AR-15 lower made from beer cans

[am44mag]

If nothing else, this shows what a man with machining skills and some old aluminum cans can do. :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBWjA_5ptSk

[HATCH]

Its a lot of work just for a $50 to $75 receiver

[funnyjim014]

It's not about the cost, it's about saying I made this and having a feeling of accomplishment

[dbarry1]

I'd like to have one just to say it's made from recycled miller lite cans! :O)

[mold maker]

To most of us, it's not about the money spent, but rather the trip to get there. Anybody can spend coins to get something, but a few of us take pride in the fact, we did it ourselves. If I had the tooling and the means, I'd be the first at lots of projects.
It's a great accomplishment to say "I did it".

[farmerjim]

Its a lot of work just for a $50 to $75 receiver

Yes. But he showed that it could be done.
I like that.

[Half Dog]

I can imagine how many times I would have to start over.

[country gent]

We had a retired pattern maker at the club years ago. Everyone saved up aluminum cans for him and usually 1 or twice a year he laid sand up and made runs of the freelands style spotting scope stands and heads. Several helped him on these runs and learned a lot from him. A lot of knowledge and skill went with him. Casting is a lot of fun when it goes right and when it dosnt its even more fun LOL. THe above receiver is a thing to be proud of. A lot of the forgings are solid and a lot of machine time and scrap, a casting can be made with just enough for clean up and very little machining and scrap.

[jdfoxinc]

In a ZA or other apocalypse he could make what he needs.

This is why I am learning swaging and making gas checks. I allready have the supplies to reload corrosive primers. Next skill would be making cases.

[texasnative46]

To All,

Fwiw, my buddy in Northern VA has made several AR lowers with a 3D computer PRINTER (using software that his daughter designed/made herself) & they work FINE.
(Rob K_______ also made me some "hardware" parts for my old ham radio, that weren't available elsewhere. = Talented guy is he.)

I appreciate the "doers', who can make the things that they need, rather than buying them.

yours, tex

[skeettx]

Great skill here

[RP]

I wish I knew a guy with those kinds of toys at his house I keep his grass mowed just to hang out with him in that shop lol

[kywoodwrkr]

Would give new meaning to 'this Buds for you' I guess if you used Busch-Anheuser cans.

[45 Dragoon]

Awesome!!!!

Mike

[Speedo66]

Would cans from a small batch premium micro brewery make a higher quality lower? lol

[6bg6ga]

I take my hat off to that man. I admire his skill and determination

[Speedo66]

Not bad, all it would take is thousands of dollars of machinery, years of apprenticeship, and I could do that. Yeah right.

I guess I'll be sticking to my $40 Anderson lowers.

[JBinMN]

Very Cool! Thanks for sharing the video!
:)

[am44mag]

Its a lot of work just for a $50 to $75 receiver
It's less about the money than the experience. He made that, and he proved to himself that he could do it. That's priceless.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[screwcutter]

From my limited research beverage cans are of good aluminum.

[Bzcraig]

I wish I knew a guy with those kinds of toys at his house I keep his grass mowed just to hang out with him in that shop lol

There would be a bidding war for the job!

[Rcmaveric]

Thay guy and i should be friends.... i want to build an AR10. Too expensive and his skill is highly impressive.

[Bzcraig]

In my world.....I would say he has 'mad skills!'

[Mauser 98K]

it is also not about the price, it is about being able to do it if one needed to down the road if one could not find parts.. aluminum cans will work but it takes so many of them and most of the can goes up in oxide because they are so thin. the way the aluminum foundries do it is they make a compressed puck and then put that in an already melted puddle of aluminum to decrease the chances of lost aluminum due to oxidization.. for higher strength parts i have always found that old aluminum car rims worked real well. for a good size standard car rim you could make an entire AR platform minus the internal steel parts and barrel. you can just about pick up old aluminum car rims from any junk yard, tire change place where you might be able to buy the warped or cracked rims for next to nothing, garages, landfills and roadside dumps. they are practically everywhere..

for your barrel you could use the steel from car or truck axle shafts and for the springs you could go as far as to repurpose the coil springs from an old mattress..just anneal them, straighten them out, and then coil them into whatever spring configuration you need and then heat treat to the desired level. the bolt and firing pin could be an actual grade 8 bolt.. it is time consuming but not really that hard to build a rifle if you have the tools to do so..

[Mauser 98K]

Not bad, all it would take is thousands of dollars of machinery, years of apprenticeship, and I could do that.

no.. you can build a small blast furnace using a hair dryer as the blower, a metal 5gal bucket for the outside and a piece of a cut off oxygen cylinder for the middle, pack the air space between the 5gal bucket and cut off oxygen cylinder with either sand or other insulation material and plug your burner in the side though a hole and you got your own propane baby blast furnace. will melt aluminum to where it will pour like water..

you can do lost wax or lost foam casting where you make a pattern out of wax or foam and pack the thing in your mold material, vent the mold good, then heat the mold up to burn out or melt out the pattern and then pour your part or part blank..

you can do most of the cleanup work with files and chisels like the old days of flintlocks. use a hand drill to make the holes.

this is a misconception that it takes thousands of dollars of fancy equipment to make a gun. how did they make the guns in the 1700s? now the fancy equipment makes it easier, but it is not needed..

[6bg6ga]

Can aluminum not T6061 alloy but thats not the point. The man did the unthinkable he ventured into jmorris land and did something absolutely grand .

[clodhopper]

The guys at the scrap yard tell me cans are made from 6061 aluminum.
6061 is not the strongest, or the most corrosion resistant, but still good stuff.
Material marked 6061 T6 is tempered to where the chips don't gum up your cutter when machining.

[robg]

Great skill great video !