Why is it hard to find 80% jigs?

[GunsNstuff]

I've looked at several websites that sell 80% receivers and/or jigs. Nearly everything is sold out. Someone I know has a jig made by Tactical Machining dot com, so I go to their website and all they even sell anymore are 2 different top plates. Do these things just sell out fast or because they're so expensive they can't sell them so they stop trying to sell them, or is the government going after companies that make and sell these jigs? I'm not in the 80% world and I know little to nothing about their popularity, so I'm just curious. I've wanted to try building an 80% for a few years now but have never bought or tried anything. Now that I'm thinking of trying one, I can't find jigs.

 

[BroodXI]

I've looked at several websites that sell 80% receivers and/or jigs. Nearly everything is sold out. Someone I know has a jig made by Tactical Machining dot com, so I go to their website and all they even sell anymore are 2 different top plates. Do these things just sell out fast or because they're so expensive they can't sell them so they stop trying to sell them, or is the government going after companies that make and sell these jigs? I'm not in the 80% world and I know little to nothing about their popularity, so I'm just curious. I've wanted to try building an 80% for a few years now but have never bought or tried anything. Now that I'm thinking of trying one, I can't find jigs.

found you one. https://www.indianagunowners.com/threads/80-percent-arms-easy-jig-gen-3.545605/

 

[GunsNstuff]

found you one. https://www.indianagunowners.com/threads/80-percent-arms-easy-jig-gen-3.545605/

That's a jig that someone owns & is selling. I'm wondering why, given how expensive these jigs are, are companies no longer selling them? It seems to be an easy way to make money if you have a CNC machine and can churn these jigs out. Are they illegal for companies to sell? Is the government just pointing the IRS at companies who sell them as a way of harassing them to stop them from selling the jigs? I'm a little confused on what's going on here.

 

[BroodXI]

That's a jig that someone owns & is selling. I'm wondering why, given how expensive these jigs are, are companies no longer selling them? It seems to be an easy way to make money if you have a CNC machine and can churn these jigs out. Are they illegal for companies to sell? Is the government just pointing the IRS at companies who sell them as a way of harassing them to stop them from selling the jigs? I'm a little confused on what's going on here.

honestly, you can 3d print one now.

 

[singlestacksig]

because SCOTUS is currently weighting a case about almost finished guns..
so everyone is buying up the stuff.

 

[GunsNstuff]

because SCOTUS is currently weighting a case about almost finished guns..
so everyone is buying up the stuff.

Is that the one where the ATF tried to redefine what a receiver is without Congress passing a law to change the definition? That makes more sense why they might be hard to find.

 

[GunsNstuff]

honestly, you can 3d print one now.

I did try that the other day. I printed one of the jig sides and of course it didn't fit my finished receiver very well. Maybe it's my old Ender 3, maybe it's out of scale on purpose or maybe PETG is not a good material to make a jig out of. I'd like to find an accurate drawing of the receiver so I can draw it up in Fusion 360 and make my own 3D printable jig. Then I could play with it until I had something that fit well.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

I did try that the other day. I printed one of the jig sides and of course it didn't fit my finished receiver very well. Maybe it's my old Ender 3, maybe it's out of scale on purpose or maybe PETG is not a good material to make a jig out of. I'd like to find an accurate drawing of the receiver so I can draw it up in Fusion 360 and make my own 3D printable jig. Then I could play with it until I had something that fit well.

Or you could just buy the jig for sale in the INGO classifieds, as already mentioned, and get to work finishing your 80% lowers.

Seems to me that you're overthinking this whole thing. Buy the jig that's available, get started, and provide us with an update on your progress.

 

[AndreusMaximus]

I did try that the other day. I printed one of the jig sides and of course it didn't fit my finished receiver very well. Maybe it's my old Ender 3, maybe it's out of scale on purpose or maybe PETG is not a good material to make a jig out of. I'd like to find an accurate drawing of the receiver so I can draw it up in Fusion 360 and make my own 3D printable jig. Then I could play with it until I had something that fit well.

Which jig did you print?

I've used Ctrlpew's jig before, and it fit well with the aluminum 80% I used it on, but it required some modification to work with a polymer 80%, as the polymer lower had extra reinforcement in a couple of places. The modifications were fairly simple, though, and I never bothered with modeling the lower receiver, I just observed where the supports on the jig needed to be trimmed back a bit, and with some trial and error got a working jig without too much trouble. I just used plain old PLA, and printed in on an Ender 3, too.

 

[AndreusMaximus]

Or you could just buy the jig for sale in the INGO classifieds, as already mentioned, and get to work finishing your 80% lowers.

Seems to me that you're overthinking this whole thing. Buy the jig that's available, get started, and provide us with an update on your progress.

