Hi Guys, this is my first post and I wanted to start off by first saying thank you for all your guidence so far.  Even though this is my first post Ive been researching on here for months and finally got up the courage to start my first build.  Not only is it my first build but also my first rifle.  With your help I have peaced together my first lower and am stoked about it.  

http://http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/bdturbo/photo.jpg" />

I am piecing this thing together one peice at a time and will be soon buying a stripped upper and wanted to know if I need to buy a matching barrel or can I for example buy a BCM upper and then add a Walther barrel (or which ever combo I decide on).  What Im afraid of is buying a stripped upper then getting stuck with buying a barrell I dont want just because it is not somewhat universal.  Then this leads to the handrail.  Are most hand rails universal as well?  Any ideas or recommendations?  Thanks in advance!

It should work with any AR15 barrel as long as they have same the feed ramps.
It is either Rifle (standard non-extended) or M4 (extended) feed ramps.

I was unaware of the difference.  Thanks for bringing that up, I better do some more research.

Which one do you prefer? Im open to suggestions.

M4 feedramps aka extended feedramps are more common and that is what most barrels and receivers have these days.  Just make sure and read the full description of the barrel and upper that you are looking at to make sure that is what they come with.

Obligatory Pics...

Those pics are a huge help.  thank you!

M4 feed ramps don’t always match.
I have not heard of any FF tubes not fitting unless there is something wrong with one or the other.

some ff tubes need modification if using a billet upper. op ive built more than a dozen ars using m4 feed ramps stripped uppers (aero, psa, anderson, spikes, bcm etc) in various calibers-.22, 5.56, 7.62x39, 300 bo and the all work fine

Ok so now Im stuck.  Which stripped upper do you like the best from the ones you have built?  I have a spikes lower and am looking at the BCM, Noveske or Daniel Defense stripped upper.  I know some upper and lowers dont mix well and wont give you a tight fit. I would like to go with the15in Troy alpha rail but not sure if I should pick out the upper, barrell and handrail before ordering anything.

HELP!

Pick one from any decent company. There are a handful of forges making everyone's forgings. Billet uppers are popular now, with claims of being more uniformly machined. However, I've seen no evidence that this contributes to accuracy, and billet almost always costs more and provides less strength for the weight. Pick a standard, forged 7075 upper and you're good to go.

I find it funny when people post the underlined above and seem to think that makes all uppers the same...

THIS is what the three or four forging companies provide:  At this stage they are mostly the same, though still not identical since some companies specify different forging dies, which may be unique to their forgings, rather than getting forgings made with common dies the forges will sell to anyone.



There are then a larger handful of machining and fabricating companies that do the machining to those lumps of metal and provide the finished uppers to different resellers, and many individual manufacturers who only machine their forgings themselves, in-house.

That the raw blanks come from the same forge doesn't make two uppers the same, nor does even coming from the same large supplier like LMT/CMT guarantee they'll be the same.

I agree with you on picking one from a decent, reputable company, though.

Why not just go with a Spike's upper?  Should fit and match nicely with your lower since it's a Spike's.  $99.95 shipped from AIM, and comes with port door and forward assist installed.  The others you mentioned would be fine as well.  BCM has some nice deals on complete uppers right now, they comes with a free bolt carrier group and a free BCM compensator, which would normally cost an extra $259.

I guess I just figured the bigger name brands Noveske, BCM etc were better because of the name.  If Spike's is good enough thats all I need to hear!  Thanks guys!

I like Spikes uppers, but there is no guarantee of a perfect fit even when both receivers come from the same vendor because of manufacturing tolerances.
Most of this stuff fits together pretty well, but do enough builds and a person will at the least find some minor mismatches.

ive had no issues with spikes but i really like aero precision stuff. a lot of my ars are built on their uppers and lowers. they always match and lock up tight

Ill give them a look, thanks!

The machining, as we apparently agree, is far from foolproof (so once again I'll harp on the decent company bit). I've seen some really poorly finished receivers from smaller companies- off center FCG cutouts, poor threading, etc.

