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Posted: 4/6/2014 1:56:15 PM EDT
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I thought I should give something back as I've taken so much information from this site in the past couple months. I may have went a bit overboard for my first build (I get really into hobbies), especially considering I am a dirt poor grad student. This is also great thesis-writing procrastination.
What I intend to do is post pictures of the components as I receive and install them. I will also provide price, source, and details as to why I chose what I chose. Hopefully this will prove to be of interest to some beginners and also some of the experts on this forum who have helped me get to this point. I'll start with the tools: 
Upper/Lower Receiver vice block: Amazon, $30 *This was the cheapest set I could find that had an upper block allowing for horizontal orientation Aeroshell 33MS: PilotsHQ, $16 *From all the reports I read, this is the grease to go with. Will probably never use this monster tube, but it's the best deal I could find. CLP: Fleet Farm, $7 *General consensus says this is the best all around oil. AR Wrench: Amazon, $11 *Cheap. Doesn't include barrel nut wrench, but the wrench comes with the DD Lite Rail I chose. Precision screwdrivers and pliers: Walgreens, $3 
*These will probably break. Roll pin punches: Amazon, $11 *These will probably break as well, but other places charge a killing for these. We'll see how I fare without the holders. Soft mallet: Amazon, $8 *Not really sure why I decided to buy this, but it looks cool. Goggles: Chemistry Class, Too cheap to by other safety goggles *A bachelor's in biomedical science and little to show for it except lots of books and goggles. Dremel bit: Fleet farm $2 *This will be used to modify the Battle Arms short throw safety selector. Obviously I already have a dremel, but a small file would probably suffice for this task. I went a bit minimalist with the tools, but I've heard it can be done with a six pack and a utility tool so I think I should be good. Input welcome. |
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Lower Receiver: Noveske Gen2, Joebob Outfitters, $250
*I had initially planned to start this build with a Rainier upper and lower, however some confusion with the company left a bad taste in my mouth: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_4/642777_Bad_Customer_Service_Experience___Rainier_Arms.html Long story short, the plan had to be modified and when a coveted Noveske Gen2 lower became available, I jumped onboard. 
It seems I am a bit cursed with receivers as the finish was entirely not what I expected. According to some posts on this forum, Noveske decided to cerakote this batch for whatever reason, leaving me with a Gen1 upper that is completely different in finish: 
At this point, I'm saying screw it. If it bothers me enough, I'll cerakote the upper to match I must say that the quality of this lower is very good. I cannot find a flaw anywhere, so that is very pleasing. I think it will look good with the other components I've chosen... |
Trigger: Geissele SD-E, Midway, $235
This trigger is sweet. I had the opportunity to fire one and I was immediately in love. I like the feel of the flat bow as it seems to allow better control. It's about as crisp a pull as I've ever felt. Not to mention, the thing is sweet looking! Comes with all the necessary parts for installation. 
