After plenty of considerations about how my first run of these releases went I have finally completed a second round. I had a fair amount of displeasure from the first run for several reasons, but in the end our shop's goal is to give the customers what they want. We have gotten so many emails about these it has been incredible. There are a few things that need to be addressed so this thread will be a bit long.
Revisions to designThose who paid attention know that there was an initial fitment issue with the first round of these releases. The relief radius was a bit too long and caused it to bottom out before completely releasing the mag. This issue was addressed as quickly as possible and as far as I know all releases needing additional milling have been done. In the event that there are still any in the field that require the fix it will be a lifetime offer to the original purchaser, so no one will be stuck. We stand behind our products 100%.
As can be seen in the side by side photo with an original release, the back radius was removed and now perfectly matches the factory dimension.
We also addressed the width of our slots to widen them a bit. The initial design matched the factory model exactly, but as the release is extended there is a bit of left to right wiggle that becomes more noticeable as the length increases. The added width tightens the wiggle up a bit while still having plenty of room to fit properly. We also had some custom carbide tooling ground to our specs for a cleaner looking slot and flawless piece to piece reliability. We built a new press fixture for the pin installation to make for zero tolerance depths and perpendicularity as well. The programs were tuned for maximum surface finish quality for the best part that can be manufactured by anyone at any price point.
Availability of productAs with any of our products we will occasionally have a lapse in inventory. Sometimes material is on back order, occasionally we just forget to order it, and sometimes we are just so busy we can't replenish a particular item for a small window of time. When things function properly, these releases will be a full time inventory item that will be available endlessly. If you are reading this then I would suggest emailing me at eegould@vermontcnc.com if you would like one rather than buy one from our etsy or ebay store. We have to mark them up on the other sites due to their fees. We will be offering a small discount to members here so it will be cheaper for all of us to just contact me directly.
PricingAfter some soul searching following the last parts run of these releases the price will be going up. I will not go into specific details, and I appreciate that no one else will either, but the first run had an unfortunate complication that forces me to do something I would otherwise not do, and feel awful having to. In an attempt to avoid a repeat of the opportunist mentality that took advantage of my generosity to the community I will be bumping these to $40 each with a limit of 2 total per buyer. The price hike is still well below the cost of the next closest similar item, and my releases are second to none in quality. The limit on quantity is to hopefully avoid sales abuse of my product by others looking to profit off from my efforts.
THERE WILL BE NO ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION ABOUT DETAILS OF WHAT CAUSED THIS IN THE PUBLIC FORUM. USE THE PM FUNCTION IF YOU MUST. THANK YOU.Survivors SKS forum discountAlthough it may seem redundant listing the price and then offering a forum discount, there is a reason. I am not in a position at this time to give a large discount, but for any member that has either 50 posts or has been a member for over 12 months, I will offer free shipping within the US. For Canadian buyers meeting the requirements it will be a $5 flat fee. This may or may not seem like a deal to you, but at this time that is the best I can do. I am not a member of any other forums, and I will only be selling these here. I chose to join this community long ago for a reason.
Closing thoughtsI believe I have said everything I need to say. In the event that you have a question or comment, feel free to PM or email me. I will leave you with a pic of one of the releases installed on my in process SKS build. Thanks for reading.
