AR180S Pistol Grip Prototype

Been wanting a better pistol grip to use on my Nodak NDS-18S lowers pretty much since they came out.

I used an ArmaLite grip but only bought a couple before they stopped selling them. (Sound familiar?) It also didn’t have the right shape.

Since I have been working with Fusion 360 I have been thinking of all kinds of things to design. Why not a better looking pistol grip.

I’ve still got a few kinks to iron out then I can make a more detailed print. I’m confident it would be a functional part when I am done and will certainly put it through it’s paces. It is very comfortable in the hand.

I’m diggin’ it. Anyone else?

April 29, 2018

What’s Up at AR180S.com

I’ll just leave this here.

October 18, 2015

A New AR-180S Upper is in the Works

A new AR-180S Upper

I just wanted to make a quick post to show you some pics of my progress today.

This is the barrel I found at my local gun store after I stripped the front sight base and extension. It is unmarked but I think it might be an Olympic due to the.750″ cast front sight base. I cut it off right behind the gas port.

After a bit of lathe work.

Here it is between my first shorty and a full size 180B.

Shown here with the original AR-18S lower hand guard.

An finally, a shot from the front showing the barrel profile. I tried to imagine what it would look like if Armalite had released a 180B pistol or SBR version and emulate that.

Still to be done. New OP rod. Drill gas port then parkerize the barrel and flash hider. I also need to make another flash hider and end cap. Maybe I will work on doing these in CAD so they can be reproduced more easily.

September 30, 2015

AR-180B Shorty Project Pt. VIII: The New AR-180S

A quick update on the AR-180B Shorty Project or what I like to call it, the New AR-180S.

I had some time to attend a therapy session in my shop this past weekend and I have to say it was successful.

I have been bothered by the hand guards on this gun from the very beginning and I finally decided to do something about it.

I have tried and failed to make a retainer for the hand guards out of sheet steel like the originals. I’m good with my hands but I am no body man.

I have long thought about machining a retainer from aluminum but a figured in could only be done with CNC, which I don’t have.

I decided that I would throw caution to the wind and try to mill it manually on my mill. Whats the worst that could happen?

For reference, this is the method I am trying to emulate.

My original, and always temporary method, was to take the end of the cut off piece and glue it inside the remaining piece. It has already broken once and was coming loose again.

I started with a piece of 6061 and laid out the shape a needed.

I squared up the sides then drilled out my holes and checked to see if I had my dimensions correct.

I then moved my end mill down to the depth I wanted and followed my layout lines using both knobs at the same time. This is where the therapy came in. It took a lot of concentration but in the end I think I did a pretty good job, if I don’t say so myself.

I made sure it actually fit the hand guards.

I then flipped it over and shaved it down to .035″, the same thickness as the steel retainer.

Then I trimmed up the sides on my porta-band.

And finished up with some flap disc and file work.

A final test fit.

Since I have no way to anodize I shot it with my favorite substitute, Rust-Oleum Dark Grey Primer.

And here she is an all her glory the New AR-180S!

I can’t tell you how much better the hand guards feel. They have always moved a little and never felt secure.

Now they are rock solid.

Fingers crossed that I can get some time this weekend to go shooting. I hasn’t had a round through it since it was a pistol.

August 3, 2015

A Visit to the GunLab – AR-180 Parts

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to visit Chuck at GunLab.net and it was an awesome and overwhelming experience. I wished I had taken the time to take more pictures but I think I was a little in shock at all the cool guns, parts, and equipment. By far the best part of the trip was the company, Chuck and Shirley are two of the nicest folks you could ever have the pleasure of meeting.

We chatted at length about his work on the AR-180 parts he is building. The lower parts that he is making to fit your AR-180B and Nodak NDS-18S lowers were at heat treating and should be back this week. Parkerization and final inspection along with one final operation on the springs will finish this phase. They should be ready to ship very soon.

Next up he is working on uppers. We are hoping to have them available in several configurations from flats to complete uppers with trunnions and rails. He sent me some pictures of his solid model of the stamping die he is building.

Trunnions have also been modeled and those should be coming shortly after the upper sheet metal.

I also gave him one of my original prototype AR-180C railed front sight bases and I am hoping that we can get a few of those made.

The AR-180C flat top might become a reality after all!

Finally yours truly with the only picture from my visit, holding an MP-44 for the very first time. I find it astonishing that they were able to crank these out in the numbers they did, with allied bombs dropping all around them, and that the complexity of manufacture I see in this gun was actually a time saver compared to older weapons.

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