AR Parts?

Uncle Fester

Building up a lower today, I buggered up a roll pin and scratched the finish on my very expensive Anderson lower.

1) Is there a good source for buying the various pins and springs necessary to build up an AR without buying and entire parts kit.  I had fun with my build despite the various hiccups. I figure minor parts issues are likely to happen in the future.

2) It’s aluminum and a cheap build.  Is there any reason to bother touching up the scuff except looks? 

3) How much more difficult is an upper build?

CHIRO1989

Brownells for parts, touch up with a Sharpie, it is not a pretty gun anyway, or leave it,  you will be able to pick yours out on the range rack easier, can't help you with the upper build.

Jayhawker

You really should buy a Field Repair Kit...has most parts that will commonly break or lose...I bought one about 10 years ago...haven ha used it but I have it "just in case"

knitepoet

1) Brownells, MidwayUSA, & Palmetto State Armory all sell individual parts

2) IMO no

3) If you have a means to secure the upper it's not, if you don't, it can be. Besides getting the barrel nut torqued, the next hardest thing, IME is getting the spring on the ejection port cover correct.

Accipiter

http://www.pkfirearms.com/
I used to use these guys.  I have tons of stuff laying around now so I have not bought small parts in years.

the field repair kit is a good idea.

as long as you have a receiver block an upper build is pretty simple.

i have something like, but not necessarily this.
https://www.amazon.com/Obsidian-Arms-Modern-Rifle-Receiver/dp/B079TGL35B/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=upper+receiver+block&qid=1552826279&s=gateway&sr=8-1

I have have lost count of the barrels, and hand guards I have put on with this style of bench block.

Scratches and scuffs just show a gun gets use.  Unless it is a safe queen who cares.

Diver43

You will only care about the scratch until you use it. Then it wont matter.  Spare parts or oops kits are cheap and worth their wait in gold when you lose a small part or launch a spring into low earth orbit. 

I have only put together one upper and found it a little more difficult than the lower, but there are several good vids on youtube.   There are several good uppers available, these days I find what I like and look for a sale.

Accipiter

Diver43 said:

Spare parts or oops kits are cheap and worth their wait in gold when you lose a small part or launch a spring into low earth orbit.

Ha!  You ain’t lyin.  I can’t tell you how many times I fired a recoil spring retaining pin across the shop.  For the longest time I just couldn’t remember to corral it as I removed a buffer tube.  I have not done it in a while now, so all is well.  I am just a slow learner.

Uncle Fester

Diver43 said:

You will only care about the scratch until you use it. Then it wont matter.  Spare parts or oops kits are cheap and worth their wait in gold when you lose a small part or launch a spring into low earth orbit. 

I have only put together one upper and found it a little more difficult than the lower, but there are several good vids on youtube.   There are several good uppers available, these days I find what I like and look for a sale.

After I “borrowed” a roll pin from my second build kit, I launched the spring across my office. It took me 20 minutes to find that little ....

But, I am almost done.  Once I get get a wrench (on order) to adjust the Castle wrench, I’ll wrap up the build.  

That bolt catch roll pin was by by far the hardest part of the build.

Jayhawker

If you work in a Ziploc clothes storage bag you can control the parts launching problem

knitepoet

Jayhawker said:

If you work in a Ziploc clothes storage bag you can control the parts launching problem

I agree, though the largest I've used is a gallon sized

Bigslug

1. Brownells

2.Other than to make it black and non-shiny, or if you're one of those guys that parks on the far end of the lot to avoid door dings, no.

3. Uppers aren't particularly hard, but they are a little more involved when it comes to task-specific tools.  You're gonna need:

     *Big honkin' vise
     *Barrel nut wrench
     *Foot-pound torque wrench
     *one of the devices that holds the receiver while you torque the barrel on.  I would recommend one of the "rod" types that inserts into the rear of the barrel extension and clamps into a vise behind the upper receiver.  This puts all the load on steel parts and none on the aluminum upper.
     *The plastic vise blocks that hold the upper by the pin holes are nice for assembling the small parts, and are worth having, but not what I want when I'm cranking a barrel nut on.

Nice to have but not 100% necessary is the alignment tool that fits in the bolt carrier key and protrudes forward to let you know how well aligned the notches in your barrel nut are.

FYI - they make a specialized roll pin punch for the bolt stop that is flattened on one side so you don't **** the receiver.  Worth having.