AR 15,AR9,AR10 80% jig reviews needed

[USMC87]

I am interested in building my own Ar type rifles from 80% lowers and would like some input on which jig to buy and which lowers you recommend? I would appreciate your advice on all components uppers, Lower parts kits and etc. Much appreciated.

[skrapyard628]

Quite a few 80% lowers have been transformed into functioning firearms in my garage. All of them on the Easy Jig Gen1 from 80% Arms. I have no complaints about the jig system they sell. The Gen1 will only work for a standard AR15. They are now selling a Gen2 that works for AR15, AR10 and AR9 but the price of it seems a bit high IMO.

As always the first question is what is the purpose of the build? Plinking (short range/long range)? Home Defense? SHTF? Competition? Lightweight? That helps to determine what parts and what quality of parts may be needed.

One thing that shouldnt matter too much is the actual lower itself. An Anderson 80% lower is just fine in my experience. Personally I just wanted lowers that were made of 7075-T6 and their price wasnt bad.

The 7075 is DEFINITELY a bit harder to mill down using a hand router. But that just means that you have to take just a little bit off at a time in each pass with the endmill. You cant try to hog it out or you will get a ton of chatter and break your tooling.

Most of my builds have cheap mil-spec lower parts kits in them. Theyre low priced, reliable, and I dont have an issue with the trigger pull after a tiny bit of polishing before assembly.

You can open up a big can of worms and your wallet trying to chase the best trigger pull. I dont know much about the high end triggers available.

I like A2 stocks. Thats what my rifles get. You may want something else. Thats all personal preference.

I have a couple of "cheap" complete uppers I have bought (radical and BCA). Both of them needed a little work before firing them. Things like tightening down barrel nuts, gas block alignment, lots of cleaning. But they both work and accuracy is acceptable for my use which is usually no more than 100yds.

Another upper was built on a Aero Precision receiver with a Satern barrel. Yes it is higher quality, but once again for my use it didnt give me much of a gain. Im sure someone who has more skill and experience at longer range shooting could really put the Satern barrel to use to see the advantages a higher quality barrel has.

Once you have a good idea of your budget and what you want to get out of your build things should come together quickly for you. The process of collecting all the parts and then cranking out a rifle in the garage with very little skill needed is fun.

[rancher1913]

I researched jigs for about a year before I got mine, I bought the 5d tactical pro jig that uses a router, been turning out really nice tight fit and finish lowers. I can whole hardheartedly endorse this jig, its pretty much idiot proof and easy to use. its not cheep and if you are only going to do one lower than any of the plastic jigs would probably work but if you want good tolerances and plan to do several than look into the 5d stuff

for parts, I have picked up all kinds of different brands and have found the PSA parts to be good quality for the money. the safety seems to be where most of the kits fail the quality test and the PSA safety just has a crisper more positive feel.

I have found no real difference in lowers, aluminum or block or whatever, I tried them all and they all work fine.

once you do one, you will want to do more. its just a fun way to learn sudo gunsmithing and its been interesting playing with different buffers and springs, I can set up 4 identical guns with different buffers and springs and test them side by side to quickly find the right sweet spot.

[Moleman-]

What are you using to mill the pocket out? Mill, drill press or router? Been using a Tactical Machining ar15 jig for over 10 years now. They've changed the jig design but the one I have is idiot proof. Also have a Aim Small AR10/lr308 jig that took a little work to fit a BlitzKreig LR308 pattern lower into. They warned not all brands of lowers would fit though since there is no standard and did not know. I've used a drill/mill and a 9x49 bridgeport clone. Either one make it very easy to machine out the pocket. Drill any holes undersize and ream to the correct size.

[kbstenberg]

I have the 80% arms Gen 2. Like most i did alot of research before the purchase. There isn't much difference at the top level. As said by the others the jig is perty much fool proof if used slowly and thoughtfully. The Gen 2 with the atatchment for the air hose is extreemly helpful!
I used a router and had no problems. But i didn't push the router and took lighter than normal cuts.
I had my most problems drilling the holes for the cross pins.

