AR15 tools: what would it cost?

[H&R Glock]

What would it cost?
I have the pin punch set and spring pin punches and a torque wrench in my arsenal, and several rolls of duct tape, band aids, and JB weld on hand .
What do I need to buy in order to assemble my first AR15 and how much do the tools cost?
I know I need vise blocks, armorers tools (two of those?), take down pin install tools.
I have the run of the mill long noses and wrenches that one can collect in over 60 years of putzing around the shop.
First, I figure on buying a completely assembled upper and doing my own lower.
Are there any sources that have low prices on said tools? Eager to begin before winter calls a stop to my madness.

 

[ericuda]

If you buy the upper assembled u r good. Lower trigger group is easy to put together with just a few punches of the right size.

 

[berettaprofessor]

I’ve built 6 lowers and one upper without vise blocks. A torque wrench for the barrel nut is useful. Otherwise the punches etc you have will suffice.

 

[badkarmamib]

The only non-standard tool you need to build a lower is a castle nut wrench. If this will be your only AR build (yeah, right), you can drift the nut around with a pin punch. Just remember to stake the nut with a center punch afterwards.

 

[H&R Glock]

I have watched Larry Potterfield assemble one and if he can do it, so can I. But- some of the tools seem to be a necessity like the latch pins. They need the tool that holds the detent back. How much can the tool cost. How about the lower vise block?
Thanks

 

[badkarmamib]

They need the tool that holds the detent back

Use a razor blade to depress the detent (only the front one gets tricky), and a 1/4" punch to hold the detent in, or use the pivot pin to depress it. Either way, install the pivot pin with the assembly inside a gallon Ziploc bag, to catch the spring and detent if something slips. Also, I never used a lower vise block, just support the lower on non-marring material. Make sure to support the ears when installing the trigger guard pin.

 

[jonnyc]

After building 4 lowers, the only must-have I've found is a roll-pin punch. Everything else is pretty common around the average bench. If I come up with another AR variation I can't live without I'll try to build the upper as well.

 

[Chuck R.]

I have watched Larry Potterfield assemble one and if he can do it, so can I. But- some of the tools seem to be a necessity like the latch pins. They need the tool that holds the detent back. How much can the tool cost. How about the lower vise block?
Thanks

Use a cheap clevis pin:



Minimum that I've used for a lower build:
Armorers Wrench
Magpul BEV Block to hold the lower while doing the castle nut. (also works great for torquing barrel nuts on uppers)
Roll Pin punch set

I've got more, like a trigger guard pin pusher and roll pin starter punches but that stuff just makes things easier.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

I have a BEV block. It wasn’t cheap but it works well.

Otherwise, a basic set of tools works for an iniial setup. Then figure out what you really need.

 

[Varminterror]

I’m copying my list I have posted here a few times, take or leave what you will. I can build an AR with a few punches, a couple towels, a pipe wrench, and a vise, but everything on the list is stuff I touch when I build an AR. Some things are necessary, like a taper pin reamer, only if you’re doing certain tasks which aren’t so common to the average home build.

Flame away - I really don’t care what anyone else uses, or thinks of what I use. I have half a dozen AR’s/uppers on my bench to be built right now, and it’s not even a busy month - what I do to put them together works well for me.

What tools are required and what tools I actually touch when building an upper might be different lists.

A guy doing a duct tape and vice grips build can get away with a lot less, but when I'm building an upper, instead of just assembling a pile of parts, the list below represents what I use.

When I build an upper (aka, let's see if I can remember everything without actually putting one together to check myself):

• Upper clamshell block, lower magwell block, & bench vise to hold them
• Roll pin starters
• Roll pin punches
• Poly wrapped Maul (leatherworking tool, but makes sinking roll pins REALLY simple)
• Receiver tenon lapping tool & Compound
• Sheet shim stock, antiseize, & shears for barrel extension fitting
• Heat gun & freezer for fitting the barrel
• Length of hardwood dowel (forget dia) to tap barrels OUT of the upper
• Files, sandpaper, popsicle sticks, dowels, & lapping compound to dehorn the bolt & barrel extension, lapping ejector bore, & optimizing extractor
• Flat jaw, dehorned needle nosed pliers for holding small pins
• Drill bit, steel punch, & tapered reamer for gas block cross pins (for A2 style or other pin on gas blocks)
• Wheeler Fat wrench & Torx bits for clamp on gas blocks & scope rings
• Empty case with spent primer (plugs the chamber so I can blow into the muzzle to feel gas block alignment)
• Rod shank for aligning barrel nut
• Barrel nut spanner pin wrench & torque wrench (mil-spec always on hand, but have a few crow's feet and other proprietary spanners)
• Old picatinny ring base to clamp on the receiver and force the handguard rail into alignment while tightening
• Set of levels for aligning the handguard, front sight, muzzle brake, receiver, scope reticle, etc + plumb bob
• Scope ring lapping spindle
• Socket & adapter to mate my torque wrench to tighten ring bases or mounts
• Cut dummy cartridge & Marlin 1895 mainspring to lap the bolt lugs
• Thread chaser & bore alignment arbor
• Piloted 90* Face cutting reamer & pilots for indexing muzzle devices (cold blue/black as needed)
• Laser boresighter
• Power drill to run the lapping spindle and polishing dowels
• Castle nut wrench

 

[Cokeman]

I’m a little more than halfway and I’ve bought a few tools. An armorers wrench, a t-handle Allen wrench, a torque wrench, lower vise block, and breaker bar are all I have bought so for. All were cheap, less than $75 total. My lower is built except for the stock. I’m still deciding on which one, but I don’t need tools to slide it on. I am now starting on the upper. So far, it has the forward assist and dust cover installed from the factory. I have the bcg, barrel, muzzle device, and rail. I need a gas block and tube and a charging handle. Right now, I plan on getting a dimpling jig, Magpul Bev Block, and maybe a torque screw driver for the scope mount.

