My AR10 project

[IM_JOHNNYV]

Hi Guys,

Been working on my AR10 project for a while and thought I would let you in on the progress. You can see what's done here......

Hopefully I'll get started on cutting the barrel this weekend, provided I can shorten my "Honey do" list.......

Later

Johnny V

NRA Life Member 1976

[imschur]

That is beyond awesome

[skeeter]

<thumbsup>

[unforgiven]

Brother John you are a very talented man great job.So when finished do you have to put ser. nos. on lower to use? <thumbsup>

[98Z5V]

I have wanted to mill my own receiver for so long - that is incredibly cool!  <thumbsup>

[edgecrusher]

way to go john

[98Z5V]

Brother John you are a very talented man great job.So when finished do you have to put ser. nos. on lower to use? <thumbsup>

Nope, not by federal law.  State and local might say different.  It's smart to ID mark it in some way, in case it's stolen and later recovered, but it's not required if you are the manufacturer of your own, and it's for your own personal use. 

(Edit - you can't get away with "manufacturing" something that requires a tax stamp, without applying for and paying for that tax stamp...  you have to be "manufacturing" something you could buy off the shelf, i.e., no SBRs, no machine guns, no suppressors, no SBSs, etc...)

[unforgiven]

Thanks brother Tom.Shoot on.

[survivalshop]

Nice work . <thumbsup>

[soofley]

oh very nice !

[Jgun]

Your project is very impressive. Perhaps i can ask a couple of questions? First off, can you tell me who's forging you used for the project? Second, I have considered attempting something like this, but became discouraged when I looked into what the tooling needed (that I didn't already have) would cost me. The tap used to thread the back of the receiver for the buffer tube isn't cheap, and unless you have other uses for it, I find it hard to justify the expense if only making one receiver. Can you tell me if you work commercially as a machinist, from the pictures it appears as though you have a very complete collection of tooling for this type of work. And lastly, do you have access to type 3 hardcoating done on individual pieces in your area? I was unable to find a plater in my area willing to do hardcoating at a reasonable per piece rate.

[IM_JOHNNYV]

Your project is very impressive. Perhaps i can ask a couple of questions? First off, can you tell me who's forging you used for the project? Second, I have considered attempting something like this, but became discouraged when I looked into what the tooling needed (that I didn't already have) would cost me. The tap used to thread the back of the receiver for the buffer tube isn't cheap, and unless you have other uses for it, I find it hard to justify the expense if only making one receiver. Can you tell me if you work commercially as a machinist, from the pictures it appears as though you have a very complete collection of tooling for this type of work. And lastly, do you have access to type 3 hardcoating done on individual pieces in your area? I was unable to find a plater in my area willing to do hardcoating at a reasonable per piece rate.

Thanks much.

The forging was from 762SASS.

You're correct in that it does take a fair amount of machinery and tooling to complete a raw forging, plus the ability to read blueprints. The tap is one I have already used a couple times and yes it was difficult to bite the bullet when purchasing it (tap).

The work I do in my shop is strictly for myself. On occasion I'll do some work for my "Street Rodding" friends, but that's about it.

As for Hardcoating, Google it and see what you can find. My receiver is finished with Duracoat®, and for myself, I found that to be an affordable option.

If you're looking into building an AR308, take a look over at Tactical machining, they have many options for the guy that wants to do it himself.

I also frequent the forums over at CNC Gunsmithing, where you can learn a lot by just lurking.....

Johnny V

NRA Life Member 1976

[Jgun]

Much hanks for your information. I, presently, have a bridgeport, but haven't come across the right deal on a lathe. Since setting up the shop, I don't know how I ever managed to get anything done without it, (good friends). Although I have some limited tooling, I have a long way to go. It seems as though I have to pick up some expensive tool/gauge/cutter on every project I do. I'm presently considering trying to make a bolt action receiver from scratch. Have you ever built any of the small IC engines? Every time I watch one of them run on a bench, I'm mesmerized, but I just don't think I have the spare hours needed to complete one right now.

[IM_JOHNNYV]

Jgun,

Seems as though everytime I do a project I'm always buying tooling also. I look at used machinery dealers and online and try to find bargains on the items I need (I do a ton of advanced planning). All things come with time. It took me about 30 years to amass what I have and I'm still looking. Here's a glance at what I have in my shop.

Built several of the small engines in High School (40 years ago), but haven't tinkered with any since then.

[edgecrusher]

:drool:  so many possibilities, tom, you see this guys toys. john i am envious

[Jgun]

For a person that does machine work as a hobby, that's a pretty amazing collection of machines. I especially like that P&W lathe. I see one of the captions says "back together" does that mean you had to rebuild it after you picked it up?  By the way, just curious, do you find that you use the horizontal very often? It looks like you've got a lot of square footage to work with in your shop. In my case, I actually had to construct a small shed, because my home is on a slab with no basement, and the garage was converted to living space ( with just enough room for a couple of MC's) years ago. I poured a slab in the back yard, and after bringing in the mill I put the shed up around it. It's only 12'X16' so, as you can imagine, space is at a premium. I will be very happy if I'm able to move around in there once I've added the lathe. Next chance I get I'll post a couple of pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[dcswindler4]

thats awesome

[IM_JOHNNYV]

For a person that does machine work as a hobby, that's a pretty amazing collection of machines. I especially like that P&W lathe. I see one of the captions says "back together" does that mean you had to rebuild it after you picked it up?  By the way, just curious, do you find that you use the horizontal very often? It looks like you've got a lot of square footage to work with in your shop. In my case, I actually had to construct a small shed, because my home is on a slab with no basement, and the garage was converted to living space ( with just enough room for a couple of MC's) years ago. I poured a slab in the back yard, and after bringing in the mill I put the shed up around it. It's only 12'X16' so, as you can imagine, space is at a premium. I will be very happy if I'm able to move around in there once I've added the lathe. Next chance I get I'll post a couple of pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Jgun,

Pretty much what I have was picked up at auction. Some needed rebuilding and some not. I purchased 3 identical horizontals and a friend took one and we used one as a parts machine. The horizontal isn't used often, but when I need it she's a real workhorse. The workshop is 10' x 24' and my second garage (connected to the workshop) measures 24' x 30'. The size of the shop is not as important as using what you have wisely. For stuff that's not often used, my mills double as bases (barrel vise and reloading presses), saves a ton of bench space.