Not real relevant since ALL lowers (cast, forged, or billet) require machining- there is just a more when manufacturing “billet” lowers.
Think of the TDP as a basic guide for how to do things. You can for sure go above it, but you should NEVER go below it.
C4
I can appreciate that Grant. What I don’t understand, in light of that context, is how Sun Devil has gone above the TDP?
I don’t know that they have gone above the TDP. They might just be equals.
A forged lower is going to be stronger, but the SD is much better machined and has a tensioning screw to remove play between the upper and lower.
Just as an FYI to those that do not know, a forging is almost always going to be stronger than something made from a billet. Things made from a solid billet are almost always going to be much straighter/truer.
C4
Agree, Just peace of mind for me to not use a billet lower. I don’t care about fit and finish so much or how good something looks as long as it functions well, I can definetly see using a billet upper on an all out precision rig but aside from looks I don’t see the point of a billet lower for my application of rifles, I run all mine pretty hard. But just to be clear I’m not bashing them at all, they do look beautiful and can make some interesting builds and I don’t think most will ever have any problems with them. It’s great we have all these different things to choose from and ad variety. Kind of off topic but aren’t the HK416 lowers billet machined?
Thats exactly how I always understood it, as long as the application is right they are great.
What I posted is true. The more machining you do on a part, the more it is weakened.
There is a difference between cast, billet, and forge and how machining affects all this.
This may or may not be an issue with a lower but to call this wrong is false.