 

[IndianaBoy]

To some extent, it depends on what components you use. Magpul UBR and A1/A2 stocks but require a screwdriver, not a spanner wrench. M4 type stocks require a spanner wrench, but you can also use a pipe wrench with a piece of leather to protect the castle nut from damage.

I press my roll pins into lower builds with a pair of vice grips with the jaws wrapped in electrical tape. I find it to be much easier than punches and a hammer.

For upper receiver work, I have found a Geissele reaction rod to be very good.

 

[BigBlue 94]

I've built one lower and two uppers with little more than standard punches and a castle nut wrench. No vise block, torque wrench, tape, etc. You will need a pointy punch for staking the gas impingement piston thing on top of the BCG.

A small flat screwdriver helps hold detents and springs in place.

 

[Chuck R.]

I’m a little more than halfway and I’ve bought a few tools. An armorers wrench, a t-handle Allen wrench, a torque wrench, lower vise block, and breaker bar are all I have bought so for. All were cheap, less than $75 total. My lower is built except for the stock. I’m still deciding on which one, but I don’t need tools to slide it on. I am now starting on the upper. So far, it has the forward assist and dust cover installed from the factory. I have the bcg, barrel, muzzle device, and rail. I need a gas block and tube and a charging handle. Right now, I plan on getting a dimpling jig, Magpul Bev Block, and maybe a torque screw driver for the scope mount.

Take a look at SLR, I've got a couple (.625 & 7.50) and they work as advertised:

5 spacing for blocks with .400" .425" .450" .470" and .500" center to center
Includes Jig , Hardened Centering Screw and Custom Hardened Drill bushing
5/32" drill bit required.
7075 Billet T6 Aluminum
5 position flats for Vice mounted drilling to keep barrel stable

https://slrrifleworks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=57_129&product_id=579

 

[H&R Glock]

Chuck R, thanks for the clevis pin thingee. I'm going to Tractor Supply to look for one. The BEV block almost gave me a heart attack as the cheapest I see are $47+.
I'll buy the wrench for the recoil tube, but I just may make a vise block out of wood to use in getting started.
I'm going to be like Gunny and pick up odds and ends parts as they become on sale or available on the used market.
Lower kits are my first target! Thanks all of you for the help.

 

[Chuck R.]

Chuck R, thanks for the clevis pin thingee. I'm going to Tractor Supply to look for one. The BEV block almost gave me a heart attack as the cheapest I see are $47+.
I'll buy the wrench for the recoil tube, but I just may make a vise block out of wood to use in getting started.
I'm going to be like Gunny and pick up odds and ends parts as they become on sale or available on the used market.
Lower kits are my first target! Thanks all of you for the help.

No problem, you could also just use an old magazine to hold the lower. Like most guys I bought my tools over time and on sale when I could. One of the guys on here had a great system for adding tools. He'd lend his "build kit" out to people he knew and the rental "fee" was some other small tool or gizmo that made building a little easier.

 

[Dibbs]

Use a cheap clevis pin:
.


Minimum that I've used for a lower build:
Armorers Wrench
Magpul BEV Block to hold the lower while doing the castle nut. (also works great for torquing barrel nuts on uppers)
Roll Pin punch set

I've got more, like a trigger guard pin pusher and roll pin starter punches but that stuff just makes things easier.

GET one or two of these Clevis pins. Save yourself a lot of time and trouble. And lost detent pins...

 

[MachIVshooter]

You don't need dedicated vise blocks unless you're doing A1/A2 uppers. For flat tops, just cut a couple pieces of 1x4 pine to fit your vise jaws and clamp upper sideways so it bites into the soft pine.

Aside from that, you already have punches, so just pick up an armorer's wrench to do the barrel nut and receiver extension nut.

For the front takedown pin detent, simply use a 1/4" punch through the takedown pin hole as a slave pin to keep the detent down, then push in your takedown pin.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

I think others have covered the tool list pretty well. On my first and only time building a lower, I got by with a punch set, rubber mallet, an Allen key for the pistol grip, and a crescent wrench and screwdriver for the buffer tube (I was doing a rifle buffer, so no need to mess with a castle nut). Didn't even need an armorer's wrench, so I didn't have to buy any new tools for the job.

One thing I did do, and I'm glad I did, was I tacked on an extra detent spring and detent pin to my order for my lower parts. After watching lower assembly videos, I could just see myself losing them putting the front takedown pin together, and sure enough, I ended up needing both. I lost the detent (it's about the size of a rice grain and under spring pressure - they like to go flying) and boogered the detent spring trying to hold it down. $3 extra in parts kept my build on track without any delay.

To be honest, building a lower is pretty easy. The only things that tripped me up were A. the front detent pin, and B. installing the hammer spring backwards, so that when you pulled the trigger on a cocked hammer, it was "dead" and there was no tension to drive it forward. Easy fix. Everything else basically fit together how you'd think it would, so take your time and I bet you'll be good.

 

[Varminterror]

For the front takedown pin detent, simply use a 1/4" punch through the takedown pin hole as a slave pin to keep the detent down, then push in your takedown pin.

This. I use the shank of a dull 1/4” drill bit. Life’s pretty easy.

 

[Cokeman]

Take a look at SLR, I've got a couple (.625 & 7.50) and they work as advertised:



https://slrrifleworks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=57_129&product_id=579

That’s the one I’m looking at.

 

[HB]

Built 2 that run fine with no special tools but the castle nut wrench.