I'm trying to tighten the forend of my Remington 870 but I don't have that Remington forend tool I've heard people talk about.

Do you guys have any suggestions for tightening the forend?

Thanks.

I suppose you can always make something fit the notches, but you risk damaging the bracket.  I suggest buying the tool.  Rarely will you need to take down the fore end for cleaning but in the event you do, having the tool drastically simplifies the process.

A Standard Wood Bore Bit (Looks like a paddle almost) will span the gap and fit inside the forearm.

I forgot if I used a 1 1/4" or 1 1/8" bit, but it perfectly spans the gap in the notches of the forearm retaining ring, and you just turn to tighten it with a simple pair of pliars.

Hilly Billy Gun Smithing for sure, but very cheap, fast & easy to find at any hardware store!

BIGGER_HAMMER

Damn. So I'll have to buy something anyway?

I HAVE NOT tried this (Note the qualifier).....BUT.......
One poster on another forum says he's used the slide from his Remington 870 to tighten the nut on his gun.

If you try this, be very careful not to damage the slide.

A safer method is to get a piece of 1/8" steel plate and cut a piece that will fit across the nut and in the notches.
Put the homemade spanner in the notches and use a pair of Vise-Grips to turn the spanner.

BE WARY of any advice about using a pair of needle-nosed pliers as a spanner.
One poster tried this, slipped and ruined the thin steel action bar tube.

You can also check the local gun stores to see if they have a real forearm nut wrench.
They could do it for you, or possibly loan or rent the tool to you.

Take off the fore end tube assembly , the manual will tell you how on page (15).
And then get a paint stirrer and then tighting  the nut and put it all back together , that's how I did mine .

Well did you do it ???
Is it fixed ???

I have the tool and ended up taking mine to the gun smith.  It took two beefy guys, a vise, and a 2ft steel leverage bar to get the darned thing off. he

Jeez!, why didn't they apply a little Liquid Wrench or other penetrating oil?  It should come off easier than that.  Sometimes, you tap it with a hammer to break it loose, then apply the spanner.

Quoted: Well did you do it ??? Is it fixed ???

Yeah, and I used the needle-nosed pliers method and nearly screwed up my gun. I tightened it pretty well and I was careful, and then I thought to myself, "just give it one more twist," but it didn't want to budge, and I gave it a little more force, and the pliers slipped. There was a tiny dent on the steel tube. At this point I was cursing myself because I thought I really, really screwed up, but fortunately, I was able to smooth it back out with a hammer and punch. Just banged the dent back into place. It was a close call though and I don't want to ever do that again. But considering I got it on tight, I don't think I'll ever have to.

Quoted: Quoted: Well did you do it ??? Is it fixed ??? Yeah, and I used the needle-nosed pliers method and nearly screwed up my gun. I tightened it pretty well and I was careful, and then I thought to myself, "just give it one more twist," but it didn't want to budge, and I gave it a little more force, and the pliers slipped. There was a tiny dent on the steel tube. At this point I was cursing myself because I thought I really, really screwed up, but fortunately, I was able to smooth it back out with a hammer and punch. Just banged the dent back into place. It was a close call though and I don't want to ever do that again. But considering I got it on tight, I don't think I'll ever have to.

That's why I told you to do it the way, I told you to do it , if you took it apart , like on page (15) tells you to do , you could have tightened it without fucking shit up, oh well you live and learn ...
I learned the hard way also !!!

Later ....

lol next time I'll read the manual. Thanks for the help. Unfortunately, this tightening problem is the least of my worries. My gun occasionally stubs shells, a problem which I just noticed (and perhaps it just started) a month ago. I'm going to call Remington tomorrow about this.