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Radian lower receiver lock up

Jigstick

“What’s the matter colonel sanders….chicken?”
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Jul 21, 2017
    2,255
    2,978
    Pittsburgh PA
    I built a 14.5 off a Radian ADAC lower and SanTan billet upper. And I'm just not happy with the lock up. The lower came with Radian take down pins. Im not sure if its the take down pin holes in the SanTan upper causing the lateral slop or what. Any ideas?
     
    I built a 14.5 off a Radian ADAC lower and SanTan billet upper. And I'm just not happy with the lock up. The lower came with Radian take down pins. Im not sure if its the take down pin holes in the SanTan upper causing the lateral slop or what. Any ideas?
    Just depends how bad it is. Most of my custom ARs don’t lock up like “bank vaults”, nor do I want them to. I’ve gotten some of the oversized JP pins in the past to take out a little wiggle if it’s been more than I wanted. Tolerance stacking will lead to what you’re experiencing. Short of matched sets, that’s just how it goes. If they’re too tight, they can be fussy to break down. Grab some oversized pins (if you have gauges, just find out the best fit while still allowing you to push the pins out without a punch) and you’ll get a much better fit.

    I do not like some of the widgets that put pressure on the back of the upper receiver to keep pressure on the rear takedown pin. It just makes takedown annoying. You can do the earplug trick, the o-ring trick, etc. Just grab the JP pins and save yourself the trouble.

    How much wiggle do you have?
     
    It’s not horrible. Just not what I expected given good components. My Seekins upper / lower combos lock up really tight and clean.
     
    It’s not horrible. Just not what I expected given good components. My Seekins upper / lower combos lock up really tight and clean.
    The Seekins combo, is there any wiggle at all once they are mated? If that’s what you are looking for, oversized JP pins may not quite get you there. If the Seekins combo is just a very slight wiggle when attempting to move the upper, then the JP pins will do what you want. My two sets of ADM uppers/lowers had a little more wobble than I liked, so I switched to JP pins, and now if I try to wobble the two, there’s very little play at all, but it’s not 100% perfect. All the receivers I’ve had that don’t have any play either have super tight pins, or are finicky to open/close since there’s no clearance.

    FWIW, the ADM lowers have the plunger, I did not like the difficulty in pin removal with that forcing the upper upwards. I used some gauge pins and found the right size that wasn’t so tight it required a punch, but took up about 98% of the slack that led to wobble. The pins still press out with my fingers as needed.
     
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    I built a 14.5 off a Radian ADAC lower and SanTan billet upper. And I'm just not happy with the lock up. The lower came with Radian take down pins. Im not sure if its the take down pin holes in the SanTan upper causing the lateral slop or what. Any ideas?

    Have you adjusted their receiver tensioner?

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    Can you measure the slop at the pivot pin with feeler gauges?

    I typically shim this joint, and have used anywhere from 0.002" to 0.009" shims. It's a bit of a pain in the ass, so I only do it for rifles I don't plan to separate. McMaster sells stainless 0.250" ID shims on 0.001" increments starting at 0.002".
     
    I will try and play with the tensioning screw tonight and see if it helps the lock up. I don’t have feeler gauges for the pin holes so I’d have to source those
     
    I will try and play with the tensioning screw tonight and see if it helps the lock up. I don’t have feeler gauges for the pin holes so I’d have to source those
    Regular flat feeler gauges will work. The goal is the measure the gap between the upper and lower's pivot pin tangs.
     
    I will try and play with the tensioning screw tonight and see if it helps the lock up. I don’t have feeler gauges for the pin holes so I’d have to source those
    I fit Accu shims to all my builds. I'm not a big fan of the plunger adjusters. The Accushim takes out all rock.

    No glue or anything. It's just slightly wider then the recess in the upper so it just presses in and stays no problem.

    They do require hand fitting though.

    IMG_5951.jpg


    They come in a nice little kit for like $8.
    I bought 6 last time. AR's breed like rabbits.