A/R Tooling?

[charliepapa]

please recommend vise blocks for upper and lower receivers as well as anything else you consider a necessity for building/maintaining those rifles.

 

[Jim's Firearms]

Give Scott a call at the store. He can give you some good recomendations

 

[Gilbee]

please recommend vise blocks for upper and lower receivers as well as anything else you consider a necessity for building/maintaining those rifles.

It's really a matter of how far you want to go, and how much you want to spend/improvise…

You CAN build a basic lower with nothing but hand tools, don't even need a vice…you don't need the purpose built stuff to assemble a lower, but from what I've seen some tools would make the job easier/less tedious; for example, the bolt catch release roll pin punch brownells sells looks like it would make the job a non-issue. Same goes for some of the roll pin holder tools. The stock castle nut was the only thing I ended up buying a tool for, and that was after the basic lower assembly. I built my first lower this week, here's a couple of pics after assembly and color filling some of the rollmarks:

I was VERY careful since I didn't have the right tools, but I got it done with a metal hammer, a screwdriver, masking tape, a couple pairs of pliers, and a ball point pen. Now that I have experienced the first build, future builds will probably involve at a minimum those fancy punches and holders, but that's about it.

If you intend to build uppers, then you definitely need some extra tools…the upper vice block becomes a necessity, where the lower vice blocks could be seen as a convenience. The armorers wrench is a must to attach barrels, and most allow you to attach a standard torque wrench which you'll need to get that barrel on correctly. There are lots of other specialized AR specific tools that could come in handy, but I don't get the impression that any of them are absolutely required.

So, back to the original thought, how much do you want to spend, and do you want to do just lowers and buy completed uppers, or assemble the entire upper and lower from parts?

 

[thomjb]

Built many AR's with tools from Brownells. Used this on my last builds and what a great tool!

http://geissele.com/reaction-rod.html

 

[MTregre]

I've assembled numerous uppers and a few complete rifles. Most of my lowers compiled of tools like you mentioned above Gilbee along with the castle nut wrench. After my first 3 lowers I did buy a roll pin punch set.
And for my first complete build I bought the Wheelers AR Essential kit from Cabelas, I think I got it on sale for $79.99.

thom, I like the description on that piece you linked. Ill be looking into that.

 

[gunsmith86]

This will do the same things as that $99 Geissele Reaction Rod, and it's only $38...
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/rifle-tools/barrel-tools/ar-15-m16-308-ar-barrel-extension-torque-tools-prod27452.aspx

I use this plastic vise block kit when doing fresh builds. The big rod doesn't require removal of optics, but these are more convenient to slap into a vise quickly.

This bad boy roll punch is essential for removing bolt stop pins (by tapping aft) without scratching the lower. It can be used to great effect when installing them also, but you can get by with a standard roll pin punch for installations. Use masking tape on the lower!

For gas tube roll pins, a #2 roll pin punch is essential. I first insert them using a roll pin holder (eliminates the desire to grow a 3rd hand), then tap into place with a starter punch. Starters are shorter and easier to work with, but still long enough to drive this pin completely through a block.

Obviously you must have a barrel wrench. To my surprise, I love my Tapco barrel wrench. It's got nice 3-point support for castle nuts on the carbine extensions. It even opens beer bottles. Only Tapco product I'd recommend, other than their 20rd SKS mags (if you desire such things). Comes with cheap paint that peels off, but works great. I ditched my old DPMS wrench.

If installing YHM (or similar) free-float rails with jam nuts, use the YHM forearm wrench. You have to be careful not to mar the nut when tightening, but nothing snugs them better. Do NOT use it as a standard barrel nut wrench. The pins/lugs are far too weak for that.

Lubriplate grease gets smeared on the upper threads before installing a barrel nut. It protects the aluminum from corrosion if the anodizing is compromised (low likelihood), prevents rust on the steel nut (We're in LA. This.), and makes it easier to torque those really aggravating super-tight ones into the next available gas tube slot. If they are being stubborn like that, back off, then re-torque. Repeat as necessary.

Or another solution for the crazy-tight-and-doesn't-want-to-index barrel nut, try another nut if available.


This specific Brownells cold-blue for touch-ups on any steel parts that get a nick. It happens.
Aluminum black for aluminum (less awesome).

Plastic punches -doesn't matter where you get them. Use only plastic/delrin for tapping stubborn takedown pins loose. Also for depressing the mag catch button/spring combo into the lower's right side, while you screw in the actual mag catch from the left side. (I also frequently use a nearby bic pen for this).

Can you tell I shop Brownells a lot?
All the above is available elsewhere as well.

 

[speedster]

I recently built up my first stripped lower and mated it to a pre-assembled upper. All I needed was:

-AR stock tool (for the castle nut)
-Hammer
-Flathead screwdriver (for the grip but you may need an allen key depending on the type of bolt)
-Pencil with eraser (for the magazine release)
-Roll pin punch set

I used a smaller flathead for tapping in the trigger guard roll pin but after I marred the finish a little I got smart and bought a roll pin punch set which made it a hell of alot easier. I didn't have access to a vice so it took a good bit of patience and some fancy positioning to get the bolt release lever in place but I managed. If you have access to a vice then definitely get a vice block since it'll free up your hands and make things a helluva lot simpler. I bought the "squirrel daddy" off amazon for $10 and I'll use it for future builds. I'd also recommend something like a jewelers hammer or something with a polymer head on it. You'll be swinging close to the receiver and it'll be easy to screw up the finish.

All in all it was pretty simple and fun to build. This video helped me out a ton:

 

[jdindadell]

Install the bolt hold open catch after putting the trigger group in. The hammer will holdmthe catch in place, making it much easier to install the pin.

A cheap roll pin punch set is great to have. Got mine off amazon.

I use dedicated tools for the barrel nut and stock castle nut. I was not impressed with the various armorers tools that I tried.

A vice block for the lower is handy, usually about 10 bucks.

 

[stephenmcrna]

Geissele reaction rod and other tools are great