Building a lower from reclaimed Mt. Dew cans would be fun, but I’m not sure this is a great job for a home foundry. Cast vs. forged lowers have always been sort of questionable from the strength standpoint – and a home-cast version, sand-cast or whatever using a commercial forging as the base probably wouldn’t be very strong, particularly since soda can aluminum isn’t exactly aircraft grade. Would be fun through – sort of like folding an AK receiver from a shovel, as has been done a few times.
Umm, people print the things out of plastic these days. IMO probably mostly okay.
If anything use a plastic lower as the initial model for the mold. Those already have to have reinforced sections that turned out to be failure points going from aircraft grade aluminum to polymer so “should” be passable for cast junk aluminum.
“Cast vs. forged lowers have always been sort of questionable from the strength standpoint –…”
Yeah, aluminum seems a bit sketchy, and doesn’t really appeal to me.
Now, getting the files for a 3-D print so I can convert the half-bucket of too-ugly to reload range brass into a brass lower receiver project does.
I’m thinking along the lines of a lost-wax process but using PLA instead of wax. Unless a wax filament is out there?
I figure a modern printer would have the resolution to do the buffer tube threading without too much of a hassle.
A bunch of hours behind the buffing wheel would make a damn handsome golden-boy lower project.
And some stained oak or walnut hardwood ‘furniture’ to finish it off might be nice… 🙂
…….If the steam punk crowd ever gets into guns I think you have the idea for premium options.
What a wild image. A brass and wood AR!
Speaking of nerdy things, maybe look into adding tin to up the strength. Bronze / brass.
“What movie is that screenshot of Dafoe from?”
‘To live and Die in LA’, I think.
From that time period, early 80s, as young as he was then…
The Willem Dafoe shot is from Spider-Man. The one from the early 2000s with Toby McGuire.
Exactly. 🙂 Both the screenshot and the famous line are from that scene.
Early 2000s. Damn, Dafoe was *really* young in the mid-80s, then…
Cans are made from a weird alloy that allows the deep deep draw.
I wonder how well it will stand up to use in the receiver.
Too tired to look up alloy.
Use the pop/pull-tabs…they’re fully aluminum versus the alloy 3004 in the can (about 90% and include manganese and/or magnesium). Some charities collect the tabs rather than the cans for that reason.
The alloy of the tabs has less aluminum and more alloying elements for greater strength (and associated cost & recycle value). The can top is also a different alloy than the wall/bottom.
I’ve learned way too much info on pop can construction today. Sadly I also find it very interesting
You wouldn’t want a pure aluminum, way too soft.
Ideally hear a fracture resistant cast able alloy. Some alloys are only for use after being wrought.
A guess is pistons? But with not too much effort looking up alloy selection a good one could be found. But I do get the charm of the pop cans into guns.
I am still floored after reading about the Myanmar freedom fighters using electric chem milling to create the initial bore in steel rods to make barrels literally outdoors in the jungle.
Maybe one day some of us will be building crude weapons against a regime like the one in Myanmar. Hope not.
Cool!😎 I’ve seen this before. Can’t stop the signal…
I wouldn’t use cans, Way too much work for too little aluminum. Now then used hard drives, pistons and other engine parts on the other hand…………..
Depends is what was in the cans before.
Beer?
Bourbon and cola?
Good!! Gun owners are better for the environment.
bty.
Kevin McCarthy lost 3 votes for the house speaker position. Good!!! The republican civil war on.
Tucker is gleefully cheering😃. I love it.
I’m taping his show right now!!!
Let’s try again in about a year, then reconvene congress. I’m ok with them taking a year off
It’s the Ameri/can way.
Watch the Aluminum Can to Lower process (what was the YouTube video BEFORE it was censored!) here:
Will you please cut it out? On nearly every article you have posted some “BREAKING NEWS” link to your YouTube channel. You’re not a reporter, and this isn’t your blog. If I want to watch your videos, I know here to find them. I’m here right now because I want to read discussion about the TTAG article, and it’s incredibly rude for you to abuse their comments section to draw clicks to your own site. These posts are no better than the spammers who have the secret to earning $200k/year working from home.
Say what!
hahaha he is part of the discussion. easier to skip a link than scroll past one of ohio doodlewhopper’s screeds.
will you please cut it out? I’ll post what I want. And its not my youtube channel.
I think you may well be a majority of one in your screed.For another viewpoint, I appreciate the references to U-tube material. Save me research time.
Ok everybody sing along……
What the world wants today
Is the real thing I’d like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I’d like to buy the world a Coke AR-15
And keep it company
That’s the real thing
I’m not impressed at all. It’s the composition of alloys that is of the most importance. Saying it’s aluminum is like saying all tires are the same.
Aluminum cans are 3004 aluminum while firearms is 7075 or close as there are others but essentially aircraft grade aluminum is used, not beer cans!
The important difference is strength. 7075 has superior Fatigue Strength, Shear Strength and Tensile Strength.
If someone wants to melt down cans and make a gun out of it….because they can (wink wink) go for it but their time would be better spent pouring down an ant colony and making a casting.
If you want to impress me, do what they did with they did with the Cabot Gun’s Big Bang pistol set, it took 4 billion years!
My some of seem to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or forgotten to take their meds.
What movie is that screenshot of Dafoe from?
