So, I'm going to be ready for handguards soon. The good news is they're a couple of cheap, Daytona Tactical mloc rails. The bad... boy they are tight to the nut... a knurled nut at that. Anyone have a few good tips for slipping these on easily? I'm thinking I can plastic wedge them open a bit and maybe heat the nut end with boiling water to expand it a touch. That said, I'm just thinking common sense but I've only done a half dozen free floats and they were smooth nuts and probably 15 years ago.

Any advice would be great!

This is the HG... well it's the same model and style anyway.

https://daytonatactical.com/products/12-inch-cerakote-olive-drab-green-m-lok-free-float-rail

Heat gun will expand the handguard some. Lube the OD of the bbl nut. Cake.

Clamp on rail?  Just inset a screwdriver in the slit on the bottom and twist a little.