At folder onto an older aics or ae 1.5

[6brshooter]

Back story, bought a cheap 1.5 mk2 last year. Really liked it but wished it was a folder for packing and cleaning purposes. I'd asked and saw a few others ask about using the ax or used at folder buttstocks on older aics/ae. I finally decided to find out.

I bought a lightly used at folder buttstock from a member here who wanted to upgrade. Perfect, we're both happy now. The ae and older aics use epoxy and dowel pins to hold buttstock to center section of chassis, the ax/at uses epoxy and countersunk screws. Obviously the screws dont have anything to thread into on older stocks. Itd be cool if I had the machining skills to make a threaded pin insert that those screws could thread into....but I dont.
Everything lines up, dowel pins are .239" diameter, bottom of countersink hole is .233 and top is bigger. I reamed countersunk hole to .238, nice press fit for pins, but they arent fully supported in the female folder extension. I ended up drilling and tapping 10-32 holes, 1/4" deep, at 3 & 9 oclock. Those combined with pins and epoxy should be as solid as a factory ae folder.

The male folder retaining stud was a bit more challenging. The metric screw (from an at), has a button head that needs to be countersunk inside trigger inlet area. I located hole for screw and drilled a .198" hole there and all the way through the other side. That button head measures .350 across. I went from right to left with a .344" pilot bit, using the .198" hole. I drilled just deep enough for top of button head to be flush with trigger inlet. Broke out the devcon and blue loctite and got everything assembled.

Hole for male retainer stud and 10-32 drilled

.344 hole on right side and recessed hole for retaining stud buttonhead(visible through hole)

I had some extra epoxy mixed, so I filled in the countersunk hole around dowel pin. Probably not needed, but doesnt hurt.

Definitely not as easy as an at to ax buttstock swap, but its doable. I think I had right at 1.5-2 hrs in it, the drill press with an x-y table is almost required. I looked at my mk3 folder last night, to see how AI does the male retaining stud. Ae's have a metric thread hole on the left side, with metric stud that retaining stud screws onto. I'm in the boonies so finding a .4" long tiny metric stud and tap wouldn't be handy. If I was doing it over, I'd probably do it that way just because it's more factory. Honestly when putting an at butt on an ae, "like factory" kinda goes out the window.

 

[samb300]

I like your style. Nice job!

I too tried to figure out the folding stock capture on my chassis. Since I wanted to make it fully ambidextrous, I couldn’t do the large hole for the button head screw. So I designed a relief cut on the bottom face where the trigger pack bolts in. This allows the button head to fit in on either side, and still fit behind the trigger.

 

[6brshooter]

Had a set of mismatched skins, they got some new color. It's a little darker in person, looks incredible hulk green in pics

 

[6brshooter]

I like your style. Nice job!

I too tried to figure out the folding stock capture on my chassis. Since I wanted to make it fully ambidextrous, I couldn’t do the large hole for the button head screw. So I designed a relief cut on the bottom face where the trigger pack bolts in. This allows the button head to fit in on either side, and still fit behind the trigger.

View attachment 7260634

See, that's the difference between a talented machinist and a dude with a drill press, lol

 

[samb300]

See, that's the difference between a talented machinist and a dude with a drill press, lol

You did exactly what AI did on the AT chassis. Definitely works!

I'm no machinist, just a designer that tries to think like one. I got it beaten into me in the tool & die world that you can only design something that can actually be machined... and then I bought a 3D printer haha

 

[6brshooter]

On a side note, which thumbrest of yours would work on this, at style?

 

[samb300]

The hardware you got from the buttstock had a thumb rest already installed, which is why you don’t have the flush cups on both sides.

You’ll want to order the AX version of the thumb rest.

https://www.anarchyoutdoors.com/accuracy-international-thumb-rest

 

[6brshooter]

So I got another at folder buttstock to upgrade an older aics 1.5. I decided to make a threaded insert to utilize countersunk screws, like ax/at.

Threaded insert with stainless 10-24 screws, .251 nom

Pin hole opened up to .250"

Hole drilled for folder stud

Insert had to be pressed in from this point. I used a 10-24 screw to support it during this.

Fit good, everything dry fitted so I was ready to break out the epoxy.

Glued and screwed together.

 

[yej0001]

I have an AE mk3 with fixed stock, and an old style (AW) AICS 2.0 stock that’s sitting there. Anyone knows a gunsmith who has the skill to swap the folding stock with AE’s chassis?

 

[6brshooter]

That should be an easy swap. Drive out steel pins behind receiver section on both chassis. Use a heat gun to soften epoxy, and a rubber mallet to tap buttstocks off. Re-epoxy and drive pins back in. Only hard part is drilling and threading a hole for the folder retaining stud.

 

[yej0001]

Thanks. I have done AT to AX swap and it was straight forward. I am nervous in drilling a hole through the receiver like you did. I guess I am really chicken in messing with my treasured toys!

 

[Silvan]

Looks awesome.
Is it possibly to convert AW into AWF (folding)?
If so, what company might be recommended?
I guess the issue will be a thumb hole upgrade kit, newer met it for AW.

 

[6brshooter]

Not a clue, bud. The glue and pin part is fairly easy, the locating/drilling/tapping for the folder retainer stud is the hard part. I would think any competent gunsmith could handle that part.