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Bolt Catch: Tactical Link enhanced battery assist lever, $30, Brownells
I wanted an ambidextrous bolt catch, and it came down to this and the Magpul. I heard quite a bit about the Magpul having issues with play, and decided to go this route instead. Definitely not as pretty as the magpul… Function first I guess.I've also heard the finger placement is optimal on this lever. I will report on this after some use. One important note is that this lever does not come with bolt catch buffer, spring, or roll pin. |
| Do you mind me asking how much gun building experience you had prior to beginning this project? I planned on starting a similar thread once I received my first part, which should be soon, but I will also add my thoughts on the difficulty of the installation process for someone with no gun building experience. I'd be interested on hearing your thoughts on the building process as you go along. |
Safety Selector: Battle Arms BAD-ASS-ST, $85, Brownells
This thing is seriously overpriced. What can I say, I bought into the hype. And I have lazy thumbs. This device only requires 45 degree rotation to flip the safety on and off. The most important thing to note about the ST is that it will require some modification if it's being used on a standard receiver. You can read up on it on their website if you want, but long story short, that little notch that can bee seen in the second image will need to be shaved off in order to fit into my Noveske. No big since the finish of the inner cylinder won't be visible when the build is complete. |
Pivot and Takedown Pin: Battle Arms BAD-EPS, $28, Brownells
I chose these mainly because of their ease of installation. I heard too many stories about detents being launched into the unknown. This video sealed the deal for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcAqNDwT34w I should note that the Battle Arms stuff came with all the necessary tools, springs, and detents, which I've come to greatly appreciate. |
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Quoted:
I thought I should give something back as I've taken so much information from this site in the past couple months. I may have went a bit overboard for my first build (I get really into hobbies), especially considering I am a dirt poor grad student. This is also great thesis-writing procrastination. What I intend to do is post pictures of the components as I receive and install them. I will also provide price, source, and details as to why I chose what I chose. Hopefully this will prove to be of interest to some beginners and also some of the experts on this forum who have helped me get to this point. I'll start with the tools: Upper/Lower Receiver vice block: Amazon, $30 *This was the cheapest set I could find that had an upper block allowing for horizontal orientation Aeroshell 33MS: PilotsHQ, $16 *From all the reports I read, this is the grease to go with. Will probably never use this monster tube, but it's the best deal I could find. CLP: Fleet Farm, $7 *General consensus says this is the best all around oil. AR Wrench: Amazon, $11 *Cheap. Doesn't include barrel nut wrench, but the wrench comes with the DD Lite Rail I chose. Precision screwdrivers and pliers: Walgreens, $3
*These will probably break. Roll pin punches: Amazon, $11 *These will probably break as well, but other places charge a killing for these. We'll see how I fare without the holders. Soft mallet: Amazon, $8 *Not really sure why I decided to buy this, but it looks cool. Goggles: Chemistry Class, Too cheap to by other safety goggles *A bachelor's in biomedical science and little to show for it except lots of books and goggles. Dremel bit: Fleet farm $2 *This will be used to modify the Battle Arms short throw safety selector. Obviously I already have a dremel, but a small file would probably suffice for this task. I went a bit minimalist with the tools, but I've heard it can be done with a six pack and a utility tool so I think I should be good. Input welcome. zander: Just a few comments on your tools. CLP may be a good cleaner and rust preventative, but makes for a poor gun lubricant. Slip 2000 is the very best, IMO, and ordinary Mobil 1 motor oil is a close relative. The mallet will come in handy again and again in home gunsmithing jobs. Dump the googles and buy a good pair of shooting glasses, to wear when working with spray can solvents. One little drop of that stuff in your eye and you will be a believer. good luck - CW |
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Quoted:
zander: Just a few comments on your tools. CLP may be a good cleaner and rust preventative, but makes for a poor gun lubricant. Slip 2000 is the very best, IMO, and ordinary Mobil 1 motor oil is a close relative. The mallet will come in handy again and again in home gunsmithing jobs. Dump the googles and buy a good pair of shooting glasses, to wear when working with spray can solvents. One little drop of that stuff in your eye and you will be a believer. good luck - CW Quoted:
