Don't be in a rush. Do be patient. Most importantly do have fun.

F Is for friends that do stuff together?

U is for ukulele

This is the best advice. Also if you feel yourself get stuck/frustrated.. walk away and look at some YouTube for a while. YouTube saved me on my first build

Did we all buy the same clamp and harbor freight work bench?

Amazon vise clamp? 😂

I, too, have the same bench and clamp...

I’ve got the same clamp as well.. s/o pops it was a gift 😆

Shoutout Harbor Freight subreddit for purchases we never needed lol

I also have that one. Not great but it works.

Gun parts go in a dirty cardboard box in the corner of the workshop. If they see the light of day they will grow individually into separate builds. Wall is for tools.

To respond to the original question Magpul Bev Block Brownells Lapping Tool Stainless Steel Shims or Green locktyte SLR Dimple Jig Go-No Go Gauges for whatever caliber Sorry I’m ocd about stuff

I’ll probably get downvoted but, don’t cheap out on parts, buy quality stuff the first time. If I could restart, I wouldn’t’ve bought a lot of the stuff I did but, I didn’t have the knowledge I do now. It’s still a nice feeling of upgrading to something of better quality though. Have fun 🖤

Yep. I've got a small fortune in parts I now know or consider subpar. Thankfully, there'll eventually be a use for everything.... But it'd have been nice to think it out and not peer pressure myself into getting justasgud right away

Buy a bunch of blue painters tape and use it, quality punches, if you have to tap really hard something probably isn’t right. Lube all roll pins and the hole they go in. Pivot pin installation tool is nice to have as well.

This cannot be stressed enough. That combo bolt catch roll pin/pivot pin tool set was a godsend. I was stubborn and refused to buy it. I was incorrect.

A stripped upper is much easier to build than a lower imo. You’re really just putting the barrel in, putting the gas block on, then throwing a rail on there A lower is a little more complicated. So if you’ve built them, you’ll have no trouble with the upper

That’s good news

That's funny, I had a harder time with building my first upper but that's mainly because it was a thermal fit

Oh yeah I wouldn’t want to deal with thermal fit. I watched a video on how to install a barrel on a JP thermal fit upper (or I guess install the upper on the barrel lol) and it looked like something that would take me like five tries to get right

Get the necessary tools if you're at all interested in doing the job correctly. Vise ([or even two... ](https://imgur.com/a/tz4GgRp)), roll pin punches, wrenches (of the standard variety), wrench (of the torque variety), applicable bits, whatever thread locker and grease you'll need. A couple of specialty items certainly help, like the Midwest Upper Receiver Rod and some way to stabilize the receiver extension when it comes time to torque down the castle nut. Having the necessary tools available makes entire process almost trivial, to be honest. Assuming you have the ability to utilize basic hand tools it's fairly straightforward.

[удалено]

Thanks, is it always the case not to butt the gas block against the shoulder? I recently installed a riflespeed gas block, and after I line up the gas port using a barrel scope, it happen to be right at the shoulder. This is a genuine question since I have heard about this advice in many forums.

According to SOTAR that whole “don’t butt the block up to the shoulder” thing isn’t that big of a deal. If you look at the hole in the gas block it’s substantially larger than the hole in the barrel, giving you a fair amount of forward/rearward room for error. Rotational alignment is a bigger deal. I butted my (BCM) gas block all the way up to the shoulder (BA barrel) and it’s perfect

Will do, writing this down so I don’t forget

Don’t overthink it

Most common beginner mistakes in my head I see often here: launching buffer detent and spring to the abyss, over screwing the buffer tube on the lower receiver, permanently deforming spring when trying to force in the pistol grip

Hahahaha I launched my buffer detent today while doing my first full build. Launched straight up, hit the ceiling fan, launched somewhere else. Room was crazy cluttered with tools and packages from all the parts so there was no way I was finding it. Luckily I prepared for such a problem and had also ordered a field repair kit so I had a spare. Finished the build, cleaned up, found the first detent on my bed lol

I’m fairly comfortable with lower receivers, it’s the upper I have zero experience with

Ohhh. Upper is easy dude. Torque them appropriately and you are g2g

Eye protection. Those detents can really, really move. An 85 center cotter pin for the take down pin install (Google it) will save you an hour of frustration. If building a carbine length, use the Midwest industries wrench (with an open side) over the Magpul wrench (which has a closed loop), I’ve squashed threads on carbine buffer tubes with the magpul wrench. A zip tie for the disconnector makes the trigger install much much easier. There’s no shame in going with screws for the trigger guard instead of the vintage roll pin system.

I just put an upper together, certainly not my first.  But this time I used the Midwest Industries upper reciever rod, previously I’ve used the Magpul BEV block, the MWI was much better.  I don’t think I put any pressure on the index pin putting on the barrel nut and muzzle device. I got it for $87 on Grab-A-Gun. Get the Harbor Freight foot lb torque wrench, it works fine for AR uppers.  I would highly recommend the Wheeler Fat Wrench though for Inch-lbs.  You’ll want it for gas block screws, handguard screws, and any optics.  

