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Posted: 9/18/2013 11:59:08 AM EDT
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Very new to the AR but looking at the gunsmith tools and most look like complete crap.Trying my 1st build and I know you cannot get any job done without the right tools so I really need some input on some good tools for the job.
Thanks,Ronbo |
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Buy your actual gunsmithing tools from Brownell's, they sell the finest.
There's this view of gunsmiths standing over some giant milling machine or lathe doing precision machining. The truth is the most time a gunsmith spends is sitting at a bench with screwdrivers and stones. The single most used gunsmith tool is a good set of gunsmiths screwdrivers. THE best drivers made and the industry standard are Brownell's Magna-Tip bits. I recommend one of the "law enforcement" size handles. They're the perfect size for good control. The Brownell's Magna-Tip bits are the finest quality, hard and finely finished. They offer more sizes of bits than anyone, including the ultra-thin bits as used on European shotguns. Break or damage a bit and all you have to do it email them and they send you a new bit. The second most used tool is a good magnifier visor. The standard in most industries is the Opti-Visor. To select one, sit down and hold some work at a comfortable distance. Measure from the work to your eye and buy a visor with that focal length. Next a good bench light. Can't work if you can't see. Good small stones in a few shapes. The best stones are ceramic. They don't wear like synthetic or Arkansas. Small brass, steel, and plastic hammers. A good punch set. For standard you can buy Sears Craftsman. For most work I preferred the Brownell's replaceable tip punches. With three handles and different pins I could use solid pins, "starter punch" pins, roll pin punches, etc. Best, break or bend a punch and instead of ordering and paying for a new punch and waiting for delivery, I could just slip in a new pin. Swiss needle fine set. Buy one fine cut, one coarser cut. Buy 6 inch to start, larger later if really needed. Good files are expensive, Swiss cut are finer made and more expensive. Start a new file out on brass, then use on steel after it wears. Rotery tools can be a disaster or an excellent gunsmiths tool, depending on the user. If you want the best, buy a Foredom Flex shaft with the #30 hand piece. Dremel is for cheapskates or amateurs. Buy Cratex rubber bonded abrasive shapes. The most useful are the 1/2" diameter "bullet" shape, the 1/2" cylinders, and the 7/8" to 1" disks that are about 1/4" thick. Buy 1/2" diameter HARD felt buffs in bullet shapes. Buy fine to coarse polishing media. This usually comes in sticks. Buy the polishing media and hard felt buffs from jeweler's supply houses, some from Brownell's. Buy a jewelers "wire" saw frame and Wire blades. These come in sizes from about as thick as a hair to just under coping saw blade sizes. I personally got the most use out of the 3/0 size. Buy from jewelers supply houses. When a hacksaw is too big, this saw works. Buy other tools as you realize you really need them. Don't buy something unless you DO need it. |
| You cannot go wrong with brownells, They do not sell junk. For a barrel wrench check out gem state armory,PRI also makes good ones. If you want to spend the money on a foredom there are good deals on amazon.I have also bought tools made by squirrel daddy on amazon for a good price that turned out too be very good quality. |
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Quoted:
Buy your actual gunsmithing tools from Brownell's, they sell the finest. There's this view of gunsmiths standing over some giant milling machine or lathe doing precision machining. The truth is the most time a gunsmith spends is sitting at a bench with screwdrivers and stones. The single most used gunsmith tool is a good set of gunsmiths screwdrivers. THE best drivers made and the industry standard are Brownell's Magna-Tip bits. I recommend one of the "law enforcement" size handles. They're the perfect size for good control. The Brownell's Magna-Tip bits are the finest quality, hard and finely finished. They offer more sizes of bits than anyone, including the ultra-thin bits as used on European shotguns. Break or damage a bit and all you have to do it email them and they send you a new bit. The second most used tool is a good magnifier visor. The standard in most industries is the Opti-Visor. To select one, sit down and hold some work at a comfortable distance. Measure from the work to your eye and buy a visor with that focal length. Next a good bench light. Can't work if you can't see. Good small stones in a few shapes. The best stones are ceramic. They don't wear like synthetic or Arkansas. Small brass, steel, and plastic hammers. A good punch set. For standard you can buy Sears Craftsman. For most work I preferred the Brownell's replaceable tip punches. With three handles and different pins I could use solid pins, "starter punch" pins, roll pin punches, etc. Best, break or bend a punch and instead of ordering and paying for a new punch and waiting for delivery, I could just slip in a new pin. Swiss needle fine set. Buy one fine cut, one coarser cut. Buy 6 inch to start, larger later if really needed. Good files are expensive, Swiss cut are finer made and more