This is what I have,an Armalite M15, A2, Carbine. serial number: 49,1xx. It has a 16" barrel, the handgaurds are about 8 1/4" long, it has amuzzle brake an no no bayonet lug. Here are my questions?

1) Will a doublestar A2 front sight base (.750") fit my barrel? With the evil bayo lug. Midway has them at a reasobale price.

2) If so, which direction do I knock the taper pins out?

3) Who makes a " Free Floating Handgaurd " that fits my rifle at a reasonable cost?

4) I want to put a HiVIZ sight on my rifle will I need an A2 sight tool?

5) Will a freefloating handgaurd improve accuracy?

6) To pull the barrel nut I was thinking about getting a DPMS wrench and an Aluminum Barrel vise jaws this should suffice to loosen and tighten
the barrel nut?

I would have someone do the work with the FSB your talking about. From your questions your asking, I dont you will be able to do it.

Re: Ok GWB signed the AWB thru executive order, and slick Willie, signed the AWB, into law. Kennedy on the contrare, who owned a M1 Garand , a couple of Colt Ar 15's and was a lifetme  NRA memeber said: " We choose theese things not because they are easy but because they are hard".

I have basic gunsmithing skills. I built my own AKM, including the receiver using hand tools. I did a 308 Saiga conversion. Recently, I did an SKS
bolt mod, to allow removable magazines to be installed or removed with the bolt closed. Also, I had a Century Fal that I had to do some work
on to get right, as well a Century Cetme that had zero bolt gap. I'm just not that famaliar with the AR platform.

I can see that the sight pins as well as the gas block pins will half to knocked out from left to right, looking forward. Then, the sight should slip right off I can see I will also half to drill the sight for the pins, Aluminum is easy to drill. The old sight will tell me where to drill and the correct size.
Clamp on sights don't have evil bayo lugs. If worse comes to worse I could always put the old sight back on there and skip the bayo.

As far as the barrel goes I do have a big vise that should hold the barrel , with the blocks. and I can try to use a Mil Spec barrel wrench, if that
doesn't work I can use plan "B" more drastic meausres. Like get a PRI one, for instance.

Now the only questions is where to get a Free Floating Handgaurd that will fit my specific rifle, for a decent price. I suppose I could e-mail suppliers to find out.

The DPMS multi tool is GREAT!!  Also, concerning a quad rail that is free floating, I chose the Yankee Hill Machine Diamond series unit.  I paid $100 at a gunshow reciently for the midlength and the install was SIMPLE!  The DPMS tool has "pins" that worked EXACTLY with the YHM barrel nut used with the handgard.  

There are mixed reviews as to YHM's non compliance to the 1913 specs but will tell you, I have found the rail to be very high quality and not a bad deal at all.  Good Luck!!


In addition, YHM has a "clamp on" folding sight front gas block that has the bayo lug for ya!

The Hiviz front sight with the fiber optic insert comes with it's own adjusting tool, the A2  tool will not work.  I just put one in last week, I like it, need to get a couple more now.

The only problem I really can see is finding the right handgaurd, mine 8 1/4" long. Not 7 1/4" like an M4.

I will need tools. I will need a puches for the gas roll pin and for the taper pins. A good upper receiver action block will be needed to. Then I will
need a mil spec barrel wrench. I will probably need an A2 sight tool as well. The only expensive tool is the action block.
I could always resell it if need be as well.

So what I'm looking for is A2 carbine Full Floating Handgaurd.

To answer question 5, which asks whether floating your handguard will improve accuracy, it kind of depends with an AR.  If you use your sling a lot when shooting (ie wrapping your arm) and get a lot of tension going, then floating will improve accuracy quite a bit.  This is why highpower competitors, who shoot standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone, and wrench that sling down tight, see some tightening of groups when floating the handguard.  Floating it allows more consistency, since the barrel then doesn't get flexed by sling tension (thereby eliminating a variable) since the sling is attaching to the floated handguard.  As far as the AR goes (other rifles have additional reasons that floating is beneficial), there's really not much of an accuracy benefit to floating if you're not using your sling, because there are no variables being eliminated (everything stays consistent).

+1

The FSB isn't aluminum.

The reason that everyone will tell you to send the front sight base work out to someone else is the FSB and barrel are drilled together and no two are alike.  To put a new front sight base on would require you to get the holes exactly right and just putting them in the same relative place on the new FSB might not be the same place at all because of tolerance differences between the two bases.

If you've got the tools and machining skills to make a fixture for this that puts the new stuff in the correct place, more power to you.

Quoted:
To answer question 5, which asks whether floating your handguard will improve accuracy, it kind of depends with an AR. If you use your sling a lot when shooting (ie wrapping your arm) and get a lot of tension going, then floating will improve accuracy quite a bit. This is why highpower competitors, who shoot standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone, and wrench that sling down tight, see some tightening of groups when floating the handguard. Floating it allows more consistency, since the barrel then doesn't get flexed by sling tension (thereby eliminating a variable) since the sling is attaching to the floated handguard. As far as the AR goes (other rifles have additional reasons that floating is beneficial), there's really not much of an accuracy benefit to floating if you're not using your sling, because there are no variables being eliminated (everything stays consistent).
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Uhhhhmmm, you guys heard of barrel harmonics? I disagree, there's more in play than just the sling, free floating CAN be a benifit to any barrel.

I have a AR service rifle that I shoot in high power that I built from parts.  The front sight taper pins go out from left to right.  The things I have found that help an AR are a good trigger, good sights and a free floating handguard.  The tools you need to completely disassemble an AR are:  A barrel nut tool, I use a DPMS.  An upper receiver holding fixture, I use a Brownell's (search the internet for this, I got mine for a good price but I don't remember where).  A good set of punches and roll pin punches. A brass hammer. I got the hammer and puches at Midway USA.   Front sight tool.  You don't need a barrel vice.  A torque wrench to put the barrel back on (35 foot lbs).  An A2 front sight fixture is nice but I made one that works just fine from a piece of 2X4.  By the way to punch out the front sight pins start with a nail set, they are very hard and have a nice concave end, regular puches just bend.  

In high power the trigger has to break at 4 1/2 pounds or more.  I use an ajustable 2 stage trigger from Bushmaster.  I like two stage triggers as I also shoot an M1 Garand and Enfield and they both have these. For sights I changed the rear appeture to .40 and the front to .62.  I have a White Oak Arms floating handguard.  This made a huge difference as I use a tight sling when I shoot but even from the bench not using the sling it makes a difference.  I just installed the handguard and fired 2 five round groups at 25 yards with PMC for one and Hornady 55 gr for the other on a dimly lite indoor range.  I could only find 3 holes in each group ( no I did not miss the target for the other 2 shots).

I gotcha mang, but the FSB isn't for the garage gunsmith. You're really needing things like laser alignment to make sure the fsb isn't canted and that the gas port lines up correctly. There is a reason places charge $100 to install one.



At worst, if you bugger it up, you can get a clamp on and be ok. So it's not the end of the world. But getting one done right for a first timer ain't too fun