I wanted to post this information up solely as a heads up for the M4C membership. Per forum rules, I have contacted Noveske via email and I will update this thread when I hear back from them.
I purchased a Gen 1 Noveske chainsaw lower last week. It arrived quickly from Joe Bob’s and I picked it up on Friday. This was my first transaction with them and everything went smoothly, with very quick shipping.
I attempted to assemble the lower with a Colt LPK, Geissele SSA-E and BADASS selector. During assembly, I encountered the following issues:
Bolt catch pin and trigger guard pin were both difficult to install due to a very tight fit
Geissele trigger and hammer pins could not be inserted into the lower
BADASS selector lever was very tight and would not rotate in the lower
Takedown pin detent would not fully insert, binding in its channel and not making contact with the takedown pin
Pmags will not drop free
I’m not sure if the entire lower is out of spec or if the anodizing was overly thick and creating a tighter fit for the lower parts.
I’ve contacted Noveske to request replacement of the lower due to it appearing to be out of spec. I’ll update when I have more info.
Please contact me and we can be sure your selector is within specs. The centers conform to TDP outer diameter specs, have you tried to install it on another receiver? All of our centers are produced by Swiss screw machines that hold 0.002 tolerances.
Not speaking of any receiver in particular, as we’ve seen undersized selector holes on receivers produced by respected and well known manufacturers, this is invariably the issue.
You can take the same selector and install it on anther receiver, if it rotates without issues, then install the selector on the receiver in question, but without the trigger, detent and detent spring. If it’s still difficult to rotate, it is most likely due to undersized selector holes.
The retailer is of no importance. These lowers are marketed as fully functional cosmetic blemishes. I’m not concerned about the cosmetic issue. What I thought was worth noting is that this one seems to be out of spec. As additional information, I also included my observations relative to appearance. These have generally been described as having a very good appearance, with blemishes that were hard to detect. This one doesn’t fit that description. I wouldn’t have cared, but this lower should have been rejected due to tight dimensions instead of sold as a blem.
I also bought a Noveske gen1 chainsaw from Joebob’s a couple of weeks ago. My geissele hammer and trigger pin’s were a very tight fit, as well as my bolt catch and trigger gaurd roll pins. But that was the extent of it, all mags drop free and everything functions properly.
I thought forum rules were contact and attempt to resolve issues first… What did Noveske say in reply to your email?
As far as the cosmetic issues, like you acknowledged, it is a chainsaw item. It doesn’t matter what others have said about how theirs look. To complain about that diminishes any legit issues you have.
Understand the frustration, and that that you have initiated contact with Noveske (which is obviously the right answer), but I’m not sure that it is really good practice to air the laundry before giving the manufacturer an opportunity to respond. Not sure if this one has had too much finish applied, or what might be going on with it tolerance-wise, but at the risk of reiterating the obvious, isn’t the whole point of the chainsaw line that these lowers may require a bit more prep to get into service?
Not without empathy, of course; I just think that this is half of a story (at best) until you’ve actually heard from the folks in Grant’s Pass. It’s the weekend. Give them a few days to get you all sorted-out before we take this too much farther.
AC, if you think we need to lock this until a response is received, that’s fine. I just wanted to let folks know that these may require some fitting to assemble and may have issues beyond just cosmetics. I’m sure I’ll hear from Noveske in the next couple of days and will update when I have more information.
Not good. I also have a Gen 1 Noveske chainsaw lower sitting at my FFL I ordered recently from Joe Bob’s. I haven’t been down there to pick it up yet. I’ll report back if I encounter any of the same issues.
Intermediate update: I received an email from Noveske shortly after they opened this morning. They actually offered to assemble the lower for me. After I explained the issues in greater detail and that it wasn’t an ability problem, but a fitment issue across the whole lower, they have agreed to replace it. Very friendly and helpful customer service from Noveske, as expected. I’ll provide a final update once I receive the new lower.
I really didn’t have any concerns about Noveske taking care of this for me. Maybe I should have been more clear about that in my OP. I’ve requested that they test fit the replacement lower with Geissele pins and verify magwell compatibility with pmags, but I know that might be asking too much. I’ll update in a few days once I get the replacement lower. Thanks for your patience.
In all likelihood, they’ll just send you another one, no questions asked (might even wind up being a firsts w/ matching S/N). If a few of the pin hole specs are off, your old lower will probably just become a mule at the shop after another pass through the mill.