expensive. Start a new file out on brass, then use on steel after it wears. Rotery tools can be a disaster or an excellent gunsmiths tool, depending on the user. If you want the best, buy a Foredom Flex shaft with the #30 hand piece. Dremel is for cheapskates or amateurs. Buy Cratex rubber bonded abrasive shapes. The most useful are the 1/2" diameter "bullet" shape, the 1/2" cylinders, and the 7/8" to 1" disks that are about 1/4" thick. Buy 1/2" diameter HARD felt buffs in bullet shapes. Buy fine to coarse polishing media. This usually comes in sticks. Buy the polishing media and hard felt buffs from jeweler's supply houses, some from Brownell's. Buy a jewelers "wire" saw frame and Wire blades. These come in sizes from about as thick as a hair to just under coping saw blade sizes. I personally got the most use out of the 3/0 size. Buy from jewelers supply houses. When a hacksaw is too big, this saw works. Buy other tools as you realize you really need them. Don't buy something unless you DO need it. Unless I miss it in your text you forgot a vise. Saved me many times |
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"Unless I miss it in your text you forgot a vise. Saved me many times"
Sorry, and it's visES (plural) Unfortunately, quality of vises has fallen and most are Chinese made, which are not up to older American standards. I recommend one higher quality big shop vise. if you can afford it or find a used one, the best is the Wilton with the tubular shaft. This is for heavy duty use on larger items. Caution, Wilton is having some vises made in China. These usually have the square shaft. You need one small vise that's as adjustable as you can get. Brownell's sell a "Multi-Vise" that is, (or was) very good, but I recently heard that quality was down. You can buy a Chinese made replica from Midway and often on Ebay and other sources much cheaper. This offers a lot of positioning options which is critical. The usual Chinese made tubular shaft, rotating head vises are usable, and you're not out much money. Jaws seldom meet very well and the pipe jaw side is of little use. But, they're cheap and can be used for years and are good for really rough stuff that can beat up a good vise. A good source of these is Harbor Freight, although you may find them even cheaper else where. Stay well away from the Versa-Vise, which often comes with a vacuum base. These are pretty useless for gun work. The vise is made of aluminum and won't hold very well, and the vacumn base is totally worthless because even on a smooth surface it won't adhere. This is for strictly hobby use like model making. I will mention one Harbor Freight Chinese vise that IS excellent for small work. This is a swivel base, rotating head inexpensive cast iron vise that works very well for small parts, and allows lots of adjustments to get parts in position. It may need to have jaws shimmed to get them to meet, but quality is surprisingly good. Unlike most Chinese vises, this one didn't have at least a couple of the screw holes for the jaws stripped, and wasn't totally gritty and filthy inside. Quality of build is really very good even compared to some American made vises. On alteration that may be needed is that the bolt that retains the adjusting handle is simply coated with a thick gum-like locking compound and turned in until it holds the jaw but allows the handle to turn. I removed this and filed the end of the screw to a correct fit. Also, the screws that are in the end of the shaft on the back side are also installed using this gummy stuff. I disassembled the vise, cleaned it, lubed it with grease, then shimmed the end of the shaft so thew three retaining screws could be tightened correctly, but still allow the shaft to rotate smoothly. Small vises like this are very difficult to find, and this one is the best I've seen in years. It's not up to rough use because the locking bolts tend to slip if the vise is stressed heavily but to position small parts it's great. I highly recommend spending the $25 bucks for this one. http://www.harborfreight.com/2-1-2-half-inch-table-swivel-vise-97160.html Last, a perfect vise for working on tiny parts like sears or hammers is the "Swiv-O-Ling" ball vise sold by Forster reloading. This is an extremely high quality steel vise, but it's only usable for small parts and is more a precision instrument not to be used roughly. http://www.forsterproducts.com/catalog.asp?prodid=700672 As both a watchmaker and gunsmith I tended to collect vises, always looking for the "perfect" one, but never found it. Since no one vise will really do it all, you should have several. |
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dfariswheel
Yes Vises not just one vise, my whole point was you need to have at least one to do almost anything. I could only imagine putting a castle nut on a buffer tube. None the less that's awesome info on that. I haven't been vise shopping in a while because haven't had the workbench to set up anything on (including my reloading setup) |
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Check out this vise block. It works with "oversized" uppers like the Vltor MUR and can be adjusted to hold the upper receiver and rail. I used this to install my Knights URX rail and saved me from buying an extra tool to hold the two together while I installed the barrel nut:
NO-MAR vise block |
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