This is the 2nd upper I just put together...20" Oly SUM barrel, DPMS Lo Pro receiver, Clark carbon fiber tube.  

The tube is very light, as you'd expect, but much lighter in color than I thought it would be....it's gray, pretty much.  

I still have to drill the hole for the bipod stud...but I'm gonna wait on that for a day or two.  

I'm counting on this rifle to be a tackdriver...the OLY SUM barrels are supposed to be pretty good.  I debated between this and a Douglas, but the dealer discount at Brownell's saved me a couple of bucks on the Oly.  





These pix arent' great, but they show how much lighter in color the tube is.  

The SUM barrel will not disappoint you.  

Nice looking weapon.

Thanks...I'm still trying to figure out what to do about the gas block...that one came of my Armalite upper...but it doesn't cover the whole area where the FSB was...I may pop the Yankee Hill one that has the flip up front sight built in, as it covers a bigger area.  

Nice looking upper Fenian.

Two questions - Are you building these uppers for yourself or someone else?

Why did you choose to use the Lo-Pro upper. I'm guessing as the name implies, the top rail is lower allowing you to mount optics lower for a better check weld?

Thanks

Airgunner, I'm just doing these for myself...I finally have a couple of $$ to spend on projects, and all of this is the result of the dealer discounts I get at Midway and Brownell's for my C&R license.  I'm saving LOTS of money hehehe..of course, I have to SPEND a lot to save a lot.  

My choice of the DMPS upper and Oly barrels is just because that's what Brownell's carries...they have really good prices on the Oly barrels...that 16" match on the other gun was only $105!  The Lo Pro upper is the same style used on the DPMS .308 rifles...no forward assist, and no trap door.  Kinda cool, especially with a chrome bolt carrier.  The make a higher one, and a higher/extended one...but I just decided on this for the time being.  To be honest, if the Lo Pro is any higher than a regular upper, it's not by much.  I think they call it Lo Pro because it isn't high lol.  

I really wanted the PRI tube, but just couldn't justify the $300 price tag, as I'm doing a bunch of other stuff, and still have to replace a .45 pistol I sold.  If you look at the other upper, I went with the Yankee Hill tube and accesories; the Clark tube made sense for this gun.  I was gonna get the Armalite, but someone here couldn't find a wrench to work on it...so I figured the Clark just needs a strap wrench to get it on...very simple.  I went ahead and drilled the hole for the bipod stud...the inside of the tube cracked a little, but the oustide is fine.  They include a metal piece that reinforces the inside..so it will cover the area right around the hole on the inside.  

I will be helping a friend build a rifle in a while, so doing all this myself is a good exercise in finding out what's available, and what's really cool.  I also want to get a bunch of this stuff out of the way, since I'll be trying to actually save some $$ once I get the 2nd part of my refi done.  

Hey Fenian,

Thanks for the reply,

I asked about who you where building them for simply because it is something I would like to do (as in "building AR's for other people"). I've invested in the tools and so far I've built two lowers and one upper. I will build two more uppers by summer but that will be it for a while. I love building them but I can't afford to, nor justify having a safe full of AR's. Long story short, I was curious if you where doing this as some kind of business\side work type deal.

I asked about the Lo-Pro simply because I wanted to know what advantages it had (if any) over a standard A3 upper? I do agree that are very cool looking uppers and there is no need for a Forward assist or dust cover on a Varmint rig.

Didn't know Midway also offered C&R discounts. Man, I've got to get me one of those!

Thanks again

Anyone who builds ARs, or is even thinking about it, MUST get a C&R hehehe.  

I'm with you...I love building them, but can't really afford it.  And, all my friends are married, and their wives won't LET them afford it.  I go in fits and spurts...I'll sit around peering into my safe, and decide that that upper would work better on that lower, etc...and heaven forbid I should have an extra upper, lower, or barrel around, since that will eventually turn into a complete rifle.  

The lo pro is the perfect choice for a varmint type gun..although the raised optics platform one is even cheaper...$80, versus $88 for the Lo Pro.  You can build a match grade upper for about $325 if you get the stuff at Brownells.  

You can't go wrong with a match grade barrel and an upper for only $185.  Hard to beat that anywhere else, and you wouldn't be getting name brand pieces if you did.  

I agree with you 100% on the C&R licence. It is on my ever growng must do list!

I've been talking to a few fellew gun guys here at work and trying to get them to let me build them an AR but they to too hung up on the $250 AK's. I'm not done working on them yet!