Well, I’m frugal AF. I don’t gamble unless I know how I can win, never owned a car newer than 7 years,
and I can hunker down and wait for a good deal…it’s just right now I’m idle, it’s too cold to work on my cars, all my video games bore me to death, and I’m itching to learn a new skill set so my brain just keeps bouncing around “Buy a new pew!” and “we can’t afford that just buy some parts for what you have” and “If you build it…”
The reality of owning an AR is that you will eventually end up with all the tools anyway.
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Just like cars. People asked me why I dont take my cars in to be worked on and my answer is the same as why I dont buy cars from dealerships. They bought in at half as much to sell me at double the cost.
I might as well buy my own parts and do my own work. If Ihad a lathe Id probably make my own parts lol.
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I found out it is cheaper to buy complete uppers when on sale. Same with stripped lowers and lower build kits.
Also I can put the trigger in I want and get a kit that does not have one.
Only one of my lowers was complete the ready I built. Lowers were the exact opposite only built one, rest were complete.
The one that assembled (built) does give me the satisfaction when someone asked who built that I can say I assembled it.
At one time I was 45 min from an PSA store so I had no shipping costs.
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Free shipping does help a lot.
I just don’t know if I’m getting everything I need when buying kits, like I recognize this kit has a good value at this price
https://palmettostatearmory.com/cmmg-ar-15-lower-springs-and-pins-kit-55aff75.html?qty=1
but what else is needed?
is it better/more cost effective to buy something like this?
https://palmettostatearmory.com/anderson-manufacturing-lower-parts-kit-black-comprehensive-and-reliable-parts-kit-g2-k421-d000-0p.html
or to get the PSA kit and a trigger?
Study that Word document that @1911 (Greg) posted until you can answer that question yourself.
I’m trying, lots of little parts, lots of parts that look the same…I’m tactile, need to muck about with something like that hands on to start memorizing it, and I’m also trying to memorize the process of replacing my intake manifold because there’s snow on the ground, it’s gonna be -25 degrees F tonight, and I’ve been known to drops my share of bolts into places that have tiny black holes that eat nuts and bolts…or onto the ground , trying not to confuse the two’s parts and processes and typing out my questions and talking about options helps with that more than going back and forth looking at photos of small parts that I don’t have in hand and the myriad of options for kits. It’s my process. In the mean time I AM learning.
I’ve decided to start by upgrading my current ar’s trigger with a drop in single stage, by the time that’s paid off the car note will be too, and then I will have most of my questions answered by process and will have narrowed down more of what I want to build.
You need at least 10 each of all of your lower detents, springs and roll pins. YOU WILL LOOSE THESE PARTS IT IS INEVITABLE!!! You will drop one into a black hole never to be seen again. In the process of putting a lower together there are several things that if you don’t do it exactly right small parts will fly across the room never to be seen again. Maybe months later it might show up or your wife asks you what is it that she has in her hand. Ask me how I know all these things. I will post a pic. The pic has one roll pin cut in half but you need it also. Buy enough to build 10 lowers and always keep spares. These pieces are relatively cheap so why not keep extras on hand.
I don’t buy kits because I don’t use half the parts that come standard in a parts kit. I don’t use the standard: trigger guard, trigger components, mag release, bolt release, safety and pistol grip. I replace these parts with upgraded parts that I personally know that works for me. I always build all my AR ambidextrous because my wife and I are both left handed and everyone else in my family is right handed. Hope this gets you started.
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This is true. I used to buy KAK spring and pin kits just because it was cheap spares.
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@GuitarGuy is right and nothing will make you madder than to be in the middle of a build and you loose a part and can’t find it. So here you are dead in the water until you get replacements unless you have spares on hand. I learned the hard way not to make that mistake.
This is another good thing about building your own is you know everything about it and how to fix whatever goes wrong with it.
I never buy off of the shelf AR simply because I don’t like paying for parts that I wouldn’t use and I don’t want to pay twice to get the part that I wanted to start with. There isn’t anything wrong with off of the shelf AR if you never plan on upgrading anything. That is at least until you shoot someone else’s custom built AR with the nicer components then you will be upgrading from stock parts.
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Weather alert:
Nowhere in the contiguous 48 is forecast to -25.
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The first AR I built, I did the cardboard box method where if a detent or spring drops/shoots off, the cardboard box catches it. Turns out, the spring has enough force to shoot off, hit the cardboard box with enough force, and ricochet to another dimension. I’m assuming the vacuum has claimed my missing parts because I sure could not find it on my hands and knees.
The extra parts is by far, the best piece of advice you can get. No matter how many you build, you will always have an OOPS moment and off she goes to another dimension to join other lost parts.
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Amen to that. The spare parts build that I just did I had it happen twice. I don’t even look for them anymore I just grab another one out of my parts box. Eventually I run a magnet over the floor and I can find a few every once and awhile.
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You forget Alaska… Hehe I am sorry I couldn’t help myself. Hopefully Greenland also if 47 gets his way.
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Love God. Love people.
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Yeah, Murphy has a way of popping his head up when deal with small parts under tension lol, I had to buy replacement clips when I replaced my dust cover, and I lost like 5 of the replacements in the process lol they’re somewhere in the spaces between my flooring I’m sure of it.
Forgive me for including the windchil 
yeah, my when I first took down my .22 I had a spring fly off, saw it strike the ceiling, heard it hit a wall, heard it fall on the floor in 2 different places, found it with the firing pin still nuzzled inside it (I get lucky sometimes). reassembled the .22, 2 months later I found the other spring I didn’t know existed sitting right in a gap between planks just big enough to hide it…learning curves.
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Buy the lower, then you will work OT til you can afford the upper. 
I won a tactical scope, then had to buy a whole new rifle to put it on. 
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