Built mine on a PSA stipped lower back in 2012-13.

Many rounds later & it's been 100% trouble free.

I have built three Spikes and two Aero lowers, all of them have been fine. I really like the Aero M4E1 lowers, I have one sitting in the safe waiting to be used along with some other plain Aeros.

As long as the receiver is forged I wouldn't worry too much about the roll mark.

I've built on a number of lowers, billet and forged. The only reason to go upmarket is if you want certain features, pin for adjusting upper-lower tension, fixed trigger guard, enlarged mag well, that type of thing.

Almost every other part on an AR you need to worry about buying too cheap-- I've had cheap castle nuts and extension tubes with burrs scratch me up, that sort of thing. Put your money into everything else before spending more than $30 on the lower.

One of my builds in on a Spikes lower, the other is on an Aero Precision lower, and I have another spare Aero Precision lower. I do like the AP lowers as they are usually cheaper, and have a spring pushing up against the rear lug of the upper to minimize upper/lower wobble.

I own 3 builds with Anderson's, two with PSAs, and I have experience working with many others, including Colt, FN, BCI, Freedom Arms, and S&W. The only one that I would recommend avoiding out of all of those is the Freedom Arms Polymer lower, and it's not because it had any actual issues with function...it just feels like cheap crap. It worked, though.

My Andersons have run perfectly from Day 1, have good tolerances, and feel like any other AR lower I've ever used. There was a little flashing in the bolt catch channel of one of them I had to clean out prior to assembly, but it didn't even compromise the finish. Best part is I can get them locally for $33 OTD, so not only are they less expensive, there's no shipping or transfer fee, either.

While I've not personally seen it, a guy from work recently picked up an Anderson lower and claimed that PMags won't drop free in it. As I've not seen it, I can't say for sure if it's an issue with how he installed the mag catch, or the lower itself. I have heard complaints on the internet about Anderson lowers with out of spec magwells, so it's quite possible that is what he is experiencing. I have not had that issue with any of mine. I got both of my brothers going on Anderson builds last year, and they've had no problems, either.

I have had problems with cheap lower parts kits. I've had safeties with gritty or stiff operation, out of spec hammers, out of spec endplates, and a bunch of crappy triggers. As others have suggested, buy a quality parts kit without a trigger group, and order a LaRue MBT2.

I guess I'm the odd man out ...
Don't get me wrong, I've had ugly receivers, but only because that's all that was available.

If an Anderson was all that was available, and I needed to build an AR I'd use one.
However with all the choices available, I can't bring myself to go with the lowest bidder ... unless they have a cool logo.

Nope KK, you are not the only one.


For parts, look at Tom's Tactical. Great USA parts and triggers too. Great service. Great folks.

Almost forgot, great prices too.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
The most common thing across AR lowers is the mag well being tight on some.

Yes, especially when building a 6.8spc and the mag won't drop free.
I haven't had any issues with 223/556 builds.

I had a couple of Andersons that had to go back because magwell was too small. Great CS.
I prefer Aero Precision. They work really well. I have some higher end uppers that fit perfect.

For lower receivers for built ARs, I have two Andersons, two Noveskes, a Mega, a Rock River Arms and a Nodak A2.

The Andersons are perfectly fine, no complaints at all. Same goes for my 2009 production Noveske, but the Noveske lower I have that was made after Noveske died has a grip screw hole that wanted to cross-thread from the very first time I put a screw in it. It's a minor thing, but this and the roll markings as compared to my earlier Noveske lower seem to indicate that the earlier ones are a bit nicer.
The Rock River Arms lower, I was surprised to find it as a new lower for sale, not ever built into a rifle. I turned it into a C7A1 build. Very nicely finished, with crisp rollmarks, as you would imagine (and marked '5.56mm', not 'multi', which I hate). It's a high shelf lower, so the Accu-Wedge I usually install in all my ARs will not fit. I hate that little bit of wobble between upper and lower, although I am certain that in terms of accuracy of the rifle, it makes no difference.
The Mega receiver, which I bought back in 2009 is the only out of spec receiver I own. The safety selector hole is drilled just a bit high, so that if you put the rifle on safe, then retract the charging handle, you feel just a bit of binding as the carrier passes over the cocked hammer. It's a subtle thing and it would have no effect on the firing cycle of the rifle, but it is there and it bugs me, so I just keep this one as a spare lower.

