I have been reading for months, and thanks to all the advice have ordered an Ameetec lower and Model 1 Lightweight Carbine Kit. These will be put together hopefully early next week when they arrive.

My question is as stated - Do I need the wrench for the stock, or can i just wrap the castle nut with tape and use Channel Locks or Vice Grips?

I know its only a few dollars, but I am trying to do a relatively cheap build, on a VERY tight budget.

Thanks

Its not necessary, but its nice to have. You can wrap the nut with a rag, but be careful. Most people have better results using a punch to tighten up the nut.

You can't afford a $5.75 RRA wrench?  If you have ONE collapsible stock carbine the wrench is a must.  Good tools are always a good investment.  Let your channel locks, screwdriver, hammer, whatever, slip one good time and scratch up your receiver, doink up your threads, etc. and you'll be wishing you did things right.  Worse yet is a punch that will jump out the slot, scratch your castle nut, scratch your receiver, or go down and frig your threads.  I have a $5.75 RRA wrench, a $20 handguard removal tool (another great thing for cheap), and a big AR multitool ($39).  All well worth it.

I was thinking about recommending RRA's "Tactical CAR Wrench", but is it compatible with non-RRA receiver extension nuts? I just find it strange that RRA's regular CAR wrench costs so much more ($25 vs $6), about on par with Bushmaster's wrench. Why the discrepancy?

Get the DPMS stock wrench that is also a 1911 barrel wrench. Then you'll have to get a 1911 as well.

Yep, I can afford the wrench, but this build is likely to be a one time deal, so......

Already got the 1911 (actually 1991)- bought it in July, drove 450 miles round trip to get the exact thing I wanted - basic blued Colt, no one local had one, or was willing to get me one. They wanted to sell the Kimbers and Springfields on the shelf.

Same thing with the lightweight carbine, no one local has one and they dont know when they will be getting any no-bans, hence the mail order build.

The tight budget comes in because I have an agreement with my GF that when I buy a gun, she gets an expensive item too. (She's worth it). When I got the .45 I also got a Kel-Tec 380 and told her that that was hers.hink
Replies have brought up another question though - If I do at some time use an M4 stock on this one or another one, will I in fact need two different types of wrench?

You may think it's a one-time deal, but chances are you'll want to do a similar job some time in the next 50 years, which is how long the wrench will last.