New Frontier LW-15 Builds

[Lalo 13]

A few people have asked what parts need to be filed down so here is a visual:

 

 

You might also have to file down the holes for the hammer and trigger but if you do, I wouldn't do it too much otherwise the pins will walk out on you.

[Bugsy732 1]

Very nice builds. I'm in the process of building two AR's using NFA lowers. I'll post pics as soon as they're done. Still debating on what furniture to put on... sigh.. decisions....

[Lalo 13]

Whatever you do, dont do what this guy did: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_4/609135_AR_15_New_Frontier_Armory_Stripped_Polymer_Lower_Review.html

 

Fit and Finish

 

First the bad -

 

So I first received my lower and began to notice a few things. The holes for the front and rear take down pin, magazine catch, and safety were all a tad too small to fit the pins, safety or magazine catch in to function correctly. For the front and rear pins, the metal quick release pins I had bought were way to sticky to slide in and out correctly. They would have had to be hammer and punch tapped out every time in order to release the upper. To fix this I took out the trusty dremmel tool and slightly enlarged them until the pins would slide in and out smoothly.

 

Same thing for the safety selector holes. Both were too small for the safety selector to slide in and out and turn smoothly. Again used the dremmel to enlarge the holes until it fit correctly.

 

The magazine catch as well fit too small. On the portion where the catch goes into the receiver, the top part needed to be shaved down so that the catch would be able to slide in.

 

Only remove a little material at a time. Keep test fitting until it actually fits. Don't go too crazy with it.

 

Pins for Hammer and Trigger

 

I decided to use a spikes tactical nickle boron battle trigger group. My bolt carrier group is also nickle boron coated so the matching trigger group was a good choice I think. For the pins to hold in the trigger and hammer I like to use anti walk pins. I decided to take a chance and bought this set of pins from brownells. This was a mistake.

 

http://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/triggers-bottom-metals/hammer-parts/hammer-pins/ar-15-anti-walk-pins-prod7589.aspx

 

 

I bought the small size which is what you need if your not putting them in a Colt lower. What brownells does not mention is that these pins are oversized. They measure out at .156 instead of .154. This was the downfall of my project. When I went to install these pins in my hammer and trigger and into the receiver, they fit extremely tight. I mean extremely. The hammer pin went in at first after much pounding with the punch. The trigger pin unfortunately, did not. It was so difficult to install that I should have stopped and realized that it was not right. It had also worked itself slightly out of alignment because of the pounding it was recieving to get installed. Instead it ended up putting the pin right on through the lower receiver making itself a new hole.

 

 

I am partly to blame for not stopping, but also I am sure this kind of damage would not have happened on an aluminum lower.

 

The real issue here was that the pins were very hard to get into and out of the hammer and trigger pin holes. The polymer lower holes were fine. But because of the force required to get the pins to go through the trigger and hammer, the actual trigger and hammer smashing against the side made the new hole here.

 

DO NOT USE THOSE OVER SIZED PINS IN YOUR POLYMER LOWERS!!! You will ruin the lower. Either on putting them in or taking them out it will get ruined.

 

Instead use regular sized pins like the ones I used afterward that Ill talk about below.

 

Customer Service Time

 

I emailed New Frontier Armory customer service and sent them a few pictures of the lower that I had taken. They in turn told me they would make it right and I would be taken care of. That they back their product 100%. This was a relief to hear. Clearly I had damaged the lower and all they asked was I fill out a form and ship the lower back to them. I did that and it took them 1 day after they received it to ship me a new lower via USPS. After I had finished emailing with them on the original damaged lower, they asked me to strip down the lower again and ship it back to them.

 

Upon taking out the hammer pin it was so tight in the hammer that tapping/pounding it out not only bent my heat treated steel punch but sent the entire pin hole face of the hammer through the polymer upper. I had to then wiggle the hammer out of the upper, pin still inside, mount the hammer in a vice and pull/punch the pin through severely damaging the pin. The hammer was fine though. This was obviously a way too tight pin but I still think an aluminum upper would have held up to the force used.

 

 

I shipped off the old lower, pieces and all and the new one came quickly. The new lower though did not have the same serial number that the old lower had. Obviously they had to send me a new one but I would have thought it would have had to have the same serial on it.

 

In any case I was very impressed with the timeliness and quality they offered in their customer service.

[twong11219 0]

"Here's your sign". If you had to whip out a sledge hammer to get a pin in, wouldn't that raise a flag? He also needs to donate his Dremel and all other power tools he owns.

[Tactical Turtle 11]

What kind of Dremel tools are needed? Any pics?

I used the ball bit on the mag catch and button area. I also used an exacto knife, a round file and a flat file