Building a lower from reclaimed Mt. Dew cans would be fun, but I’m not sure this is a great job for a home foundry. Cast vs. forged lowers have always been sort of questionable from the strength standpoint – and a home-cast version, sand-cast or whatever using a commercial forging as the base probably wouldn’t be very strong, particularly since soda can aluminum isn’t exactly aircraft grade. Would be fun through – sort of like folding an AK receiver from a shovel, as has been done a few times.
Umm, people print the things out of plastic these days. IMO probably mostly okay.
If anything use a plastic lower as the initial model for the mold. Those already have to have reinforced sections that turned out to be failure points going from aircraft grade aluminum to polymer so “should” be passable for cast junk aluminum.
“Cast vs. forged lowers have always been sort of questionable from the strength standpoint –…”
Yeah, aluminum seems a bit sketchy, and doesn’t really appeal to me.
Now, getting the files for a 3-D print so I can convert the half-bucket of too-ugly to reload range brass into a brass lower receiver project does.
I’m thinking along the lines of a lost-wax process but using PLA instead of wax. Unless a wax filament is out there?
I figure a modern printer would have the resolution to do the buffer tube threading without too much of a hassle.
A bunch of hours behind the buffing wheel would make a damn handsome golden-boy lower project.
And some stained oak or walnut hardwood ‘furniture’ to finish it off might be nice… 🙂
…….If the steam punk crowd ever gets into guns I think you have the idea for premium options.
What a wild image. A brass and wood AR!
Speaking of nerdy things, maybe look into adding tin to up the strength. Bronze / brass.
“What movie is that screenshot of Dafoe from?”
‘To live and Die in LA’, I think.
From that time period, early 80s, as young as he was then…
The Willem Dafoe shot is from Spider-Man. The one from the early 2000s with Toby McGuire.
Exactly. 🙂 Both the screenshot and the famous line are from that scene.
Early 2000s. Damn, Dafoe was *really* young in the mid-80s, then…
Cans are made from a weird alloy that allows the deep deep draw.
I wonder how well it will stand up to use in the receiver.
Too tired to look up alloy.
Use the pop/pull-tabs…they’re fully aluminum versus the alloy 3004 in the can (about 90% and include manganese and/or magnesium). Some charities collect the tabs rather than the cans for that reason.
The alloy of the tabs has less aluminum and more alloying elements for greater strength (and associated cost & recycle value). The can top is also a different alloy than the wall/bottom.
I’ve learned way too much info on pop can construction today. Sadly I also find it very interesting
You wouldn’t want a pure aluminum, way too soft.
Ideally hear a fracture resistant cast able alloy. Some alloys are only for use after being wrought.
A guess is pistons? But with not too much effort looking up alloy selection a good one could be found. But I do get the charm of the pop cans into guns.
I am still floored after reading about the Myanmar freedom fighters using electric chem milling to create the initial bore in steel rods to make barrels literally outdoors in the jungle.
Maybe one day some of us will be building crude weapons against a regime like the one in Myanmar. Hope not.
Cool!😎 I’ve seen this before. Can’t stop the signal…
I wouldn’t use cans, Way too much work for too little aluminum. Now then used hard drives, pistons and other engine parts on the other hand…………..
Depends is what was in the cans before.
Beer?
Bourbon and cola?
Good!! Gun owners are better for the environment.
bty.
Kevin McCarthy lost 3 votes for the house speaker position. Good!!! The republican civil war on.
Tucker is gleefully cheering😃. I love it.
I’m taping his show right now!!!
Let’s try again in about a year, then reconvene congress. I’m ok with them taking a year off
It’s the Ameri/can way.
Watch the Aluminum Can to Lower process (what was the YouTube video BEFORE it was censored!) here:
https://juxxi.com/video/22182/making-an-ar15-from-beer-cans-main-video-guncraft101?channelName=GunCraft101
And John has his brass AR build there also… 🙂
GunCraft 101, since YouTube doesn’t like guns on his FarmCraft101 channel.
His brass AR was the inspiration for the one I wann do…
Gun Free Zones – Massad Ayoob offers the Solution to Stop Mass School Shootings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NnWFYntEyQ
Will you please cut it out? On nearly every article you have posted some “BREAKING NEWS” link to your YouTube channel. You’re not a reporter, and this isn’t your blog. If I want to watch your videos, I know here to find them. I’m here right now because I want to read discussion about the TTAG article, and it’s incredibly rude for you to abuse their comments section to draw clicks to your own site. These posts are no better than the spammers who have the secret to earning $200k/year working from home.
Say what!
hahaha he is part of the discussion. easier to skip a link than scroll past one of ohio doodlewhopper’s screeds.
will you please cut it out? I’ll post what I want. And its not my youtube channel.
I think you may well be a majority of one in your screed.For another viewpoint, I appreciate the references to U-tube material. Save me research time.
Ok everybody sing along……
What the world wants today
Is the real thing I’d like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I’d like to buy the world a Coke AR-15
And keep it company
That’s the real thing
I’m not impressed at all. It’s the composition of alloys that is of the most importance. Saying it’s aluminum is like saying all tires are the same.
Aluminum cans are 3004 aluminum while firearms is 7075 or close as there are others but essentially aircraft grade aluminum is used, not beer cans!
The important difference is strength. 7075 has superior Fatigue Strength, Shear Strength and Tensile Strength.
If someone wants to melt down cans and make a gun out of it….because they can (wink wink) go for it but their time would be better spent pouring down an ant colony and making a casting.
If you want to impress me, do what they did with they did with the Cabot Gun’s Big Bang pistol set, it took 4 billion years!
My some of seem to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or forgotten to take their meds.
Comments are closed.