Was taking a look at Ty's site and noticed these lowers. mega lower

 

They are about twice the price of a good forged lower. I can't imagine they will be twice as good, but I'm more interested in the aesthetics viewpoint. Does anyone have one of these, I'd like to hear your opinions.

 

Thanks

Billet lowers are alot more expensive due to the additional machining necessary. They look great but some will argue that they're structurally weaker than their forged counterpart. I think the point is moot because AR receivers aren't really stressed. If I were in the market for a billet lower, I'd be looking for one that had additional features such as the M0510 which is the ambidextrous model.

Why would they be considered weaker? I would have thought they are stronger because they are made from a more durable alloy?

Both billet and forged lowers are made of 7075 (at least Megas are) however the manufacturing process of forging aligns the grain of the metal more uniformly thus making for a stronger receiver. Or so it's been explained to me.

I thought the billet blanks were forged too?

 

EDIT: I guess it's the difference between forging a slug and forging to near net shape. Seems they can be more selective of what material is removed when they're machining from a blank.

I think billet blanks come from steel that is first squeezed rolled into a thick sheet and then cut and machined. Forging compresses the metal into a denser form, hence making it stronger.

Did some more research. Seems teh grain/flow thing is true, but would never really be tested in this application as teh lower doesn't get stressed that much.

 

General consensus is billet is better for looks and maybe for precision builds where billet lowers are typically more closely scrutinized for tolerances during build times. Not to say a quality forged piece can't be...

 

So comes down to looks/bling. I'd have to see one before making that decision.

If you want pics of specific parts of teh lowers, let me know and I'll take some later today or this weekend.

Ty, I'd be happy to take a look at some high res pics of the lower. I'm looking at the GTR3S, as it says it's designed to match up with standard forged uppers. Plan is to use with my BCM middy.

 

Thanks