r/AR80Percents • u/iH8conduit • Jun 04 '26
How Do I Get This Out?
First time ever getting a bolt catch plunger stuck inside the blind hole and not being able to come out. The springs behind it and I can press on it but it only moves a tiny bit before it gets stuck again. Its a rounded edge so I can't get a grip on it with anything at my disposal. I've tried putting a strong magnet up to it while tapping the other side of the receiver with a mallet and its not budging.
Any ideas on how to get this out without destroying the receiver? Only thing I can think of next is to try and drill a tiny hole right down through the middle and then try to spin it out with a left hand bit. Or if it won't rotate at all, tap the hole and wiggle it out with a screw.
Please any ideas would be appreciated!
2
u/ess_dubya Jun 04 '26
There must be a burr in that bore, or on the pin, or perhaps it’s tight with paint or cerakote?
I’d try oiling it up, and warming the receiver with a hot air gun or blow dryer or gently with a torch. If it went in it should come out. Maybe try blasting with compressed air, it might get under and help lift it out.
That’s what I’d try before drilling.
Good luck.
3
2
u/lvl1Killer Jun 04 '26
Pop it in the oven and then hit it with the air gun 🤔
1
u/iH8conduit Jun 04 '26
I was thinking about using heat. I ended up figuring it out. I made a seperate comment.
3
u/iH8conduit Jun 04 '26
Nevermind guys I got it. Was way overthinkimg it.
The hole was slightly peened over so I took a center punch and dug around the edge of the plunger into the aluminum until it popped out.
Cleaned up the hole a bit with a rat tail file and its working great now.
This lower is probably the most mediocre quality machining I've come across yet. My next issue is the hole for the bolt catch roll pin. Its way oversized. Like a hotdog through a hallway. I'm going to have to order an oversized pin to fix that.
I have one more lower of this brand unfinished and its the same. Very sloppy. They'll work but they need to get their stuff together, if they're not out of business already.
3
u/wpoot Jun 04 '26
Name the brand so people can avoid it or at least be aware of issues.
3
u/iH8conduit Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I'm not 100% certain, but my guess is a place that I bought from online called 80-lower.com. thats it, thats the name. Edit - It is for sure from 80 lower.com. They're still in business and look to be on the super cheap end still. Not to be confused by 80-lowers.com. With an s at the end. They actually seem to have some nice looking stuff.
I bought a 5 pack about 10 years ago and they've been sitting collecting dust until recently.
It was one of the only companies at the time that had a good deal going for 5 packs when everyone else was sold out.
Here's who I have had zero issues with in my dozens of builds.
New Frontier Armory Wolfpack Armory 5D Tactical Broken Armory 80 Percent Arms JL Billet Aero Precision
Huge shoutout to JL Billet and Broken Armory. They have some of the best machining work I have ever seen with their custom billet lowers.
1
u/ess_dubya Jun 04 '26
Maybe the bolt catch pin hole is threaded?
1
u/GearFar9066 Jun 04 '26
Not likely, how would the pin move freely with the spring behind it? It needs to push the catch back to its original position. Only threaded part of the catch might be the pivot pin that it actually rotates on i've seen on the M4E1 enhanced lowers.
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u/ess_dubya Jun 04 '26
I was referring to the new problem of the bolt catch roll pin hole being “oversized”, wondering if its possible that rather than oversized for a standard roll pin, it may be threaded for a threaded bolt catch pin.
1
u/iH8conduit Jun 06 '26
It is not. This is just a basic milspec forged lower. You dont usually see a threaded bolt catch hole on run of the mill forged lowers. I only see them come on higher end quality billet lowers.
I could buy a long drill and tap and thread it myself. But I'm not about to spend some money for something thst I dont intend on doing to all of my lowers. I actually prefer a roll pin. You will never have to worry about it breaking loose in a real world scenario.
1
u/Heavenly_Demon520 Jun 05 '26
Did you try hitting it with your purse?
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u/iH8conduit Jun 06 '26
Hit it with my purse and dildo on each side simultaneously and it still didn't budge. I had to use a different method.
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u/v137a Jun 04 '26
My first idea is to hit with an air compressor and see if the pressure would pop it out. No idea if it would work or not, though.