading the EPLowers forums and a lot of people seem to be having the same problems; out of spec, not just blem. I guess get an aluminum jig and ifinish the (out of spec) 'blem' that way.

I suppose it would have been fine had I not cross-threaded the buffer tube. What really pisses men off and disappoints me is the fact that I cross threaded it. Still not sure how that happened.

Oh well. If I get another one of these, it will NOT be a blem and the cost will have to come down.

[bkoenig]

Well, hopefully it runs ok.  I funded a Rockethub project for an 80% aluminum lower + jig, so if that comes through I'll post pics when I get it.