[USMC87]

I am not going to shoot long range but want a dependable AR15 and AR10 to start off with, I really don't know what stocks and such to buy yet but will take some time to figure it all out. I really appreciate you guys taking time to guide me in the right direction and provide solid information.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Tactical machining jig here to and another one from a place out of business , I use a mill , they were advertised for a drill press , have not tried a router jig yet , but they do work . 7075 aluminum , have bought from Noreen and others no real difference I have found .
I like the A2 stock but have used Magpul and others , lower parts kits watch for sales , Have had a few triggers and needed a ream on disconnect spring .

[mtnman31]

skrapyard628 has some good advice in his post.
You definitely need to have a clear idea of what you want to do. If you plan to do just one lower for the experience, I'd highly recommend one of the Poly80 kits. It's a polymer lower with a one-time use jig and it comes with your dills and mill bit. It works well, they have good customer service and there's tons of info out on the internet to help. If you plan to do more than one build, get one of the higher quality jigs and get access to a mill. The mill isn't necessary, it just makes things so much easier and results in a cleaner build with less work. If you do use a drill press, get one of the cross slide vises for your your press. They aren't too expensive and make the job a little easier and cleaner if you can't get a mill.

Barrel and trigger will make or break your build. Get a decent barrel and trigger. Fortunately, there are a ton of triggers out on the market and you can find some really good ones. Another thing I'd recommend, get your lower and upper in hand before you buy everything. Nowadays, some of the uppers/lowers have features and designs that prevent the use of all the fancy parts that are available. For example, one of my uppers will only allow you to use a milspec bolt release. The larger (tactical style) releases won't fit. Same goes for some of the safety levers and mag buttons. Get your upper/lower first to avoid wasting money on components that aren't compatible.

I haven't done an AR10 build yet so can't comment on any of the differences between them and AR15s. Last year I won a Satern barrel at a competition that I will put to use when I get everything together to do my first AR10. Good luck on your build and post results when you are done.

[cheese1566]

I researched and ended up buying a 5D Tactical Jig Pro. Worked great on my 9mm carbine, 223, and a friend's 308 build.
Some others are similar, but I liked the wide thick side plates for guiding and drilling the pivot pins.
It does use a router and a router bit adapter specific to hand trim router make and models. My friend already had a Bosch Colt router, so I bought the bit adapter for it. The endmills can be replaced on the adapter and I found replacements at MSC and eBay. Another find borrowed it, and used it for a couple of builds. So there is about 6 frames under the first endmill and looks to be time to be replaced.

Go easy and follow the directions. I found taking small cuts and WD40 helped just as it said in the videos and instructions. Makes a mess!

My lowers came from Tactical machine, AAO MFG, and the others went through 80% and American Machine.

All looked good and I wish I bought more and some complete kits before the Covid boom. I was able to get my lowers on sale months ago from Tactical Machine at a good sale price compared to their blemished or raw units. I am waiting for some of the $29 unfinished blems to come back in stock.

I now have a milling machine, but the jig will be my go to for future 80% builds.

[Dapaki]

I use the 80% arms Gen 2 jig with the drill guides. Idiot proof, takes an hour and a little patience but works very well with my Makita cordless mini router and a little Aluminum tapping fluid.

To be compliant with current BATFE rules, I sold my jig and router to my son and got a receipt. He them used HIS jig to make his lower and sold it to his brother etc until I repurchased it and currently store it.

Intent is the hinge on which charges are laid. A real sale for real money of the appropriate amount undoes intent that a dollar sale (straw) indicates in covering up a mass build, which has been ruled unlawful.

There are some muddy waters here, make sure you understand the laws in your city, state and federal level.