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I thought I should give something back as I've taken so much information from this site in the past couple months. I may have went a bit overboard for my first build (I get really into hobbies), especially considering I am a dirt poor grad student. This is also great thesis-writing procrastination. What I intend to do is post pictures of the components as I receive and install them. I will also provide price, source, and details as to why I chose what I chose. Hopefully this will prove to be of interest to some beginners and also some of the experts on this forum who have helped me get to this point. I'll start with the tools: Upper/Lower Receiver vice block: Amazon, $30 *This was the cheapest set I could find that had an upper block allowing for horizontal orientation Aeroshell 33MS: PilotsHQ, $16 *From all the reports I read, this is the grease to go with. Will probably never use this monster tube, but it's the best deal I could find. CLP: Fleet Farm, $7 *General consensus says this is the best all around oil. AR Wrench: Amazon, $11 *Cheap. Doesn't include barrel nut wrench, but the wrench comes with the DD Lite Rail I chose. Precision screwdrivers and pliers: Walgreens, $3
*These will probably break. Roll pin punches: Amazon, $11 *These will probably break as well, but other places charge a killing for these. We'll see how I fare without the holders. Soft mallet: Amazon, $8 *Not really sure why I decided to buy this, but it looks cool. Goggles: Chemistry Class, Too cheap to by other safety goggles *A bachelor's in biomedical science and little to show for it except lots of books and goggles. Dremel bit: Fleet farm $2 *This will be used to modify the Battle Arms short throw safety selector. Obviously I already have a dremel, but a small file would probably suffice for this task. I went a bit minimalist with the tools, but I've heard it can be done with a six pack and a utility tool so I think I should be good. Input welcome. zander: Just a few comments on your tools. CLP may be a good cleaner and rust preventative, but makes for a poor gun lubricant. Slip 2000 is the very best, IMO, and ordinary Mobil 1 motor oil is a close relative. The mallet will come in handy again and again in home gunsmithing jobs. Dump the googles and buy a good pair of shooting glasses, to wear when working with spray can solvents. One little drop of that stuff in your eye and you will be a believer. good luck - CW Thanks for the heads up! I'll look into those other oils. |
| Don't feel bad about the upper and lowers mis-match, mine looks just like yours but they do fit together awesomely. Hell my QD plate is friggin grey compared to yours, but like I said in your other thread it doesn't matter much in the end. The battle arms pins are awesome too, so good call with those as regular ones can be a bitch to install. But good luck with your build, looks like your off to an awesome start! |
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Really nice build.....one word of advice, you are paying 5-10% more shopping at Brownells across the board than using other sources. Shop around, a lot of places will give you free shipping as well! Yeah… I ended up going through them for a lot of the parts while they were having that free shipping sale simply because they had everything I wanted in stock… Next gun will be a bit more of a budget build and the parts will not come from them. |
Buffer and Spring: Spikes ST-T2, $40, Brownells; Sprinco Blue, $22, Sprinco
I went with the spikes because of all the great reviews. This is one where I totally trusted the community as I've never shot a gun with this buffer. I believe the buffer contains a powder (tungsten?) that makes reduced recoil… We will see. 
Again went purely off of feedback for this choice. This is a chrome silicon spring: supposed to be the bees knees. Hoping for a good combination here as I want a smooth recoil not only for my own enjoyment but for others that will be hopefully joining me at the range. |
Stock: Magpul CTR, $75, Brownells
Yeah so I wanted the $250 UBR, but I really couldn't justify the expense. Maybe this will change in the future, but for now I'm pretty happy with this stock. It seems to be a quite sturdy, simplistic design. I think it was a good value. I considered the STR for a wider cheek weld area, but wasn't a fan of the aesthetics and opted for the CTR. |
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Lower Receiver Assembly:
I have to say I am really happy with how this turned out. I spent less that 90 minutes assembling this entire lower and it was extremely easy. All I have left to do is tighten the castle nut to the correct torque (40 lb I believe) and stake it in. Stopped at my local shop, Element Arms to pick up a few misc parts and they were super helpful. Had a good selection of ACOGs, including a combo (TA31F-RMR) that I am now seriously drooling about. Now just waiting on my stripped upper from a Rainier snafu and I can put the whole thing together. Loving the Geissele in this thing. 
This is as far as I can put it together with what I have so far. 
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| Very nice. The ubr is more money then the smaller parts, but, for me I can justify a ubr more than I can a set of takedown pins that are Normally a few dollars and even tho most people have the bad ass selector, and it is very nice but I chose the 45 degree noveske safety selector $29 or so over the bad ass selector $85 but that's probably just me. |
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Rule is if you mention her you have to post a pic. I go with "model the gun" too. Quoted:
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Girlfriend pissed. Gun receiving too much attention. Too be continued... that applies only in GD |
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