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I received mine about 4weeks ago and is the same way, barreled 3 action. Does not affect anything that I have noticed on shooting mine. But I do plan on replceing the guard on mine.

Is this a problem? No
Will it affect accuracy? Not really.
What parts could I replace to stop the rattle? You can try a bunch of different handguards till you find one that fits tight-er. Or Just put a spot of high temp RTV under the HG at the clip end and some in the front ferrule...

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The handguards do not necessarily fit tight - its not a flaw in either your rifle or the handguard.  Nonetheless, "tightening" it is easy enough with a couple of dabs of black RTV sealant as suggested.  Just let dry and trim excess with a razor.

The handguard and the handguard clip are not symetrical - one side is slightly longer than the other.  Make note of that when you remove it.  In case you mix it up, with the handguard facing upright and from the shooter's perspective the long side of the clip goes on the left side (longer side) of the handguard.

To remove:

Remove the receiver/barrel assembly from the stick and turn upside down with the muzzle facing away from you.  Using a very small screw driver or punch, engage the LEFT side hole on the clip and press out or rap with a hammer lighty to pop it off.  Do the same on the right side.

To install, with the handguard face up and from the shooter's perspective hook the right (shorter) side of the clip on the right side of the handgaurd and with the thumb press down on the top left side of the clip until it snaps into place.  Do this ONLY with the fiberglass guards, as it may break a wooden one.  With a wooden one I think you need a tool that engages the two holes and spreads the clip out.

I STRONGLY suggest you invest in The M14 Complete Assembly Guide by Walt Kuleck and Clint McKee.  It is invaluable for any M14 owner.  You can get it at Fulton Armory and it is worth every penny.

While you may find fault with the fit of the handguard I think you will find the overall design of the rifle is one of absolute brilliance.  It is a superb weapon and by far my absolute favorite.

Quoted: If I use high temp RTV, do I want to shim the handguard so I push it towards the stock, or away from the stock?

Push the handguard to the front. One of the NM mods is to cut off a bit of the rear of the handguard so there is about an eighth inch of clearance between the guard and the receiver. Just a dot of RTV in the center at the back to get the guard off the barrel and "enough" at the front to hold the guard in place.

Although I finally broke down and bought the hand guard clip tool there are a couple of other methods that work to seperate the clip from the handguard.

-one I came up with is to use a "one handed clamp", you know the type with a squeeze action pistol grip that tightens.  Remove the roll pin that prevents the working part of the clamp from coming off the bar.  Remove and reverse the working part of the clamp so that the squeeze part opens instead of closes when you sqeeze.  Take some mechanics wire and wire through one hole in the metal handgaurd clip and wire it to the fixed jaw of the clamp.  Take another piece of wire and work it through the other hole in the handguard clip and wire that off to the moveable head of the clamp.  Work the clamp action enough to pull the ends of the clip apart and rotate the handguard out of the clip with a rolling action.  reinstall the same way.  I don't recomend you press a clip over either the glass or the wooden handguards as the wood will get chewed and you may chip the bottom of the glass handguard adding to your rattle problem.  I have a box of usgi glass handguards and half of them have that stupid chip.

Another method I saw is do the same thing with the strong wire and fix one wire in the jaw of a vise and make a loop of the other wire and insert a long handled screwdrive and then pry the clip open with the screwdriver as a powerful lever.  I've done that once, it works very well too.

The bitch is finding a wire that is thin enough and strong enough.  In a pinch I've used stranded copper electrical wire but the stuff breaks as often as not.  There is a fair amount of force involved in the spreading of the clip.

hope this helps.

I've yet to bother with the silicon dot on any of my handguads.  It doesn't matter that much to me.

Also if you're making a match rifle, I believe they heat treat the tabs on the front ferrule and bend them up enough to lift the guard off the stock and makes a tighter custom fit. The tabs will break off if bent and not annealed.

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That's kind of rediculous for what they are charging.  Not sure what they're thinking letting it leave like that.

I wouldn't call it ridiculous if a GI spec rifle was ordered.....it's GI spec.

Now if you were having a NM rifle made, now you'd have a reason to complain about something that isn't normal for a NM rifle.

