Palmetto State Armory has sales daily. Let me know when you are ready to build. I may be able to help you out with tools. Also my last few builds have used vice grips to squeeze pins in instead of pounding. A bunch easier and less chance for damage.

https://www.aeroprecisionusa.com/ar1...-receiver-blem


https://www.aeroprecisionusa.com/m4e...-anodized-blem

If you have time you can wait for blemished parts and save a bunch. The first scratch during assembly will be more noticeable than any blemish.

Also they have some dirt cheap prices on blowout keymod handrails.

Plus you can get 10% off your first order. I believe free shipping over $100.

Not too much. Another "financial" obstacle has come up, But I think I have decided on an Anderson Upper/lower combo, and the Gieselle trigger group. Still undecided on BCGs, and other parts.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/palm...roup-8779.html

BCG $69.99

I can understand, just checking in. As you can see, when the times right you have a wealth of knowledge and all the help you'll need from some great members here !! :cool:

Tools are funny. I had a set of Lyman punches already, I had an old beam style torque wrench but that would work just fine. I never used a magwell block and found it easier to squeeze the pins in and flip the receiver as I built it. I researched the crap out of how to use wood blocks to hold the upper receiver instead of an AR specific vice block. Barrel nut wrench was going to be the only tools I really needed to buy. I was very reluctant to buy specific tools because I was only going to build one AR. Before the first was finished, I had already started on the second. But I still didn’t want to buy the tools because I didn’t need more than the two because they were different calibers so I had all my bases covered. After I had torqued barrels close to a dozen times from building and swapping barrels, that the gas tube was a bitch to align every time, I cracked an upper receiver. So those free wood blocks cost me a $79 upper and hours of frustration. The next day I ordered the upper vice block with the alignment tool. It made all the other assemblies a thousand times easier. I got a DPMS barrel wrench that only did barrel nuts. $20. A do it all wrench would have been around $50. I still cringe when tightening the castle nut because I am not using the correct tool for the job and they do loosen up on me because I never really get them tightened appropriately.

So just a suggestion, buy the tools you need. If later on you don’t find yourself building six or seven more then you can always sell them off. If you are sure you won’t be building more then I can loan you some of mine. I will pay to ship them over and when you are done just ship them back. Probably a Priority Mail box will do it so $12-$15. Also AR15.com has a tool lending section if you need tools I don’t have. As mentioned you can borrow a torque wrench from an auto supply but some hand guards don’t require the nut to be torqued. Some even have proprietary nuts that need proprietary tools. You won’t know till you start buying parts. Start listing the parts you are going to used so we can get an idea of the tools you may need.

Let us know when you start the build

I will. In another two months or so, I should be able to get the lower/upper combo. THen I'll start getting pieces a bit at a time.

Damn, I’ve never had any issues lining up the gas tube and/or cracking an upper......even with wood blocks (been there done that). But, I do recommend the upper and lower vice blocks for proper torque. Every hand guard will come with its own nut so, one tool might not fit them all. My last build I used a crescent wrench. I’ve torqued enough of these to feel it by hand and be within the range.


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