[Wolverine19D]

For jigs the best is probably the 5d Pro jig but most of the newer router jigs like the Easy Jig Gen 2 etc. should be good. The only thing I don't like about them is how large it cuts the trigger hole. I have no idea why they made the cutout so large, it's half again wider then a factory trigger cutout and longer as well. I stopped using the router to cut the final trigger hole and just use a dremel and small round file and while it takes a few minutes extra the hole isn't really large. Most people this wouldn't bug but having seen many AR's over the years and getting use to them it really bugged me having such a large hole. I think most jigs have this large hole.

For lowers any standard mil-spec 7075 forged lower should be fine. Like the Anderson/Matrix/Brownells/ whomever as long as it's a mil-spec 7075 receiver. Really I can't think of a bad lower out there except some polymers which I wouldn't go with since they have hit and miss reviews for breaking. A lot of people go for the billet lowers but they are no stronger, they are actually weaker then the forged lowers that are cheaper but have a different look that some people like. If you go with them there is nothing wrong with 6061 aluminum but the 7075 is stronger and about the same price. I'd just stick with mil-spec 7075 lowers for $30-50.

For uppers it's pretty much the same, stick with a forged 7075 mil-spec upper and you should be good to go. I like to get ones that have the forge marks on the side which is usually either a keyhole, or a broken A, or a square. Some companies are making ones without forge marks anymore which I am guessing they make themselves and should be fine depending on the company but as cheap as the regular uppers are I see no reason to go with them. The Anderson uppers for about $40-50 should be fine but I'd probably pay the extra $10-20 for an Aero if you're only building 1-2 as they tend to be a good bang for your buck and better fit and finish.

On the upper something I like to do is use a receiver squaring jig from Wheeler which is only about $25-30. It is a long rod that goes inside the receiver and you put some abrasive on the end of it that comes with it and turn it by hand or put it in a drill and it will square up the front of the receiver where the barrel goes. This isn't a big deal but some say it can help for accuracy and it can definitely help keep your sights straighter. If you run out of adjustment with iron sights on the rear moving to the left or right too much you can square the front of your receiver and it often helps solve this problem.

For buffer tubes you will want to stick with a 7075 mil-spec tube. I stay away from 6061 commercial extensions or any 6061 extensions since they are only half the strength and can break if you have to mortar the rifle because of a jam or drop your rifle down a hill etc. A good mil-spec buffer tube kit can be had for $30-40 usually. If you are going to put a fixed rifle buttstock on your rifle this is a non-issue as pretty much all rifle tubes are 6061 since they are enclosed in the stock it isn't a big deal.

Also for buffer weights if you are building a rifle they are all about the same but for carbine length buffers there are lots of weight differences. For most an H buffer is a nice upgrade over the standard Carbine buffer and only costs about $15-20. It will slow the action down a little and help bolt bounce but the standard carbine buffer will work fine. Some like even heavier H2 and H3 buffers but I tend to stick with just a H since the heavier ones can hurt reliability with some guns depending on how it's gassed. If it's a severely over gassed carbine that may be different. Also for springs I really like the Damage Industries enhanced chrome silicon springs they are usually on sale for $5-7 and will last almost a million cycles unlike the standard SS spring which needs replaced every 3-5k and it also makes the action feel smoother and can help reliability.

For gas tubes I like to go with a nitrated/melonited one since they will hold up a little better then the standard SS tube usually go for the Spikes, or sometimes the RightTobear ones when they are on sale for $8-10, the Spikes is about $15. They aren't really anymore then the SS tubes. But gas tubes aren't that big of a deal as long as you don't get a really crappy company like Radical Firearms etc. and even then you may be fine depending on how much rapid fire you do.