Just my $0.04

If they couldn't make the hand guard fit with out being so loose it rattled for $2000.00, I would be livid.

Handguard fit is within spec.

You have the option above to fit the rattle if it bothers you.

Fulton Armory used the RTV trick when they installed there plastic HG.

Quoted: If they couldn't make the hand guard fit with out being so loose it rattled for $2000.00, I would be livid.

The rifle's built to print.  You should set your expectations against the spec.  When you set them against the pricetag, you're going to be disappointed frequently in life.

Ty

Whatever you say guys.  I'd be pissed if my handguard rattled no matter what the grade.  I still want a National Match from them.

Quoted: Quoted: If they couldn't make the hand guard fit with out being so loose it rattled for $2000.00, I would be livid. The rifle's built to print.  You should set your expectations against the spec.  When you set them against the pricetag, you're going to be disappointed frequently in life. Ty

Being dissapointed with what I get for what I paid is what made me proficient with tools.  No I have more fun doing stuff, and get dissapointed way less.

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In the M1A/M14 arena Springfield takes a huge hit, yet they go out of their way to make the owners of their rifles happy. I too would be less then pleased with a rattling handguard, something I have never come across with a Springfield. I would expect more of the "premium" brands. But thats just me.

Quoted: More disappointing than the loose handguard was LRB's response to the email I sent making them aware of this situation.  I guess I have just been spoiled by the customer service at companies like Bushmaster and Vector.  I'm going to leave it at that b/c I am not a big fan of bashing someone's products unless it is through direct communication with them.  I started this thread b/c I had a question. However, I will say that I have no problem paying the highest bidder's price for a quality product.  With that said, customer service/relations is as important to me as the quality of the product (my personal opinion).  I am still debating whether or not to make my 2nd M14 purchase through LRB.  Lack of customer service/relations is why I sold my two DSA FALs and moved on to M14s. Thanks for everyone's input on this thread.  My questions are answered, and I'm signing off.

I'm not sure why you'd be disappointed.  Did you pay for a custom rifle or did you pay for a USGI clone?

Quoted: Whatever you say guys.  I'd be pissed if my handguard rattled no matter what the grade.  I still want a National Match from them. Quoted: Quoted: If they couldn't make the hand guard fit with out being so loose it rattled for $2000.00, I would be livid. The rifle's built to print.  You should set your expectations against the spec.  When you set them against the pricetag, you're going to be disappointed frequently in life. Ty Being dissapointed with what I get for what I paid is what made me proficient with tools.  No I have more fun doing stuff, and get dissapointed way less.

SA Inc doesn't glue handguards on any of their premium rifles (plus, that's not a modification included in the USGI National Match drawing).

Quoted: More disappointing than the loose handguard was LRB's response to the email I sent making them aware of this situation.  I guess I have just been spoiled by the customer service at companies like Bushmaster and Vector.  I'm going to leave it at that b/c I am not a big fan of bashing someone's products unless it is through direct communication with them.  I started this thread b/c I had a question. However, I will say that I have no problem paying the highest bidder's price for a quality product.  With that said, customer service/relations is as important to me as the quality of the product (my personal opinion).  I am still debating whether or not to make my 2nd M14 purchase through LRB.  Lack of customer service/relations is why I sold my two DSA FALs and moved on to M14s. Thanks for everyone's input on this thread.  My questions are answered, and I'm signing off.

I think you'll be pleased - Lou's good people.

Quoted: Quoted: Whatever you say guys.  I'd be pissed if my handguard rattled no matter what the grade.  I still want a National Match from them. Quoted: Quoted: If they couldn't make the hand guard fit with out being so loose it rattled for $2000.00, I would be livid. The rifle's built to print.  You should set your expectations against the spec.  When you set them against the pricetag, you're going to be disappointed frequently in life. Ty Being dissapointed with what I get for what I paid is what made me proficient with tools.  No I have more fun doing stuff, and get dissapointed way less. SA Inc doesn't glue handguards on any of their premium rifles (plus, that's not a modification included in the USGI National Match drawing).

What the heck are you talking about?  I never said they glued anything to gether...