AR build difficulty

D

Dre_sa

New member
Greetings all,

I have recently been looking at some AR 15's, and nothing available in my immediate area really catches my fancy. so instead of having to order a rifle and wait however long it takes, I think it might be more fun, and more educational to build my own. It would also satisfy my need to build functional things.

My question is, how difficult is an AR build? I can't imagine it would be terribly difficult, as it is done often. Also, would I be right in thinking that a basic set of tools, with some additional AR specific tools would be enough? I don't really have a full workshop to do this all in.

Also would a trip to a proper gunsmith be necessary for more than checking headspace and what nots?

Thanks for any advice, tips or words of encouragement (or otherwise) you may be able to offer.

Should I indeed choose to build, I might just do a step by step write up as parts and budget allow.
 
You're pretty much right on track in your thinking. "Building" an AR is more of just assembling the parts. Nothing hard about it, provided you are mechanically inclined at all.

Most of it can be done with what you have in your tool chest, probably. A VICE is nice, but not ABSOLUTELY necessary. You'll need a good armorer's wrench, maybe a vice block, depending on what kind of upper you decide to build. You may also need a barrel nut wrench. Depending on what kind of fore grip you're installing you could get away with the armoer's wrench for that as well.

There are a lot of writeups on how to assemble AR's, if you google it you'll find everything you wanted to know about the process.

Headspace is dictated by the barrel extension and the bolt. If you're using a mil-spec bolt, and a quality barrel, you're headspace should be good to go. You can check it with a go/no-go set of gauges if you are so inclined to buy them.

Sometimes this can be a very cheap way to build a budget AR, or sometimes it works out to be a way to really butcher a lower. Depends on your aptitude with tools.

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is hanging up picture frame and 10 is rebuilding an engine, I would put this difficulty level of a 3.

It's an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. I suggest you go for it.
 
I'll let ya know in a couple of weeks :)
Parts are on the way, building a 6.5 Grendel from stripped uppers and lowers.
Putting together pre-assembled uppers and lowers is simplistic.
Building from scratch as we're going to do is more difficult, but not rocket science.
I opted to go this route, despite the fact that there's a "not insignificant" investment in tools to do the build from scratch, that wouldn't be necessary if using pre-assembled components.
For a one time build, it's cheaper to buy assembled (particularly the upper), and just pin them together...
 
A lot of people who 'build' an AR just assemble the lower (which is the route I went), then watching for uppers that interest you. Get an upper from a reputable maker, and it just pops onto your lower...plus building the lower gets you at least started, and if you want to keep going, you can move on to uppers.
 
I have "built" four AR's... Not difficult at all, and I am certainly not a gunsmith. As a matter of fact I sometimes hardly qualify as a gun plumber.
 
Download a .pdf copy of the ARMY TM 9-1005-319-23&P manual This gives you a step by step guide with all specs and tools required.

Ideally you would have a quality armors wrench, torque wrench, roll pin punches, regular punch, soft headed hammer Nylon or rawhide, and a upper receiver block for torquing the barrel nut.

You may be able to find some one local to loan you the tools, I've assisted several guys on their first build. If you decide you may build more than one a $100 investment in tools is worth it.
 
I just finished my 1st build and it was fun and rewarding.
I also got the exact rifle I wanted.
The only thing I can suggest is be sure that you rail system is on the same horizontal plain.
The gas block I ordered did not state if it was low profile or rail height.
It was a low profile but I changed the front site pin and all is well.
 
Not very hard at all, since you're new to gun building I would have recommended a pre-assembled upper since the upper/barrel assembly is one of the main places people really flak-up their weapon. That is what I'm planning to do when I assemble mine just to save time and then I don't have to have a one time used Upper vice block laying around.
 
I just finished my first AR build. I started with a box of parts and ended up an REECE a few hours later;) I was lucky to have buddy who was a Small Arms Repairer in the Army. He guided me though the entire process and provided all the tools. It was easy with a guy sitting next to me giving me step by step directions and tips. If I had to do it on my own, I could have done it, but it would have taken a lot longer...especially the FF handguard install!
 
Most of it can be done with what you have in your tool chest, probably.
Click to expand...

I'm sure that is true. (Depending on your tool chest!) But Brownell's sells a whole variety of specialized tools. Probably none of them are totally necessary but I just keep acquiring them one by one. And each one proves to make just one specific step that much easier. Just have to build several AR's to make the tool purchases worthwhile! (Honey, I have to build some more to amortize my tools!)

Gregg
 
So it would seem that the hardest part of assembling an AR is deciding on which parts to get. There are so many available, it's almost difficult deciding.
 
What the Army requires for disassembling machine guns isn't what's needed to assemble an AR15. In fact, the Colt plant pictures in the NYTimes article didn't show much of anything in the way of special tools.

You can use special pin punches, or tape the jaws on a pair of Vicegrips and not break off the trigger guard ears, or scar the lower with a misstrike. Old drill bits make useful punches for tapping in roll pins to center them. Forget the clevis pin on the forward pin, just rotate it 90 degrees and use the actual pin to depress the detent, insert, and rotate back. Voila, installed.

A set of cheap vice blocks or even pieces of wood hold an A3 upper well enough to tighten the barrel nut, and I used 18" channel lock pliers to tighten it. Basically, all you do is deburr the threads by torquing lightly three times, and then you tighten to the next gas tube detent. It's not rocket science.

All the special, expensive tools in the armorer's kit are for servicing ALL the organic guns in a unit, which could include M2 .50's and Mk17 grenade launchers. You don't really need $150 worth of all that to assemble an AR15 the first time.

What you do need is an understanding of which parts work together - they are actually sets that don't play well with others. The different length gas systems have more than a gas tube as the difference, and it pays to pay attention to which buffer tube, buffer, action spring, and bolt carrier go together. It's NOT a Chinese menu or box of Legos despite all the posts to the contrary. That's where the action is made, right or wrong, and too many ignore it. Research the stickies on arfcom and have a clear understanding about what works in the milspec operating envelope, and what someone's hyped marketing release really says.
 
Many of the specialized tools aren't really necessary. Obviously, if you are installing a barrel nut you'll need a good armorers and a torque wrench. Snap ring plyers may also be needed to install the rear hand gaurd slip wring spring. On my 2nd AR build, I found the following items I bought for the 2nd go round to be absolutely worth their weight in gold:

#1-4 roll pin punches and holders
Upper and lower receiver vice blocks

I found the pivot pin installation tool and bolt catch punch to be helpful, but not necessary.
 
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