The Nodak Spud A2 I bought because I have an older Colt 6721 upper in Colt Gray finish. I bought the Nodak to match the finish and I have to say that of all the lowers I've used to build rifles, this one impresses me the most. Very well-finished (the smudges you see in the pic are gun oil) and the anodizing matches the old Colt upper perfectly, but more importantly, this lower is machined perfectly. Nodak does their machining in-house and the fit of this lower with my Colt upper is as precise as it can get. No need for an Accu-Wedge to eliminate wobble. There is no wobble, no discernable light gap between upper and lower and this is due not just to the rear radius of the lower, but also the height at which takedown pin hole is drilled. Nodak lowers aren't cheap, but the one I purchased is worth every penny I paid.

over the years I have built,

Sendra (known finish issues, and some uppers were tight due to tolerances out of spec on the top deck of the lower)

RRA, no issues

EA (Essential Arms), other chan cast, no issues

DPMS, early (very early) cast as well as modern, no issues

Anderson

LRB

Eagle Arms

RIA,

Palmetto

Oly/SGW

surely I am forgetting a handful of other brands,


some had 0 issues, a few here and there would have something easily fixed (burr etc,)


only recall one or 2 tight mag wells, out of many (easily 3 low to mid 3 figures) put together,


one thing to remember is only a few companies make the forged lowers, and they make them for a lot of makers,

if Parabellum wanted to do a SIG Forum lower, all he would need to do is contract one of the makers to do whatever minimum run they need for the roll mark and features,

Come to think about it, none of my lowers have had issues. I've never owned a factory gun othan the Olympic Arms XM-177 clone. I have built on an Olympic, two RRA's a PWA, and an Aero. I would go RRA or Aero without thinking about it.

A couple of weeks ago I put together a lower using an aero precision lower and parts kit. It was the upgraded lower that has the flared magazine well and a few other small features. I was really impressed with it, bitch and finish. I have built PSA’s and Anderson’s, and this was much nicer overall, IMO

My advice is go with a known performer. If you have to wait for the money to come in then so be it. Look for sales on the interwebz.

Is there a "best" list? And a "worst" list?

Mine are all 100% RRA. Three purchased whole. One I assembled.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:

quote:

So, what lowers would you build on?

Again JJ, I would just buy a PSA complete lower. My latest purchase was a pistol lower with SB3A brace as you can just snap a 10" or 11" complete upper and be all set.

Yes sir, I get that. But, in this instance, I want to actually get the experience of building. I've never had the time or the inclination to do it before.

For what I buy Daniel Defense rifles for, I'd just pick up another completed rifle if it was about ease, or whatever. Now, I want to make time to do a build just because. Maybe build a few guns. The next one maybe I build with my 16 year old son after I get the first one under my belt.

It's that kind of thing.

I have used:

DPMS
Stag
LRB
Anderson
Palmetto State Armory

And even the GWACS Armory polymer lowers that have the stock molded as part of the lower.


All the aluminum forged lowers assembled and worked exactly the same.

quote:

Originally posted by Hamden106:
Is there a "best" list? And a "worst" list?

Mine are all 100% RRA. Three purchased whole. One I assembled.

Some of the early Anderson Manufacturing lowers had an issue where the threads for the grip screw weren't cut quite deep enough. If you used the screws that they sold in their LPK it wasn't an issue. Some aftermarket grips used a slightly longer screw.

They fixed the issue.


It is rare to hear of a dimensionally incorrect lower.

quote:

Originally posted by Hamden106:
Is there a "best" list? And a "worst" list?

Mine are all 100% RRA. Three purchased whole. One I assembled.

on some websites there is a tier system

brand x on the bottom, brand z on the top, every one else sorted thru the middle, ,


if you believe in the tier system for AR's,


lots don't

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
over the years I have built,

Sendra (known finish issues, and some uppers were tight due to tolerances out of spec on the top deck of the lower)

<SNIP>

if Parabellum wanted to do a SIG Forum lower, all he would need to do is contract one of the makers to do whatever minimum run they need for the roll mark and features,

My first AR was a Colt Match Target ... it was post-ban had a bit of wobble between the upper and lower which always bugged me, almost as much as not having a flash hider

My first few builds were on Sendra receivers with M&A parts kits ... back then there weren't ANY assembled uppers, you tapped in every roll pin, spring and detente in the rear sight, about the only thing that was done is the pinned front sight was installed ... few if any options for AR's ... flat tops weren't very popular, and if you wanted a gas block without a front sight on it, you cut the front sight off! There were no trigger options, no two stage, national match or anything. Free Float hand guards were plain aluminum tubes with some knurling ... those were the days!

I had a very early DPMS lower that I'd swear was sand cast gawd they had the worst finish of anything I'd see at that point or sense ... Kind of wish I'd kept it as an example of what you don't want!

BOHICA was a favorite although the finish may have been spray paint ... its pretty shitty, but they were all just barely pre-ban and for those that don't know its an acronym that stands for
"Bend
Over
Here
It
Comes
Again"
It was produced in honor(or Horror) of Bill Clinton starting his push of the Assault Weapons Ban. If memory serves they were only sold as stripped receivers but a lot of them were built into complete weapons ... and I've still got a 10.5" pistol and a 20" with the triangle hand-guard and early stock with no storage compartment.

I've also used Bushmaster(one of my favorite logo's but hated the purplish finish), EA not to be confused with Eagle Arms which I've used as well ... PWA, Olympic which was extremely tight, I had to set it on the edge of the table and put pressure on the upper to get the rear pin through the upper ... same to get it out!

Like lyman there are probably others I've forgotten ...

I've got a small collection of lowers with unusual logo or and one or two were made in Kansas.

IF Parabellum were to do a SIGForum lower, I would buy one in an instant!
(might even be a good money maker for the forum)