I had a couple of 80% Lowers laying around left over from a non fire arm project, and decided to pick up an 80% Lower Receiver Jig. I'd spent some time looking over all the options, reading reviews and watching a few videos before selecting my winner based on my research. This was done based on my own criteria and my personal skills, knowledge and abilities. The winner (as you can see from the title of this thread) was 5D Tactical. I also selected and bought a Porter Cable Router to use with this kit. I selected their "[url=https://www.5dtactical.com/ar-15-80-lower-jig-p/5d-jig15.htm]AR-15/AR-9 Router Jig PRO - Universal 80% Lower Receiver Jig (5D-JIG15)[/url]". [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_142019.jpg[/img] [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_142221.jpg[/img] The advantages of this kit is it required fewer holes to be drilled before milling, but also included a unique mill and router base plate that stabilizes the mill and helps reduce the bearing load on the router. The other advantage that I saw was how they indexed or referenced the lower for the milling path. Rather than clamping on the sides of the lower and basing the milled out portion on the casting shape, they rely on front take down pin and the buffer tube mount. This approach ensures that the milled out trigger area is centered on these two points improving the hammer strike landing centered on the firing pin. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_142221.jpg[/img] In my experience the most difficult portion of the process is the drilling of the holes. The initial router start hole which goes all the way through the trigger hole is a long slow process. The use of WD-40 helps the cutting but there is a lot of aluminum to remove. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_154123.jpg[/img] The instructions that 5D Tactical supplies are great, but watching their video is also highly advised. One point I'll add is that you should consider adding some Blue Loctite to the end mill where it threads on the router if you are going to not be removing it after each use, and be sure it's tight along with your routers dept lock. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_154927.jpg[/img] [i]First Milling Pass[/i] I started my first lower taking half step bites with the mill. I followed their circular motion in a little more of a boxed or oval shape. I highly recommend taking your time and small bites, and never letting the mills load effect the router speed, keep the cut small and go slow. Also be sure to have the mill centered in the hole before starting the router and being sure it's stopped spinning after each pass before removing it. The noise generated from my shop vac made the later harder, but just take your time and be patient. I liberally sprayed WD-40 between each pass to help prolong the mill and keep the cut surface looking great. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_162751.jpg[/img] [i]After completing milling dept 1 is complete[/i] When switching to the next depth be sure that the chips don't interfere with the milling guides as well as the milling process. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_163433.jpg[/img] [i]After the first cut at Dept 2[/i] Between each of the cuts be sure to continue to clean any metal shavings from the router base/guide area but also from the milled pocket. They tend to build up more in the milled hole during the second depth cutting process. The shop vac attached to the jig helps but I found adding some tape to the front of the lower between it and the jig help keep chips from flying (as you see in these pictures) and make it easier for the shop vac to catch. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_165552.jpg[/img] [i]After completing cutting the second depth[/i] Again when switching to the next depth be sure that the chips don't interfere with the milling guides as well as the milling process. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_165910.jpg[/img] [i]After completing the third and final milling[/i] As you can see the the milling is complete and a the jig and mill did a beautiful job. If you look close as this was a blemished 80% lower you can see the milled trigger area left wall is slightly thicker than the right side. This is because of the advantage of the 5D Tactical mounting process. The trigger area is centered between the front take down and the buffer tube. Had I sued a jig that indexed the mill area on the sides of the base the area would have been slightly off center. After completing the milling it's time to drill the holes for the trigger, hammer and safety. These holes are again are more difficult to drill than the milling process, but not as bad as the initial starting hole. Their drilling guides and process make this a straight forward and clean job. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_172717.jpg[/img] [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_172713.jpg[/img] [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180124_172836.jpg[/img] You can see the results of my first milling process in the above pictures. I was very happy with the results and after completing it and test firing it it works great. This first unit was used for a 22LR p pistol build and I am very, very happy with it. [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180204_160523.jpg[/img] [img]http://wawii.com/images/misc/5DTactical/20180204_160446.jpg[/img] Here you can see my second lower. It came out even better, and rather than taking the half depth cuts I took the recommended depths from the 5D Tactical jig and documentation. I just slowed down and took my time. The first Lower, took about four hours but that included all the un-boxing, assembly and pictures. This second lower took be about an hour and fifteen min. Again the Products and staff at 5D Tactical are great with high quality products and support. I'd recommend their Lower Receiver Jigs to anyone. Just take your time, follow the instructions and you to can complete your own 80% Lower into a functional unit.