I had a piece of pine (I think) left over from fence building to keep out the cattle, and I thought it would be entertaining to square with the mill. Not surprisingly, and end mill that cuts through aluminum just slashes through pine even at high feed rates and large cutting depths. The result is better than I was expecting. But remember in the Middle Ages, large gears were made from tree trunks, making up in bulk what wood lacks in tensile strength.
You know there are traditionalists who insist that black rifles are ugly and only black walnut or birch should be used for stocks. I sudddenly find myself imagining machining AR-15 receivers from oak, just to annoy the "black rifles are ugly" crowd. I suspect machined oak would not be up to the stresses.
I seem to recall someone building an AR lower out of pine, which of course cracked at the pins. A tougher wood with some reinforcement (shiny brass, perhaps?) would probably work OK. Maybe hickory.
ReplyDeleteThink Laminate instead.
ReplyDeleteHere is some inspiration for you, at least for the wooden parts.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/05/potd-copper-plated-ar-15-built-scratch/