I've been building an upper with my/for my son & got him the 11" Evolution rail for Christmas.  It's our 1st time doing a full complete build.

We've been trying to mount the rail, but it doesn't fit over the thermal bushings when they are on the barrel nut.  The nut came from a PSA upper parts kit.

We've been going over & over the video of the assembly & all goes well until it's time for the rail to slip over the bushings.  It doesn't.

And just looking at the rail, it doesn't look like the thermal bushings even line up with the inside grooves of the rail.

Any ideas?

There is a specific way to put the bushings on.  IIRC, the end with the notches goes on the bottom.  The bushings will meet up at the top but not on the bottom.

Mine was really tight, and the bushings were properly installed.  With the upper supported on a reaction rod, a few light taps with a rubber mallet were required to fully seat the handguard over the bushings.

Even just alone, the bushings don't even appear to fit inside the rail or line up with any of the grooves.  I had removed the 2 assembly screws & lowered the set screw so it doesn't interfere.

Yup, I had the same issue.

Are the 2 halves of the thermal bushing snapped on all the way. I had to grip both and squeeze VERY VERYhard and they clicked onto the barrel nut. Mine was a Core15 barrel nut.

They look like they snap in...you can hear it & feel it, but they still wiggle a bit too.

Okay, here are some pics...had trouble getting the light right & focus.  New camera for Christmas...too many bells & whistles for me....still learning.

Bushings on barrel nut...view from top w/ gas tube.



Bushings on barrel nut...view from bottom, with 1/2 holes on bushings.



Here is the rail on the bottom of the picture with the bushings just starting to go in & stopping.



Here are just the bushings sitting inside the rail.  I put a paper towel inside to hole them up in position.

I just took this pic.  It shows 1 of the bushings resting inside the rail. (A paper towel is behind it to prevent it from falling down into the rail)

The top tooth on the bushing is lines up with the slot on the rail, the others don't seem to match.

I would get a hold of 1 of the Samson reps on here

I tried calling them last Monday afternoon.  Spoke to a nice woman who answered the phone.  I told her the problem & she told me the 2 guys that could help me were currently on the shop floor & they would call me back in about an hour.  She took my name & phone number.....BUT they never called that day, or since.

Luckily, I posted a thread on this in the build section & some guys there helped me out.  

I got the rail on, but took a lot of work & the use of a dead blow hammer.  No way in hell did it look anything like as easy it was in Samson's video on it.

I definitely agree, neither of mine (installed a 9" and a 15") didn't go on nearly as easily as the one in the video.  Can you PM me a link to the build thread?  I would really like to read what everyone said.

here it is:  Link

It really is difficult to get the bushings to fit inside the rail without them first being installed on the rifle. The rail used in the "old" installation video (as opposed to our new one which can be found on youtube under our new channel name Samson MFG Pro) had been on and off at least a dozen times prior to filming. Once the aluminum stretches and forms to the barrel nut and bushings it is obviously much easier to install it over and over again. Right now is clearly a busy time of year for us and everyone is flying out Sunday for SHOT. Send an email to [email protected] and I will try and connect with you. If worse comes to worse we will install the rail for you after you mail us your upper or we can talk you through the install process over the phone? Let me know what else I can do to help. Email is a much better means of communicating about such issues as opposed to the forums. Thanks!

Also I can see from the earlier pictures (They didn't load for me the first time) that you had the bushings "laying" inside the tube. They will never align properly in that orientation. The respective inside and outside radii of the bushings and the rail when factoring in the flutes will not allow the bushing to seat. It has to be slid in with perfect alignment from the rear. It is possible also that a couple of you may have received rails that the anodizing was for some reason unusually thick on? The rails do not get fit tested after final coating as it would potentially scratch the finish which would not be good for retail customers to see. With that being said it should not require a miracle for you guys to get them installed. We will make it right one way or another we stand behind our products.

I sincerely apologize to anyone who has been passed over in the last couple weeks on tech support issues. This is our busiest time of year and the entire staff has been working hard to try and stay on top of everything. After SHOT, things will ease. techsupport@samson-mfg is the best way of communicating with someone directly usually. Thanks again guys!

...I had the EXACT same situation with the 15" Evo I purchased.  I ended up using wooden wedges between the tabs for the tighenting screws to open the rail up so it line up properly could slip on over the thermal bushings.  I put the thermal bushings on the barrel nut I was going to use in the build and inserted it in the handguard and left it there to allow the handgurd to "stretch" and conform to the bushings while I awaited the rest of the parts to arrive.  Eventually, all the parts arrived and I assembled the rifle and encountered lesser problems when it cam to the handguard installation.  The HG never "slipped" right on like the video shows, but they did go on without the use of any hammering or such.

I'd check if the barrel is centered inside the tube once you have tightened it all down, it would be readily evident if your front sight requires an inordinate amount of turns up or down (more likely down) to get it aligned to put rounds on target. I'd also check the left to right centering of the barrel as well, again evidenced by inordinate adjustment of the rear sights windage adjustment.

"Samson Pro" is very proactive responding on this forum to posted issues, and advises contacting Samson staff so they can assist or return your calls or make contact with you.  My experience in that regard is different from the perception those forum responses give to the viewing public.

Good luck with your install of the Samson product you purchased.

Did you send us an email to techsupport? Obviously I don't know your name so it is hard for me to tell if this issue has been resolved. Thank you!

Just trying to help you out SP

Big Tom thanks!