Axis 223 15rd mag DIY

[rick3]

Well, that was a dismal failure; picked up a "speciality" drill bit, "designed for stainless steel"...yeah, right, no different than any of the other bits that have failed to bite into this thing.

OK, now seriously, anyone want to make a few bucks by drilling this mag body for me? I'm not willing to give up on this, but I'm out of ideas. I'll even pay shipping both ways. and $5 for a single hole drilled. Anyone?

[nathantc]

thats insane, not sure why your having such a hard time, give a local gunsmith a ring and see if he has any insight on it

[nathantc]

this is true, but i just had to try for myself with the mag that came with the rifle, had i messed it up i would have just payed for one already done but i knew i could do it

[nathantc]

I put one together during the cold snap we had a week ago.

It functions fine but I must admit it was not the easiest project I have attempted, and I build Kentucky rifles from scratch so I am no stranger to making things go together.

Also, the Savage mag you take apart and hollow out the floor plate of is an expensive item at $35-$50.

my last post was about this one, sorry wrong button ... i feel dumb
For those with five thumbs and power tool challenged the purchase of a finished mag at $80 is not really that extreme.

The Savage mag is $30 and the hi-cap mag you sacrifice is $10-$30. You can trash $40-$60 with one wrong move.

http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/o771/Mortblanc/DSCF1289_zpsa8d08400.jpg (http://s1342.photobucket.com/user/Mortblanc/media/DSCF1289_zpsa8d08400.jpg.html)

that last post was about this, sorry hit the wrong button

[Toney]

You might try heating the spots your wanting to drill with a propane torch.

[rick3]

You might try heating the spots your wanting to drill with a propane torch.

If I understand that correctly, that will soften the metal by "annealing" it? Will that work with stainless steel?

[rick3]

After doing LOTS of searching about drilling stainless steel, I found these statements:

"just apply alot of pressure and pulse the drill so it never gets hot if stainless gets hot it will crystalize and you will never drill a hole in it."
I think this is probably what happened with the first set of bits I tried (the steel got too hot and crystalized), and that ruined my chances for drilling with the other bits.

"I Needed to drill some stainless steel, hi quality restaurant grade. So before I burned a dozen bits, called a friend that does iron work. Neat tip. Take a center punch, and grind it on 4 points, like a pyramid, then make the starting point. The bit will cut better then just the normal "dimple" made be a normal center punch. If the bit starts to run dry (as in not cut), dimple again with the punch. I tried it tonight and drilled 24 holes in a 3/16 plate with the same bit with out sharpening once. This was with a hand drill, not a drill press."
This is what I'm going to try next.

If that doesn't work...well, I don't want to pay someone $30 to drill a couple of holes, so I'll probably just forget the whole thing...I'm just out the cost of the G3 mag ($8 if I remember right), and the cost of the various drill bits (maybe another $40), which I can probably use for drilling other materials, just not steel...

[rlwhitejr]

Do you know if the Axis mag works in the model 11vt?

[nathantc]

Do you know if the Axis mag works in the model 11vt?
the axis mag is not the same as a standard mag, the floor plate is much different

[DrThunder88]

But there are Model 11s that use Axis-style mags. If the 11VT magazine has a plastic tab on the floorplate, then it is the same as an Axis magazine. Based on this (http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?32930-Many-questions-about-a-model-11vt-stock-swap&p=255107&viewfull=1#post255107), they are the same.

[monoxide]

thanks, found my next project for my new axis 223.

[Elsifer]

After doing LOTS of searching about drilling stainless steel, I found these statements:

"just apply alot of pressure and pulse the drill so it never gets hot if stainless gets hot it will crystalize and you will never drill a hole in it."
I think this is probably what happened with the first set of bits I tried (the steel got too hot and crystalized), and that ruined my chances for drilling with the other bits.

"I Needed to drill some stainless steel, hi quality restaurant grade. So before I burned a dozen bits, called a friend that does iron work. Neat tip. Take a center punch, and grind it on 4 points, like a pyramid, then make the starting point. The bit will cut better then just the normal "dimple" made be a normal center punch. If the bit starts to run dry (as in not cut), dimple again with the punch. I tried it tonight and drilled 24 holes in a 3/16 plate with the same bit with out sharpening once. This was with a hand drill, not a drill press."
This is what I'm going to try next.

