Daniel Defense Pivot Pin Hole honed out: Problem or not?

[Eurodriver]

1) The black dye can be removed without removing the anodizing
2) The only way to know for certain is to shoot the gun until you find out
3) You're never going to be happy with any of your choices until you deal with your analysis paralysis, accept the fact nothing is perfect and that good enough really is good enough

#3 holy shit. Mist coming in with the truth bombs.

This is why I’d never be in retail. Imagine You’re having a good day and customers are telling you about how they’ve run your guns hard and they always work.

Then this dude comes in wearing his fedora and points out a microscopic anodizing issue inside the pivot pin hole.

I wouldn’t know whether to laugh or kill myself.

[GH41]

#3 holy shit. Mist coming in with the truth bombs.

This is why I’d never be in retail. Imagine You’re having a good day and customers are telling you about how they’ve run your guns hard and they always work.

Then this dude comes in wearing his fedora and points out a microscopic anodizing issue inside the pivot pin hole.

I wouldn’t know whether to laugh or kill myself.

Hope he doesn't see mark the charging handle latch is making on the receiver!

[Blankstrap]

Does your DD have this too?

I suppose high round count is “the more the better”, and 6k rounds isn’t what I’d consider a high count, but it’s a start. I’m just curious if it causes any shorter of a service life (particularly for the lower).

(And yes, I will fully admit I miss the rifle and want reassurance that it’s all fine so I can replace it.)

After seeing this phenomenon on many DD rifles since then, and comparing that “issue” to other issues I’ve seen on factory rifles of reputable manufacture, it has caused me to reconsider.

ETA: the last time this was brought up in a thread started by someone else, it was the user Sry0fcr that was convinced that it was unacceptable and not according to proper QC protocol (allegedly he works in that type of business). Here's the thread:

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...-Defense-upper

I'm about a week out from my DD being at hand; I don't recall the pin holes "honed" as described in the thread you linked or looking like the pics included, but fact is everything works on the rifle and being such I never looked at the little things that closely -- a statement that serves as a suggestion.

What the DD did come with vis-a-vis pin holes was a front one tight (or slightly out of spec) enough that it needs a punch for takedown; ran the pin a thousand times and it's still sphincter tight; it's a shrug to me -- perhaps I could use a honed one.

What Sry0fcr makes clear in the linked thread is that he doesn't think this is a functional issue -- something he reiterates -- but that it's non-standard and to him indicative of selling factory seconds as firsts, something he dislikes. Whether he's correct or not (about any of it) is unknown, but since you're worried about practical considerations and it's Sry0fcr waving the red flag, even he's saying for your purposes it's a non-issue.

I did just check my BCM (all that's at hand, presently) and it's anodized through the pin holes, for what that is or isn't worth.

3) You're never going to be happy with any of your choices until you deal with your analysis paralysis, accept the fact nothing is perfect and that good enough really is good enough

Well said. This, I think, is OP's most important takeaway here...

[Outlander Systems]

Hey check it out.

If the takedown pin hole was slightly over bored for tolerance stack, and anodized, we’d have the same people bitching about slop in upper to lower fitment; there’s simply no winning.

It’s a lot like the, “Muh gas port is overgassed tho” autistic screeching. If companies make them at the mean to adequately cycle reliably across a buffet of ammunition, you’ll have dudes crying that the brutal recoil of the 5.56 beating them up and spraying them in the face with gas when they perform a niche task like add a suppressor. Conversely, these same dudes will piss and moan about an undergassed rifle not cycling properly.

It’s a no-win game for the manufacturers, short of settling for the law of averages and allowing the end-users without smoothbrains to adapt accordingly.

[Eurodriver]

Remember that guy who put black electrical tape on his brass deflector to avoid marking up his DD?

Is this a Daniel Defense customer thing? Do they attract these kinds of people or is it coincidence?

[Sry0fcr]

What Sry0fcr makes clear in the linked thread is that he doesn't think this is a functional issue -- something he reiterates -- but that it's non-standard and to him indicative of selling factory seconds as firsts, something he dislikes. Whether he's correct or not (about any of it) is unknown, but since you're worried about practical considerations and it's Sry0fcr waving the red flag, even he's saying for your purposes it's a non-issue.

I stand by my previous statements. Although I'll concede that it may not be reworked parts, but part of a poor process for ensuring a tight upper/lower fit insofar as there's no good manufacturing reason to remove material after coating unless you're reworking the parts to bring them back into dimensional tolerance or... you're just too lazy/incompetent to match receivers and maintain traceability prior to anodizing. In my experience, it's probably not the only area they're cutting corners on speaking as a guy whose job it was to find the cut corners (auditor) and also the guy that helped cover them up (consultant).

[Eurodriver]

[RobertTheTexan]

Hope he doesn't see mark the charging handle latch is making on the receiver!

What?!?! That's bad?? OH MY GAAWWWWWDDD!!! I'm going to send all my uppers back!! I wouldn't doubt that somewhere, probably many somewheres' people have returned rifles to gun stores or called the CS hotline for that and other non-issue issues. The real issue I think is that people just don't know. They invest in a rifle and find some minor imperfection or maybe it's just how the manufacturing process makes something and it doesn't look "right" or like their buddies rifle and then it becomes an issue. God forbid they travel over to Larpdom aka arfcom and ask there. Or as time goes on, ask here. Sometimes there's not a huge delta between the two. Hope your new year is off to a good start!

[SouthwestAviator]

I stand by my previous statements. Although I'll concede that it may not be reworked parts, but part of a poor process for ensuring a tight upper/lower fit insofar as there's no good manufacturing reason to remove material after coating unless you're reworking the parts to bring them back into dimensional tolerance or... you're just too lazy/incompetent to match receivers and maintain traceability prior to anodizing. In my experience, it's probably not the only area they're cutting corners on speaking as a guy whose job it was to find the cut corners (auditor) and also the guy that helped cover them up (consultant).

Do you also stand by your previous statement that it isn’t and won’t be a functional issue?

[Sry0fcr]

Do you also stand by your previous statement that it isn’t and won’t be a functional issue?

Engineering and manufacturing could probably talk me into a "Fit for purpose" deviation request.