For charging handles I'd get a standard mil-spec 7075 made by whomever, many companies offer them for $15ish just get the 7075 aluminum over 6061 if you can as the 6061 can bend or break in extreme cases. If you want an extended latch there are many good options if you don't care to pay for them. BCM makes a decent one for about $45-50. Then there is the Radian Raptor for about $60-70, and Geissele Super Charging Handle for about the same. If you don't have a really big scope in the way the standard charging handle works just fine. You really only have to charge the rifle the first time, after that you can just use the bolt release for loading. And Strike Industries actually makes a extended latch for about $8 that fits the standard $15 charging handle and extends it out which is a good cheap option. Not as nice as the others mentioned but very functional.

Your upper parts kit which is the forward assist and port door really aren't important. Any companies should work fine and can be had for $15 or so, or it may come with your upper. Your lower parts kit can matter a little bit. I tend to pay a few bucks more for the lower parts kit over the cheapo Anderson ones. More then likely the cheapest ones will work OK but some of the parts are made from MIM (Metal injection molded) and have a bad rep for parts breakage. A few good companies to get LPK from are Damage Industries which often have sales if you are patient everything goes on sale eventually and all their parts are good quality. CMMG makes a pretty decent LPK for the money. Spikes is top notch but may cost a bit more. PSA actually usually has pretty good LPK's if they havent's switched vendors. Most of the small parts are just springs and detents anyways. And most of the good companies order the bigger components from the same places. My favorite parts are stamped with an S which is made by Scmid Tool they make small parts for Colt, Spikes, BCM, Usually Damage Industries, and actually usually PSA as well.

For triggers most standard mil-spec ones work pretty well, I try to get ones that have no grit and if you go with a decent company usually they are pretty nice but will all be about 5-7 pounds. If you go with a nickel coated trigger on average they will be a little nicer. Many of the PSA lower parts kits come with their EPT trigger which is nickel coated and almost always has no grit and is pretty nice but about the same pull as most mil-specs. If you like single stage triggers like the mil-spec and want something nicer the Hiperfire EDT series is a great way to go for about $85-90 and reduce the pull to about 4-4.5 pounds with the same firing force. I don't like putting the lighter springs in standard mil-spec triggers since it may not set off harder military primers but if it's not for defensive purposes I guess it wouldn't matter. If you like 2 stage triggers like many people the best bang for your buck is the Larue MBT for about $80. Many people love that trigger and it's top of the line.

Now your 2 most important parts of your whole gun the barrel and bolt. Do NOT go with a cheap part for these 2 things. At least 90% of the guns importance comes from these 2 things. For bolts you don't have to pay a ton to get good quality. Your best bang for your buck is ToolCraft, AO Precision, or even the PSA Premiums. Before panic they could all be had for about $60-70 on sale but most are about $100 give or take now. I prefer the standard C158 bolts instead of the newer 9310. The 9310 is suppose to be slightly stronger if it's done correctly but many aren't and most companies that use C158 bolts are larger since they have to order 20k pounds of it at once meaning they aren't some small company making bolts for the first time. For coatings the standard mil-spec phosphate coated with chrome on the inside of the carrier is probably the best bang for your buck. After it gets broken in it will be just as slick as the nickel coated ones but the nickel/chrome/dlc ones will be a little easier to clean. If you want a coated one I'd personally go with Chrome, PKFirearms has some Chrome Microbest ones for $125 right now and Microbest is the best of the best and make bolts for BCM/SOLGW/and even Colt at times among other top of the line companies. But if it were me I'd just get the standard Toolcraft phosphate C158 or AO precision which are all C158 for about $100. Check out WCArmory, and RightToBear for those. Some people like nitrated bolts and they are about the same price as the phosphated ones and can be a little easier to clean up due to the slicker surface on the outside but I trust the phosphated bolts more then a nitrated one due to how hot they have to get the bolt for the nitrated treatment it can mess with the bolts hardness. That said if you go with a good brand like Toolcraft and not some cheapo bear creek arsenal brand it should be good to go but I would still just get the standard phosphate one or a nickel boron or chrome one.

