I was looking at my frame and parts today, and realized that the may release button is stepped.
I looked on the plans i have, but they show to hole as one all the way through. Do I have to drill for the small step (the button part that you push) and counter bore for the rest?
Yes, it is a stepped hole and the step is very short. I missed it and drilled through. I turned up a short, thin sleeve and Loc-Tited it in. It has held so far, if it gives problems, I will soft solder it in place. I did find the detail on the print, but it was pretty obscure.
I ground a boring bar with a very narrow tip and set it at 5/16" diameter and used that to cut the groove for the tab on the mag release retainer.
That's a good idea! I tried grinding down an old broken endmill to be like a makeshift keyseat cutter. I'll test it on some scrap to see if it works. Boring bar set is next on my list, so is a lathe, and ammo, and metal bandsaw, and... the list goes on