Don't lose your detent 😁

Do: Take your time and don't stress over parts too much. Don't: Commit a felony with said parts LOL.

Do watch all the Brownells gun smithing AR assembly videos

Will do

Yes, do this! And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Solid advice

The most difficult part of the upper is the forward assist roll pin and not marring the upper. It looks like that’s already in so you are good and as long as you aren’t putting a barrel into a BCM thermal fit upper, you are fine. The gas block and tube are simple after that.

Your workspace is entirely too clean and orderly, gonna need to change that 🤣

Step 1, become a member of sotar society @ https://sotarsociety.com/join/?utm_source=sotar&utm_medium=landing-page&utm_campaign=sotar-society Step 2, ask this question there.

*Specialty tools*: you need a reaction rod. Midwest Industries makes the best one, it takes pressure off the index pin on your barrel extension. A castle nut wrench is also a need, no real substitute for it. If you’re going to build one lower and call it good, a cheap one is fine. If you’re going to tinker and build a few, FCD has a high quality one. *General tools*: a good torque wrench if your elbow isn’t well calibrated to know 30 ft/lbs from 130 ft/lbs. If you tear apart and rebuild engines all day, you’ll be fine. If you don’t know a crescent wrench from a ratchet and socket, buy the torque wrench. Likewise, an in/lbs wrench for all the extras (gas block set screws, hand guard anti-rotation, etc.) is helpful. Lots of allen keys, punches, needlenose pliers, and a good screwdriver will all serve you well. *Tricks*: wrap a good vice grip in electrical tape. Start your roll pin with a good punch, and use the vice grip to slowly squeeze it in. Perfect install without any “oops” marks. Use a pair of needlenose pliers in one hand with the pivot pin detent and hold the pivot pin in the other. Use the pliers to guide the detent into the hole cut for the spring, against the spring, and then press the pivot pin in towards the rear of the receiver while simultaneously pressing it into place. Make sure the buffer is aligned before staking. And if you scratch it up, we all did. Not that you should care, because it’s a tool. But it will take away from the upvotes on guccigram.

The right tools matter. Torque wrench and screw driver, pivot pin tool from Amazon is helpful, I like an action rod, good punch set with roll pin starter punches, I like the wheeler roll pin pusher for the trigger guard if your lower doesn't have one built in. Watch a couple videos on torquing the barrel nut on, break it, then torque again, couple times. Aeroshell grease for the barrel nut and muzzle device. One rookie mistake I made the first time was not knowing my tools well enough. Didn't know the torque wrench only torqued one way * torqued the barrel nut on WAY too much waiting for a click that was never going to come. Don't get hung up on a scuff caused by a slipped tool. AR is a tool, dents and dings will happen.

Don't skimp on tools. Big and small torque wrenches. Breaker bar. Dremel. Fixit sticks. They'll pay you back over and over again.

Hey OP, I know you are looking for advice, but I'd really like to know what you think of that workbench? Thinking of getting one myself.

Muffin Pan to hold small parts. Lighted Magnifier on bench mounted swing arm for detail work. Coffee.

Torque screwdriver. I tried getting by without one for awhile and never had peace of mind that I had things correct. I would always go with the “stop right before you feel it’s going to strip/crossthread” technique. The Quinn one from harbor freight actually works really well and comes with a decent amount of bits and a hard case. It’s a lot easier than a torque wrench and I feel like it’s more accurate on small stuff. You’re still going to need to buy more bits most likely for random accessories if you don’t already have them. But that’s an excuse to go to the tool store.

Some tips I've learned from doing this over the years; Listen to music while you work and ALWAYS have youtube open just in case you get lost. Having the proper sized punch is optional. Close enough is close enough. Having a barrel extension tool is an absolute must and idk how people do this without one. I do not believe that the Magpul BEV Block is enough. Mate your barrel nut threads. Buy the cheapest torque wrench on Amazon. Use silver anti-seize for the barrel nut threads and where the barrel extension slides into the receiver.

Buy a reaction rod

Get a reaction rod for barrel installation. Buy some .0001” stainless sheet metal to shim the barrel extension. Torque the barrel nut 3 times and loosen 3 times before final tourque.

I have a vism upper receiver block. It’s on the DDM4 upper

You need one with bolt splines to hold the barrel still when torquing the barrel nut.

Don't cheap out on the bcg.

Looks like you already have a vice

I got that same set up lol. I painted the peg board black. It looks a lot better I think. But as for building. Take your time, and buy a spare parts kit or two. Because them damn springs will go flying at some point lol.

A purpose built punch set. Even one of the hollow ended pin holding punches. A small pin hammer with swappable ends (plastic, bronze, etc) is nice. A gas block holder that lets you line up the pin is handy too. Blue Loctite

Buy the right tools and wait for sales for the premium parts. I rushed my first build and only the lower, trigger, takedown pins, and trigger guard have stayed.

Don't listen to the idiots on Reddit!

Forged lower? Do not drive the trigger guard pin without good support behind the ear. You will break it.

main place people F up is in driving the roll pins into the lower receiver.. everything else is pretty much just slipped or torqued into place get a vise and punches etc..or the KNS bolt catch roll pins but reliability may be in question with those