Seems a little pricey to me. UMMV....

 

Oh definitely a little too pricey for me too. I've already dropped as much into this pistol build as I can get away with. Any more and I risk the wrath of the better half.

 

Could they have made the bar code any bigger?

 

I wonder why they made it a 2pc. frame Instead of a 1pc. frame like the MKIV series stainless and aluminum frames. That aluminum MKIV is the cats meow to me. You either have to forfeit a lower or buy a bunch of parts at individual prices to complete the lower. You loose the quick take down ability most likely to avoid any of Rugers pattens. Would be more interesting if they sold completed lowers as Volquartsen dose.

 

I wonder why they made it a 2pc. frame Instead of a 1pc. frame like the MKIV series stainless and aluminum frames...

The Tandemkross Kraken is made in two pieces for one reason only, which is the same reason Kel-Tec makes everything in two pieces; for ease of manufacturing.

After reading the information below on the Tandemkross website and in their *.pdf installation file regarding the Kraken, I'm a bit suspect:

"This lower will also host practically all stock and aftermarket and factory uppers for the Ruger® Mark IV™ and Mark IV™ 22/45™."

"...practically all..."?



And then there's a "barrel lock set screw" (#10?) that you tighten to secure your upper receiver to this lower, that if you mistakedly back out all the way "...you may have to disassemble the entire lower receiver to get the screw back into the correct orientation."

??

It all sounds waaaaaaay too cheezy for me; hard pass.

 

Yeah, losing the one button take down ability is a bummer. Probably done to avoid patent infringement?

 

I looked and couldn’t find a sear pin for sale anywhere

 

I have some spare uppers so I was ready to buy one until I realized the difficulty in finding the parts to complete the lower.

 

Good point. I guess the idea is that you're supposed to cannibalize an existing complete lower for the parts.

 

I really don't care for the squared off front of the trigger guard. Just a style issue.

 

Particularly the front barrel lug and bolt stop pin. The action parts are no problem.

 

I want to build one as a second lower but would like to be able to buy all the parts needed in one shot. even if they were all ruger parts I could upgrade the trigger,hammer and sear.

 

I suspect you could order all the OEM parts you want directly from Ruger. Give the nice fold in their service department a call and let us know how it went.....

 

Mine was ordered on Friday, as I am impatient. Lol. I did a little write-up here, and some of you may want to follow that once it gets updated. I agree that stuffing that full or parts isn't going to be cheap. But I have a spare upper, and have replaced most of the internals on all three of my Mark IV pistols, so plenty of spares lying around. My plan is to transfer parts from one of my current pistols to the Kraken, then use as many spares as I can to put my stripped OEM lower back together. I'll document part sources and prices as I go.

Admittedly, it's not going to make as much sense for the casual builder. But for a competition gun, or someone who's not concerned about cost, it's a great option.

 

I emailed them to ask what "practically all" meant. They responded that all TK parts will install and function in the Kraken. The wording was probably their way to absolve themselves of any blame if a 3rd party aftermarket upper were designed in such as way that it wouldn't fit on their lower.

 

I'll test it with a Pac-Lite. That's all I have that isn't Ruger.

 

Parts List

Does anyone have a detailed parts list and supplier to put together a Kraken lower from scratch without a diner gun? Are there any parts which cannot be procured from aftermarket sources or Ruger?
Thanks.

 

Sometimes Ruger won’t just sell you new parts without installing them inhouse in which case isn’t going to happen with a after market lower.

 

Sometimes Ruger won't just sell you new parts without installing them inhouse in which case isn't going to happen with a after market lower.

Maybe things like rifle bolts, but I have ordered plenty of small parts from them without issue. And without cost.

 

So they updated their site to say they won't ship this internationally as they consider it to be a frame. So looks like I am SOL.

 

Well, it took about an hour of taking my time, and making a few mistakes, as I had some aftermarket parts which affected the order of how things went together. But it really was easy. I need to do a full write-up, and get prices on some parts. Below is my finished Mark IV. Understandably, not everyone is going to be a fan of the red. But I always go with the red, as it stands out nicely in photos, and is a conversation starter at the range. Any part in red on this pistol is also available in black.

 

Well, it took about an hour of taking my time, and making a few mistakes, as I had some aftermarket parts which affected the order of how things went together. But it really was easy. I need to do a full write-up, and get prices on some parts. Below is my finished Mark IV. Understandably, not everyone is going to be a fan of the red. But I always go with the red, as it stands out nicely in photos, and is a conversation starter at the range. Any part in red on this pistol is also available in black.

[/QUOTE

Look forward to a detailed assembly description and maybe a video?😀

Their website already has great instructions, so I didn't bother rewriting them. It really was a breeze though. And no video, I'm just not set up for the editing part. Check my site tomorrow for the article. I'm happy to answer any questions here though.

 

Nice!

 

Well, it took about an hour of taking my time, and making a few mistakes, as I had some aftermarket parts which affected the order of how things went together. But it really was easy. I need to do a full write-up, and get prices on some parts. Below is my finished Mark IV. Understandably, not everyone is going to be a fan of the red. But I always go with the red, as it stands out nicely in photos, and is a conversation starter at the range. Any part in red on this pistol is also available in black.

[/QUOTE

Look forward to a detailed assembly description and maybe a video?😀

 

nice looking frame. I too am looking into a build list as I have been Fudding around with the MKIIs exclusively.

 

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Certainly doesn't fall into the KISS category now dose it. Angelina Jolie should of used a pair of these in Tomb Raider.

 

I guess I never posted a link to my article. So here it is. Still haven't gotten a list of parts and prices from Ruger, as I've been a bit busy.

 

Excellent write up. Thanks for all the work and it looks like the Kraken would be a great investment for the competition shooter or the guy that just wants something special.

 

I got an email from Tandemkross today, the Kraken is back instock. Plus 10% off for the 4th of July and if you buy a Kraken Tshirt you save $15 more off. I was wondering if anyone had built one without buying a donor pistol? Will Ruger sell you all the parts you need for the built?

 

There are critical parts Ruger will not sell you.

 

The Kraken complete kit

It is now available from Tandemkross. I ordered one today and got free shipping.
No donor lower is required.

 

So, here's an article about their new Build Your Own Kraken kit, which doesn't require a donor.

But that's not the big news. I had my stripped lower, and since I had upgraded all three of my Mark IV pistols, had plenty of spare parts. That included the hammer, trigger, safety, mag release, bolt lock, and other internal bits. All that was missing was the parts that Ruger doesn't sell. I sent the whole pile in to Ruger, and they received it on Monday. When I had called, they told me that they were a week or two behind on repairs, so I wasn't expecting to hear from them for a while. Well, today in my mailbox was a box from Ruger. They assembled my lower with my parts, along with whatever was missing, and shipped it back. At no charge. Granted, not a lot of parts were missing, but I wasn't expecting them to just give away the parts and labor. So yeah, I have four Mark IV pistols now.

 

I had bought a Mark IV to build a Kraken only to have Tandemkross release the BYOK kit about three weeks later. I sold the Mark IV and built the Kraken with the BYOK. Took a little loss of course. Very satisfied with the custom build thus far.

 

I had bought a Mark IV to build a Kraken only to have Tandemkross release the BYOK kit about three weeks later. I sold the Mark IV and built the Kraken with the BYOK. Took a little loss of course. Very satisfied with the custom build thus far.

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Nice build! The green looks lighter than what Tandemcross has on there web site How about a couple more pictures?