If that doesn't work...well, I don't want to pay someone $30 to drill a couple of holes, so I'll probably just forget the whole thing...I'm just out the cost of the G3 mag ($8 if I remember right), and the cost of the various drill bits (maybe another $40), which I can probably use for drilling other materials, just not steel...
You need some sort of lubrication for drilling holes in stainless steels.

Thread cutting oil, band saw water soluble, heck even motor oil. Something to lubricate the cutting edge of the drill bit, plus to help wick away the heat generated.

You can do it with a hand drill, just be ready for when you punch thru, the bit will catch and spin the drill. Ease up on the downward pressure as the bit starts to open the bottom hole. With practice you can hear, and feel it on the drill and the press.

[ohihunter2014]

OP would you mind putting the pics up using something other than photobucket?

[nathantc]

not really active here anymore, and sorry dont have the photo's on my PC anymore nore the rifle.

[ohihunter2014]

not really active here anymore, and sorry dont have the photo's on my PC anymore nore the rifle.

One more question if ya don't mind.

After doing this mod was there any issues feeding, etc with the mag? I'm considering doing this but don't want to get into a mess.

[nathantc]

getting the two mag bodies matted is the ez part. getting a follower modded to working in both mag bodies, and then feed at the right angle was a bit tricky. if you have a basic understanding of how the rifle functions and mechanical ability you should be fine.

now that said i never had one feed issue out of that set up. my dad now has that mag i made. when i sold my rifle i sold it with his stock mag. he also has never had any issue at all. i have a youtube video of it feeding all 15 rounds flawlessly after it was made https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TR97bvqCqM

[ExLaxOverdose]

https://i.imgur.com/XMuYieS.jpg

After finding this thread months ago, I finally got the mags needed to try it. It took a while, but I used a new Savage 55230 mag and a ten round m3 Pmag to make mine. I cut the feed lips off of the Pmag at the mold line and it fit nicely against the step in the Savage mag. Drilled holes through the rectangles into the pmag and found finishing nails to fit with a little friction. Cut the nails to guessed length and ground down the heads flush with the metal body. Trimming the follower was pretty simple and no spring cutting needed. My biggest challenge was getting the hollowed out floor plate back on the Savage body. I ended up grinding half of the tabs in the old floor plate and easing it into place. The rear of the Pmag follower hit the Savage spacer and needed to be filed to feed past 5. Cycled all 15 twice, but haven't fired with it yet.

It's solid, but I doubt it will hold up to many drops. The next one I make will be all metal and welded.

I also wanted to thank you for sharing this idea. It was a fun project.

[nathantc]

glad i could help someone else out, i also enjoy building things. hope you enjoy it as i'm sure you will.

[Nub Hippie]

I've been looking for someone that did this with a 10 round magazine! I live in a state where that's all you can buy, in fact I've never even held an AR so my knowledge of 5.56 mags is limited however having a 4 round mag sucks ass even in a bolt rifle. All the AR style magazines have what appears to be a catch hole and a risen stop point right below that. what did you do about the open hole and the risen stopper sticking out? are they hidden under the steel part of the savage magazine? Also may I see what your trimmed follower looks like please?

Also I like the idea of welding a steel one but that seems like a whole new set of challenges such as:
-Will a steel mag fit inside the savage mag like the polymer ones do?
-If the steel mag won't fit inside and you need to weld the 2 together flush, will the follower work between the 2 mag bodies?

I like the simplicity of pushing the polymer mags all the way through to the feed lip but if anyone that has access to lots of mags wanted to use a micrometer and mic a few brands out to see if the steel ones will fit inside the savage models it would be greatly appreciated, Steel models that look most promising are:
-C Products Defense 10-round .223
-ProMag Rug09 10 round .223
-Colt CPD 10 round .223

[ExLaxOverdose]

That hole and bump is the mag catch point. I didn't have to do anything with the Pmag and I assume the metal mag would be no different. https://i.imgur.com/PNGk7uP.jpg

Here's the follower. I pushed it up until it hit something in the Savage body, lightly grinded until it fit and tested fitment. I think a total of eight areas needed to be touched to get it to fit where the Savage mag becomes single feed. Honestly the easiest part of the whole build.
https://i.imgur.com/bWAduzn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VGzfIRa.jpg

I bought two C Products Defense ten rounders to originally try this forced marriage of mags, but it was not fitting inside the Savage stepped area without serious grinding through the front corners of the AR mag. I will revisit it with a Ruger Mini 14 mag, but I cannot find one in stainless yet. The weld is going to be difficult enough, I'd rather not add dissimilar metals to the mess as well.