Tired of AR Slop? Simple, Cheap Fix

[Jackal]

First off, I'm not a fan of the accuwedge. Its constantly pulling your upper/lower apart, instead of fitting them together. And besides, why buy gimmicky chunk of rubber when you probably already have this stuff in your garage?

While bedding an AR is not a new idea, I decided to try something different. In comes Quicksteel/WaterWeld (tube of hand mixable epoxy putty). Easy, convenient and fast. Simply mix with your finger a piece about the size of a fingernail, insert into the rear of your lower, coat the rear lug with grease, snap them together, wait 30min and your done. No more slop, they are fit together easily, with a surprising degree of precision.

While generally not an issue when using irons or red dot, the slop between upper/lower can induce a fair amount of scope cant, which can obviously upset your point of impact. And lets face it, the slops just annoying.

 

[Robert]

What slop?

 

[jakk280rem]

I think he means the vertical and lateral play between the upper and lower reciever present on some rifles.

 

[Robert]

Yeah sorry I inadvertently hit post before I finished my post. Sorry, my fault.

That fix looks really easy to do if your rifle suffers from that issue. Thankfully mine does not have that problem even after many thousands of the rounds.

 

[rcmodel]

Mine either.
But it's an old Colt that was made right to start with.

I did put an Accu-Wedge in it for no particular reason several years ago when a gun show dealer gave me one to try.

Only down side I can see is you have to squeeze it harder to pop the rear pin.

Rather do that then fill my lower full of steel epoxy goop that could eventually come loose and bind up the works.

rc

 

[Inebriated]

eventually come loose and bind up the works.

I've seen the same thing happen with an Accu-Wedge.

 

[BSA1]

Just a sidebar is the top part of the lower (on the right looking at it) in the O.P.'s photo cracked?

If so what caused it?

(Noob doing his first build later this year).

 

[rcmodel]

No, not cracked.

That's just a poorly forged lower, with a casting flaw to start with, and part of the reason it's loose on the upper.

That wouldn't be there on a quality made lower.

rc

 

[legumeofterror]

looks like grease to me...

 

[Jackal]

No, not cracked.

That's just a poorly forged lower, with a casting flaw to start with, and part of the reason it's loose on the upper.

That wouldn't be there on a quality made lower.

Lol its not cracked or damage, its just RIG grease used as a release agent. Matched upper/lower sets usually dont have much slop, but using/building from various manufacturers, the tolerances are not so tight. As for it coming loose... Thats VERY unlikely. Quicksteel is very strong/stable, useable in industrial applications and its also captured by the rear lug.

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

Accuwedge is what you are looking for.

 

[USAF_Vet]

Accuwedge is what you are looking for.

First off, I'm not a fan of the accuwedge.

I don't have any noticeable slop with matching Aero Precision upper and lower.

I have a tiny bit, if I physically wiggle it, between an ATI Omni poly lower and DPMS upper.

 

[MistWolf]

The easiest way I've found to take the out the play between the upper & lower is to insert a loaded magazine

 

[4thPointOfContact]

What kind of old--deleted-- POS AR's are you guys shooting?

I suspect the amount of mechanical slop in an AR is probably less than the slop inherent with holding an AR to a shoulder padded by compressible clothing, flesh and muscle all held together by a loose frame work of strung together bones that can't be locked in position.



Strictly an opinion and not the result of detailed study - - -
No one who cares about accuracy is going to have an AR with that amount of slop and anyone with an AR having that amount of slop isn't likely to be someone who cares about accuracy.

 

[Welding Rod]

I think that is a great idea Jackal. My ARs don't have any significant slop, but pretty darn smart none the less.

 

[bannockburn]

Jackal

Thanks for the tip but both of my ARs are still tight as can be, even after considerable use. Tried the AccuWedge once (got one free from a friend of mine), and didn't notice any discernible difference in the tightness of the upper and lower assemblies.

 

[bikemutt]

Both my lowers, SanTan and Seekins, have a set screw that allows the slop to be dialed out. Guess I figured they all had that ability.

 

[Jackal]

Both my lowers, SanTan and Seekins, have a set screw that allows the slop to be dialed out.

Thats a feature every stripped lower should have.


I do find it interesting that people think nothing of bedding hunting, target, varmint and police/military rifles. Thats literally all this easy fix does, bed the rear lug with epoxy. Its a cheap, simple fix for a common annoying issue. Not everyone buys matched receiver sets and even top quality parts will have different tolerances from different manufacturers.

I've had both factory and home build AR's that have slop, from many different manufacturers. Matched receiver sets usually dont have much/any play, but when building with components from multiple manufacturers, tolerances can be all over the map. AR slop generally is due to an excess tolerance in the takedown pins. Thats why oversize takedown pins exist, but why bother with the expense when an easy fix is available?

 

[atomd]

You can also just slip a small o-ring onto the front tang on the upper. Most of mine fit together tight enough for my tastes though.

 

[Jackal]

You can also just slip a small o-ring onto the front tang on the upper.

Unfortunately, that doesnt work with the majority of free float handguards nowadays. That does work great for non free float rifles though.

 

[MachIVshooter]

A bit of wiggle between receiver halves doesn't matter, but if you really want to tighten it up, you need to shim at the front lug. I simply shape pieces af stainless brake hardware or steel shim stock of the requisite thickness:

 

[Walkalong]

Why the front lug?

 

[dfariswheel]

The difference between bedding a bolt rifle and an AR is that bedding a bolt rifle improves accuracy, while bedding an AR upper to lower just eliminates any wobble that a shooter may find distracting.
It has nothing to do with accuracy as was once thought.

There are many ways to eliminate any wobble, from glass bedding compound, set screws, pieces of thin rubber, to the Accu-Wedge.
The only reason for doing any of this is if you find the wobble distracting while in position and shooting for accuracy.

 

[kimberkid]

JP Enterprise made a fix for this issue well over a decade ago, called the JP Tension pin, it pulled the upper and lower together, the only down side is it requires an Allen wrench to install/remove it but it pulled the the 2 halves rock solid ... Unlike the accu wedge it's not a piece of rubber that you compress and just gives you the feeling it's solid ... it is solid.

http://www.jprifles.com/1.5.1.7_small_tp.php

.​

 

[MachIVshooter]

Why the front lug?

Leverage; with the shim right at the fulcrum, you have the length of the upper receiver as a force multiplying lever, allowing you to close it on a shim that provides much more tension than one at the rear would. And no rubber or epoxy piece inside the lower to break apart and jam up the works.

Basically the O-ring trick, but much more durable, and can be tailored to FF hand guards that will not allow an O-ring.