For barrels there are many options out there and probably my first pick would be Green Mountain. They are regular phosphated barrels and chrome lined but are among the most accurate barrels I have. I wish they offered more lightweight options since that's what I tend to like for an all around carbine but depending on what you seek they will probably have it. And while their prices may be a few bucks more then others I'm going to list they have a 30% off sale every year for Black Friday so if you don't care to wait you can stock up then. They also have a sale for christmas most of the time for 20-30%. A couple other good options are Faxon, and Ballistic Advantage/Aero Precision. It seems like they are starting to get a few more bad reviews then they used to get but still among the best of the cheaper options. If money isn't a problem I'd go with an FN CHF barrel which is made by Spikes, and FN, and some of the PSA line but they are usually $250 or so. The Green Mountain is honestly probably just as good of a barrel if not better but the FN CHF may last a couple-few thousand more rounds then most standard button rifled barrels because of how they are made. I'm sure there are some other good barrels out there but those ones are pretty good standard barrels. Most of these barrels should shoot at least MOA with match ammo and I'd bet the Green Mountain and FN ones will be the most accurate on average with many being able to get .5-.75 MOA with match ammo. Prices on the Green Mountains should be around $160-180 without the 30% off and with discount they are only about $115-125 or so. My next pick would be Ballistic Advantage after that which have different series from $100ish up to $200 or more. Their Premium series are pretty nice barrels and back when I was building more a couple years ago most were all sub MOA.

For furniture you can go with whatever you like. For buttstocks I really like the standard Magpul MOE for a carbine build. But the B5 Bravos are a little nicer with more cheek support. The MOE are about $30, the B5's about $50 or so. There are countless options out there so just get what you like. For pistol grips it's much the same thing, my favorite is the standard Magpul MOE and I've tried about all of them but each person likes something different. For handguards it's going to depend on if you want a standard handguard with a front sight base or if you want to go with a rail. I really like a standard handguard like the Magpul MOE or BCM PKMR with a fixed front sight base but that involves you pinning the front sight to the barrel which is a bit more work.

Most people anymore go with rails over standard handguards because they like the way they look and are more accurate. I like standard handguards better but with a rail you will have a rifle that's easier to build for not much more money and it will be more accurate since it is free floating. A standard handguard has a cap on the end and depending on how you shift your hand and depending on sling tension you can actually change the point of impact slightly. Usually it's not noticable unless you really torque down on it with the sling or if it's at longer ranges but a free floated handguard gets rid of that problem. There are hundreds of options out there today for rails and most look ugly to me because I'm a traditionalist. My favorite is the Troy Alpha rails that just have a bunch of circles that you can fill up with rubber squid grips and if you want to add rails to it you can otherwise there's no rails in the way and it looks nice. They aren't as common as they used to be due to most people going with an M-Lok design but can be had for about $100-120. A couple good cheaper M-Lok options are the Aero Rails like the Atlas R-One and S-One or the STNGR rails. I believe Brownells has a new Wrenchman series rail thats pretty nice. But there are tons of options but the ones I mentioned are all around $100-120ish.

Sorry for the really long post, I just know if I was starting out this info would be helpful so I hope it can be of some use to you. Oh, one last thing for tools the standard cheapo chinese barrel wrench and upper receiver clam-shell I got from ebay for like $20-30 works just fine. I don't know if they are all decent or not but the ones I got are fine. It may actually be a DPMS brand wrench I can't remember but they are all about the same unless you go with a nicer one. If you are only building a couple-few I wouldn't worry about it and get something cheaper as long as it's the full size wrench you should be fine. And the cheapo clam-shell block I got to hold the upper receiver in the vice works great for installing barrels and flash hiders. I don't have one for the lower as it's not really needed but it's cheap enough you may as well buy one while your at it.

