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  • clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    If possible one that looks like this (does not have to be stripped). I want to see the FCG pocket side walls clearly for even-ness

    211a5c9c70e0847d2d1d969f57623b63.jpg
     

    Mr.Blue

    Living In A Bizarro World
    Nov 21, 2011
    1,523
    Miserable in MD
    I hope these work. Thanks.
     

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    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    Visually the lower receiver looks to be out of spec. the side walls for the fire control group pocket should be about equal. in your case it looks as if the right wall is thinner than the left.

    I can't tell if the receiver extension is centered to the lower but it also appears to be slightly off.

    the Fire Control pocket and the magazine well pocket being off center can cause feeding issues and can cause excessive drag with the hammer. if the receiver extension is not centered it can cause the bolt carrier to not cycle properly.

    Use a caliper to measure the FCG pocket side walls. If there is more than .012, I would consider it to be a defective lower.
     

    Mr.Blue

    Living In A Bizarro World
    Nov 21, 2011
    1,523
    Miserable in MD
    Not to be a pain in the arse, but I took it apart again and the FCG walls look even. Perhaps it was the pictures. Does it still look uneven here?
     

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    Mr.Blue

    Living In A Bizarro World
    Nov 21, 2011
    1,523
    Miserable in MD
    Pictures were taken biased toward the thick side of the receiver. A pics centered on the magwell may reveal more. After checking magwell wall thickness on both sides, look at the outside roll on the thin looking side. It may be the magwell was done correctly but the outside blending is uneven from one side to the next. The magwell itself seems to be cut well. Keep us informed.

    OCD has never been known to accomplish much, but being a DD, it's understandable.

    Thanks.
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,243
    Mid-Merlind
    Having milled a bunch of lowers from raw forgings (https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=4197), I've gotta say I was amazed at how warped and inconsistent they can be. Some are almost dead nuts, other are so far out you can't quite decide what to reference on. Slightly bent end-to-end, thicker in some places, thinner in others, flat surfaces tapered... The whole "setup in the mill" thing was an exercise in compromises and averages.

    This is the nature of forgings of any type, AR lowers, engine blocks... They all need to be machined to reach the level of precision needed to function smoothly. The mag well flare is forged with the rest of the surface features and can be dead on, or not. If you walk down a decent line of racked AR-15s at, say, Greentop, you can see minor irregularities from rifle to rifle because the exterior surfaces are not machined at all, let alone to any particular dimension or shape. Because the mill cuts on flat planes, if it's bent front to back, you can be centered at the back of your fire control pocket and off center at the front end of the mag well.

    When machining a lower, first you locate the pivot pin and takedown pin holes. Once these are located and bored, we locate and cut the top deck. At that time, we find center left/right and set up to cut the fire control pocket and mag well. If the lower is a little warped, you can be perfectly centered at the top and off at the bottom, just as the OP's picture shows.

    My own take would be that if it works, it's fine. Since it is centered at the top cut for the fire control pocket, it was set up correctly and the only manufacturing fault would have been to reject that particular forging if it was "too far out", which is a judgement call. For less than $25 for a forging at their purchasing level , it would be easy to just say "no".

    If the magazine sits square with the top deck and the bolt stop works, it's probably fine. If it runs smoothly with a few different ammo types, it IS fine.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    Making a mountain out of a mole hill here, IMO. If the mag well is centered along the same line as the fire control pocket and the buffer tube, it will function reliably!

    I have used lowers from 5 different manufacturers and there are slight differences between them but they all work perfectly. The mag well walls vary but I have not experienced a single problem. Mags go in easily, rounds cycle properly, and the mags drop as they are supposed to.

    Those of us that tend to exhibit a few OCD tendencies can sometimes worry about non-issues! Put it together. Shoot it. If there is a problem, then you can worry about how to fix it.
     

    Mr.Blue

    Living In A Bizarro World
    Nov 21, 2011
    1,523
    Miserable in MD
    UPDATE:

    I let my gunsmith look at the rifle and he said that the imperfections would annoy him too.

    I called Daniel Defense, and they had an RMA sent to me within 15 minutes. Two days later I received a call from their Customer Service. They apologized for my inconvenience and told me they were sending me a totally new rifle built by their Master Armorer. I had the rifle within a week of mailing to them. They included a new rifle case and two magazines (10 - rounders �� (thanks Maryland!)). The rifle is perfect.

    Kudos to Daniel Defense. They have great CS and stand behind their products.

    Thank you all for your help, especially “Clandestine”!
     

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