Just my two cents, I think he's on the right track. 80% isn't about taking the simplest, easiest path available, or you'd just buy a completed lower from an individual. 3d-printing your own jig adds to the DIY fun of the whole thing. Then you move on to 3d-printing the entire lower, for a whole new level of satisfaction.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

Just my two cents, I think he's on the right track. 80% isn't about taking the simplest, easiest path available, or you'd just buy a completed lower from an individual. 3d-printing your own jig adds to the DIY fun of the whole thing. Then you move on to 3d-printing the entire lower, for a whole new level of satisfaction.

Must have misread the responses ... seemed like a lot of speculation and excuses. Oh well, I've been wrong before and am guaranteed to be wrong again.

End of the day if the OP is happy and safe, all is good.

 

[singlestacksig]

Is that the one where the ATF tried to redefine what a receiver is without Congress passing a law to change the definition? That makes more sense why they might be hard to find.

yes.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23A82/274511/20230802162019194_2023-08-02%20VanDerStok%20-%20Resp%20in%20Oppn%20to%20Stay%20vf.pdf

 

[Gravyman]

I've looked at several websites that sell 80% receivers and/or jigs. Nearly everything is sold out. Someone I know has a jig made by Tactical Machining dot com, so I go to their website and all they even sell anymore are 2 different top plates. Do these things just sell out fast or because they're so expensive they can't sell them so they stop trying to sell them, or is the government going after companies that make and sell these jigs? I'm not in the 80% world and I know little to nothing about their popularity, so I'm just curious. I've wanted to try building an 80% for a few years now but have never bought or tried anything. Now that I'm thinking of trying one, I can't find jigs.

I have a broken arms jig I'd sell you for cheap, no longer have any use for it.

 

[VinceU1]

In stock this AM,

AR-15 Parts and Tools

AR-15 80% Lower 80 Percent Lower Jig Jigs Ghost Gun Ghost Guns Receiver AR15 AR-9 AR9 AR-45 AR45 AR-10 AR10 .308 308 .556 556 9MM P80 Polymer80 Polymer 80 5D Tactical 80% Arms 80 Percent Arms Rifle NFA SBR

www.ghostgunjigs.com

However, good luck finding the tooling for them.
I've been looking for the last 3 weeks or so and nobody has the "speedymill" or "readymill" bits.

 

[VinceU1]

Okay, Literally just got an email from:

Modulus Arms｜80 Lower Jigs, Tooling, and Accessories!

Modulus Arms is proudly known as the best 80 percent lower and 80% lower jig manufacturer on the market. Come check out our selection of American-made 80 lowers today! All of our products ship FAST.

www.modulusarms.com

and they show both 5d Tactical and 80% Arms jigs in stock.
Also show they have all sizes of mills (1A through 4D) in stock
Here's the size chart for which router bit you'll need:
5D Tactical Jig

 

[VinceU1]

And now Ghost Gun Jigs has jigs and tools in stock.\
Guess I tried to order during a dry spell.

 

[BRHiker]

I did try that the other day. I printed one of the jig sides and of course it didn't fit my finished receiver very well. Maybe it's my old Ender 3, maybe it's out of scale on purpose or maybe PETG is not a good material to make a jig out of. I'd like to find an accurate drawing of the receiver so I can draw it up in Fusion 360 and make my own 3D printable jig. Then I could play with it until I had something that fit well.

There are also 3d printable 80% jigs available if you know where to look.

 

[GunsNstuff]

I think I found a simple one at Gun Builders Depot for $105. Very simple aluminum jig. They want $200 if I get the 3 endmills and 2 drill bits with it. $95 for 3 HSS endmills and 2 twist drill bits? I don't know where some of these people get off on charging ridiculous prices for crappy tools like that. I have a desktop mill at home, so I buy endmills and drill bits from time to time. 3 carbide endmills & 2 drill bits don't cost that much.

 

[GunsNstuff]

In stock this AM,

AR-15 Parts and Tools

AR-15 80% Lower 80 Percent Lower Jig Jigs Ghost Gun Ghost Guns Receiver AR15 AR-9 AR9 AR-45 AR45 AR-10 AR10 .308 308 .556 556 9MM P80 Polymer80 Polymer 80 5D Tactical 80% Arms 80 Percent Arms Rifle NFA SBR

www.ghostgunjigs.com

However, good luck finding the tooling for them.
I've been looking for the last 3 weeks or so and nobody has the "speedymill" or "readymill" bits.

I have a mini mill at home to use, so I just use regular endmills.

 

[GunsNstuff]

There are also 3d printable 80% jigs available if you know where to look.

Have you ever tried a 3D printed jig to finish an 80%? I wonder how accurate they are. I also wonder how accurate the milling and drilling operations need to be in order for the lower to function properly. I believe that even if I screw it up a little, I can probably fix it, even if it will look like a Mad Max gun.