You will also want a set of roll-pin punches. And roll pin starter punches is also nice. The standard roll pin punches have a tit on the end while the others have a hole at the end to start the roll pins. I didn't have those at first but eventually got some and they are really nice to have for starting the roll pins. For barrel nut grease you can use lots of stuff, a lot of people go with the aeroshell stuff the military uses but I've just used whatever I had on hand usually some regular high temp grease of some sort on the threads and around the barrel where the nut tightens against. It's best to tighten/ untighten the barrel nut a couple times to break the threads in.

A lot of people go on about torque wrenches and getting it a perfect torque of 35-70 foot pounds but I find that to be pointless if you use common sense. 35 pounds is about the minimum so it won't come loose and 70 pounds is there so some idiot in the military wouldn't crank down on it as hard as possible and break something. Just make sure the barrel nut is on nice and tight and you will be good. I honestly crank mine down pretty good and figure some are over the max of 70 pounds to get the barrel nut to line up. Just be smart about it and make sure you put a little force on it so it won't come loose easily. The gas tube will still hold it in place but if it got loose it could still cause other issues. Another thing that wheeler receiver squaring tool is good for that I mentioned earlier is taking material off the front of the receiver to get a barrel nut to line up. Many times the barrel nut will require too much force to line up on a tooth and be too light on the one before it so with that tool you can remove a tiny tiny bit of material and get it to line up on the next tooth.

[Wolverine19D]

I also see your from WV, what part of the state are you from if you don't mind me asking?

[JerryCan]

Tactical Machining makes a great product.

[rancher1913]

if you dont understand it, thats fine, but why do you need to bash others for YOUR ideas.

[Texas by God]

I have built a few using a 80% Arms generation 2 easy jig with a router. It was fun to do and when you say that you built your AR-15, that is pretty much what you did. I don't understand why an 80% lower cost a little more than a finished lower, though.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[USMC87]

All good info and opinions, I really appreciate the advice.

[Rockzilla]

Modulus Arms, 5D Tactical, 80% Arms.
The Modulus Arms is like a version upgrade, slight but noticable, they all work. Would use the
DeWalt DWP611 Router, maybe a foot switch so both hands are free, Tap Magic for aluminium for the cutting.
take the depth marks, do half marks, take your time, try and keep chips out of the way, plenty of cutting fluid when
cutting. You will need an open place as those chips go everywhere, plenty of eye protection, hearing, etc.
As far as Lowers :
7075 Aluminum
Magwells flared, broached
Cerro MFG, Anchor Harvey seems to be the go to ones....no issues here.
Go luck in finding Decent lowers in stock, pretty much hit n miss.
Jigs... Good luck with those...some not taking orders, others 6-8 weeks out
bad part some charge your credit card, so....

Most of these jigs are basically the same, from my understanding there was
legal issues involved, out of court, etc.

Some AeroShell Grease 33 or AeroShell Grease 64.
Bolt Carrier: Toolcraft
Upper : 7075 (your choice of type)
Barrels: depends on your needs..have several barrels from Classic Arms and others they work
sky is the limit on those.
Lower Parts: Get a decent kit. Trigger, do you really need a high end one?
Handguards: again your choice, most of what I have in longer barrels are free float
others basically standard issue, prefer not to have all the crap hanging
on it. (my preference)
Stock: Once again your preference. Use KAK, and LUTH-AR on mine. depends on type built, purpose.

it all boils down to your needs and the purpose of it.
I'm into retro builds, old XM177, early Colts, old recievers upper non forward assist etc.
Plenty of parts from the 70's early 80's

-Rock

[USMC87]

I don't need a high end one just something dependable and that will cycle properly.

[popper]

Barrel and trigger will make or break your build BATF is getting pressure from Dem. to make 'ghost' guns illegal by making tooling illegal. Then when you attempt to sell, they gotcha. If you can find lowers without 'parts' (S/Nd with everything cut & drilled), get them, yes you have to fill out the form. May have to clean holes for poor ceracote, no biggie. I don't even use the trap door, just duck tape the port if needed for weather. FA is pretty much useless also. Just a 'fix' for dirty powder.

[USMC87]

Thank you popper.