The part of the billet upper schtick I've never understood is the bit about them being more precisely machined. Is there something about machining a block of aluminum that allows for better precision than machining a forging? I'm not a machinist, but it has always seemed fishy to me.

I will tell you right now, to be careful. Not all m4 barrel extensions are the same, and not all extended feed ramps in upper receivers are cut the same, even if they all say "mil-spec". I just went through hell to find uppers that would mate with certain barrels that I purchased from reputable companies. 1 out of 4 different brands of receivers mated properly. I know A LOT of companies dremel their barrel extension feed ramps to match uppers for this reason.

My particular problem is that the ramps on the barrel extension protrude over the ramps in the receiver. This creates a "lip", as some might call it. Rounds can get hung up on anything that protrudes like that.

Everything is "mil-spec", but not everything fits like legos. There is a spectrum, as I call it. I dont know all the terminology, so lets not start the flame war please. If your barrel is at one end, and your upper receiver is at the other end of this spectrum, then they may not mate properly, and this could potentially cause a problem down the road. This is BY FAR, the biggest problem that I run into with builds.

My advice would be to ask if you can send either your barrel into the place where you want to purchase your upper from, and see if they can find an upper that will mate with your barrel, or vice versa. OR...learn how to use a dremel, and skip the game.

I hope that helps.

Well crap, this scares me bc its my first build and Im learning as I go which means I wont know exactly what to look for.  I will be running suppressed 90% of the time and Im about 90% sure Im going with a Spike stripped upper so if anyone can recommend a barrel that they think will work best with this set up please let me know. Thanks!

I have really learned not to cross my fingers or listen to "yeah, that will work" from manufacturers or boards. Half the time, it simply doesnt work. Remember, that although it says one manufacturers name on it, it doesnt mean that they are all forged and then machined in the same places as their other uppers. So if somebody tells you that your barrel from so and so, will mate with your upper from so and so, that is not a guarantee.

If you end up getting something that isnt up to par, you could always send it to one of the gunsmiths on here that will dremel your extension to line up a bit better, or get rid of any lips or protrusions.

I'm not trying to scare you out of your build. I am just telling you that this may take a little trial and error, or a little work. But hey, by the time you are done, you will be very proud of your rifle.

Great advise mutant, I guess worst case scenario if I get a barrel in I can run to a local gunsmith and have him check and make any corrections needed.  That being said Im loooking for a 16" barrel any recommendations?  I see there are chromed lined, etc.  I will be mostly doing target shooting but will have a suppressor so from what I have read I would need a 1/8 twist?

The twist would depend on what type of ammo you will be using. I would say a 1/8 twist would be good for most. Even a 1/7 twist is fine in my opinion. As far as barrels, I prefer melonite/qpq treated barrels. They are very resistant to corrosion, harder than chrome, somewhat inexpensive, and I just think melonite is cool. Chrome lined, hammer forged chrome lined, stainless...i'm sure they will all work. There is a ton of hype these days around certain brands and types of barrels. If I didnt go with melonite, it would have been a good hammer forged chrome lined barrel, then a standard chrome lined barrel....in that order. Stainless match grade barrels do not fit my use. Although, if you find a decent stainless barrel on sale, you could always send it in to have get a nice salt bath.

U would write a list of everything you want to use it for. Then you can narrow the type of barrel down considerably. For example: If you want an "end of the world" rifle, then get a barrel that is corrosion resistant and can take some abuse and a high round count...which would take stainless out of the equation for me anyway. Or if you want to run competitions/matches or target shooting, you would go with that match grade stainless barrel that you just took off your list.

But i'm sure plenty of folks on here will tell you that you cant build a fighting rifle and a target gun all ot once...it would have to be two separate builds. However, I am not a superior marksman, so I don't travel that road.

You might also want to consider which type of gas block you will be using. Are you going to use set screws, or pin it, or are you using a clamp on style block? If you plan on using set scres, make sure your barrel has dimples, if not, you might have to send it to a gunsmith or try to do it yourself. At that point, you might as well have it pinned. If you are using a clamp, it doesnt matter. Just some things to take into consideration.  Just make sure that whichever barrel you choose to go with, has good specs and is well made.


Endless possibilities.