...

[bud]

. Edited August 5, 2015 by bud

[LawEnforcementSalesTN]

You filed a form 1 to "make" a title 2 firearm.. you then become the maker.. in your eyes you're just assembling the thing but the receiver is actually making a beautiful tranformation ... kinda like when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly ;o)

 

You can choose to use any engraving that's already there and we often do .. serial, make, model, caliber,etc.. but you could in turn create a whole new serial # as well.

 

You'll find a lot in this arena doesn't make much sense.  Come in and drink the kool-aid though\

 

And coming from a 07/02 who's been dabbling in NFA for almost 30 years now, you ARE required to engrave your information.  There are even ATF agents that will tell you differently but as a manuf in the industry that IS the requirements.  Now I've never seen anyone get in trouble for omitting this solely, it has been applied several times as tack on charges... if they're after you they're going to look at anything they can .. but yeah I've had the folks come in and argue until they're blue in the face it's not necessary because they read it on this board or that board.

Edited January 9, 2015 by LawEnforcementSalesTN

[bud]

. Edited August 5, 2015 by bud

[LawEnforcementSalesTN]

Yep It never dies Bud :o)

Yes you can engrave anything you want on your receiver now such as long as you don't destroy the current required markings.

I engrave a lot of receivers. Many before the stamp comes back, some wait but it's up to you. Many like having it done and ready so as soon as they get approval they're ready to slap their parts on.

[TGO David]

Michael is spot on here.  Go ahead and engrave it now.  It'll save you the headache and hassle of doing it later.  If he's set up to do the engravings, by all means let him help you with that too.  :)

 

And you are correct, none of what the BATFE does makes a whole heck of a lot of sense.

[Dustbuster]

I'll give you my engravers number if you want, she's rough but good!

[LawEnforcementSalesTN]

Bet hers will go much deeper than the .003 requirement ;o)  One could be so lucky

[bud]

. Edited August 5, 2015 by bud

[btq96r]

Go ahead and engrave it now.  It'll save you the headache and hassle of doing it later.

 

I wish I had done what David suggests.  Reference my disappointment here.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Doing it before submitting keeps you from the hassle of getting a $200 refund on an approved lower. You can get a refund for any NFA item that has not been completed but you money is tied up for several months.

You can engrave a lower with anything you want as long as it doesn't obliterate factory markings. And if you do it before it gets approved then you can drop it off for a regular FFL to do it. After approved it can only bf left with a dealer who is leave as to handle NFA items. Anyone, even non licensees, can engrave while you wait.

I had just the opposite problem when I had my AK engraved. The engraver did the lettering 1/16" high which makes it nearly impossible to read. He also did it in some dirt of artsy, fartsy cursive type font which makes it impossible to read. At least it is so small most people would never be able to see it.

LE Sales has a very nice setup. And although he has never engraved anything for me I will say everything else he has done for me has been perfect so I would expect his engraving to be nothing less than perfect.

[LawEnforcementSalesTN]

Bud, I appreciate that as I'm sure all of us TN vendors do. 

 

I use a sping loaded engraving tool on my big HAAS Verticle Milling Machine (VMC).  Not sure what Orion is using now.  I believe back in the day they had an old school pantograph style engraver (hand).  Some use a laser engraver which does the absolute best on sharpnest but unless you have one of the higher end machines, the lasers don't go hardly to any depth, 

 

I will never put myself in the same class as Ryan at Orion though.. he's an engraver by trade and the guy does an awesome job and I know he's been doing things for many years as he did a few SBRs for me well over 15 years ago. 

 

I can engrave about anywhere we can. Flat surfaces are prefered and do the best (side or front of magwell, fire control area, trigger guard, etc.). The spring loaded tool will accommodate for non-flat surfaces (to an extent) but I do not do 4 axis engraving which is more consistent across a significant arc such as a barrel.  If you can imagine cutting an uneven surface with a horizontal tool path, your high spots are going to normally be deeper than the low...

 

Note I do not engrave very deep.  NFA requirements are .003 which is about the thickness of a sheet of copy paper.  I set my machine to run around .03-04, plenty deep enough but I don't normally engrave as deep as factory does. For starters, many manufacturers use stamping machines rather than engraving.  I've found the .03 mark is a sweet spot with the bits I use before they start hitting the wider part of the cutter and the thickness of the letters start to grow.

 

But I'd say I easily do 5-7/month consistently and have so for several years. I feel very fortunate I have never had anyone disappointed or at least that has gotten back to me.  Those that know me know your satisfaction is my utmost goal and I'll do what I can to make things right for ya.

 

If you want PM me your trust name and type of receiver you have and I can give ya some recommendations/confirmations.

 

Thx!

 

Dolomite, thanks for the kind words.  I got my care package you sent. Got a chuckle at my wife wonder what exactly it was you'd sent ;o) Much appreciated my friend!

Edited January 10, 2015 by LawEnforcementSalesTN

[Dolomite_supafly]

I actually had someone recommend a $500 laser engraver for engraving weapons. I will do a lot more research before buying it but I think it would be a nice to have because setup and use is so much easier with a laser engraver.

[LawEnforcementSalesTN]

You da research man Gordon ;o) ... I've seen a few of the $4-$10K range lasers and they seem great for etching dog tags, knives, etc.... and do a fantastic job .. it's the depth I think you need to really check in on... Now I don't read and research 1/50th of what you do but I've had several engravers and manufactureres tell me it takes a good $30k-$40k laser to do a deep etch.  These were not laser salespeople so I didn't see any immediate need to doubt them.. My factory post sample HK 416 is so shallow I've held off refinishing it to FDE b/c I know I'm going to lose the markings.  Spikes use to make my lowers for me several years ago and the laser engraving they did was some of the best I've seen but again a good bead blast and it's gone or dang near so faint I'd think cerakote would bleed over it.  It worked for me as my receivers were black and the white laser etching looked great.

 

I'm am not remotely a laser expert but have read and seen several pushed in this direction.  For me it just wasn't finanically prudent for me to spend that kind of money .. Heck I already have a $40k machine that does more engraving than anything else but that's my own fault ;o) 

 

I'm sure someone on here has a desktop laser and can probably speak to it's capabilities. Different materials of course will be a big factor but the wattage has to be high enough hense the cost.  Most of the CO2 lasers will barely etch the anodizing and from what I've seen it's not a matter of simply going over it 100 times... they reach a depth and that's it.  But again, everyone's individual due dillegence is recommended.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Yeah, the more I looked into it the more I realized he was probably joking.

 

If I were to get any engraver it would be a pneumatic one that Long Range Precision uses. It has such a fine dpi rate that you cannot tell it is engraved like a dot matrix printer. It also does very well on rounded surfaces like tubes. He does 1" tubes and they look great. You can also control the depth with air pressure so there is no need to make multiple passes. And because the parts are held in place for like 15 seconds they can be held in place by hand and do not require fixtures. My titanium tube is engraved to ~.012-~.015" deep and looks great. My lower is not as deep but looks great other than the anodizing getting chipped out but that is not his, or the engraver's, fault. He said it cost him $10K but I bet you can find useable ones for cheaper.

[bud]

. Edited August 5, 2015 by bud

[bud]

. Edited August 5, 2015 by bud

[whitewolf001]

Bet hers will go much deeper than the .003 requirement ;o)  One could be so lucky

Edited January 17, 2015 by whitewolf001