How To Assemble An AR-15 Lower
BY Herschel Smith
9 months ago
Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, Alito and Kavanaugh would have maintained the vacatur Judge Reed O’Connor put into place rather than issue the stay, while Roberts, Barrett, and the others made the decision to issue the stay. So in other words, all of the women on the court sided with the government. Who is surprised by that?
Anyway, parts kits aren’t the only way to enjoy your 2A freedoms.
Recoil has given us a complete step-by-step guide for AR-15 lower receivers – with pictures. He begins with tools.
Good tools are hard to find these days, but thankfully there are still a few options out there.
If you’re looking to do this as cheaply as possible, just get whatever crap is the lowest price on Amazon and call it a day. Honestly, it will probably be good enough for one build, but very likely only one.
If you think you might do this more than once, or you just don’t want to make yourself suffer while you build, invest a little more money and get tools from reputable firearm brands like RealAvid and Wheeler.
Personally, RealAvid is normally my go-to pick. Full disclosure, they’ve sent me a number of products to review over the years, including most of the ones from them in this article.
But I also put my money where my mouth is, I’ve spent a lot of my own money on their tools over the years because I like the product.
If you want a one-stop option, RealAvid’s Armorer’s Master Kit is pretty amazing but pricy. And it’s totally overkill for just one lower. If you want to go hard and build a lot, it’s worth it.
Ouch! That is pricey.
My must-have tools are pretty simple, a Bench Block, a hammer and punch set, and an armorer’s wrench.
The bench block can be just about any model. The Smart Bench Block is simple, and I’ve been using mine for about 5 years, love it. The Master Bench Block is the one I used for this article, and it’s pretty nice but not a must-have over the normal block.
I really, really recommend a punch set that is designed for guns, especially the AR-15, since those sets are normally sized right, and some include punches built for the bolt catch – they make life easier and make not scarring your lower a lot easier.
RealAvid’s set comes with all the punches you need, a small hammer, and a nice case. Wheeler’s set is decent for most guns but doesn’t have the AR-15 bolt-catch punches. The AR-Stoner set I owned broke the first time I used it. YMMV.
The wrench is the tool I care the least about; literally, anything off Amazon will be fine. I’ve used the $5 one for about 4 or 5 lowers, and it’s fine. Wrap the handle with a shop rag for a better grip. If you want something a bit fancier, Magpul, RealAvid, Tapco, Brownells, and Wheeler, all make good options.
I disagree with that part. If you don’t have a good wrench you’ll tear up your parts. Magpul makes good AR wrenches.
So this is a good URL to tuck away. I’ll return to this in time. After reading it I wanted them to have done one on upper receivers. At the end they say this.
We’ll do another guide soon for building an upper, but those require some more tools.
I’ll pass along the next article on lower receivers.
On August 9, 2023 at 8:47 am, george 1 said:
As far as uppers, when you get to them, I suggest using BCM forged uppers if you can. They are the tightest ones I have used. All the builds I have done with them require gentle taping of the barrel to seat. I have also used Wilson Combat uppers but they are much more loose.
The BCM ones I have used mic from .9960 to about .9980.
On August 9, 2023 at 2:16 pm, Matt said:
To go with what George stated, if you are interested in finishing out your own upper, it’s not hard to do, especially if you have an upper receiver block to hold it in your vice. And I say this as someone who is not mechanically inclined.
If you own an AR platform rifle and have never built one out from the ground up, it’s something worth learning IMO. And it’s fun as well.
On August 10, 2023 at 4:40 am, Nosmo said:
Tools are an investment. Good tools are a good investment, buy the best. Not the best you can afford, but the best made. “I’m building just this one rifle, so I can go cheap on tools.” Maybe, but you will get better results from high quality tools that work better and make the job easier. Always shop around for the best deal but never sacrifice on quality.
If one owns an AR-15, or plans to, I strongly recommend building one from the ground up, both lower and upper. There are books and Youtubes galore on everything you need to know. Go slow, take each step as a learning experience. The advantage is that after building it you will, first, be intimately familiar with your rifle, and second, have learned things that cannot be learned any other way. Hands-on creates knowledge and skill.
Pro Tip: Even if you already have an AR-15, it doesn’t hurt to build another. Consider the possibility that, someday, it may be useful to provide one to someone. (And don’t forget magazines; as Tamara Keel once said, “the correct number of magazines to have is ‘more’ “.)
On August 10, 2023 at 8:15 am, Latigo Morgan said:
The first time I assembled a lower, the only tools I used were a good set of Channel Locks pliers and a utility knife blade. The Channel locks did everything except put in the detents, which I used the utility knife blade for.
Even though I was pretty careful, I still got a couple scratches on the receiver during the build, but nothing drastic. The roll pins I didn’t drive in, but squeezed in with the pliers. I put a shop towel over the castle nut and torqued it with the pliers, as well. I haven’t had a bit of trouble with the lower on that build. The upper, I’m not happy with. It was a complete upper from R-Guns, bought during the post-Sandy Hoax run, and the barrel prints like a shotgun – we are talking at least 6-8 MOA. I just keep forgetting to replace it with a better barrel.
On August 10, 2023 at 9:23 am, Steven Y. said:
The military TM for complete teardown, inspecton, and rebuilding of mil-spec AR pattern rifles ia open source available on the internet. Some of the information will not apply, obviously (FA and burst-fire mechanisms), but they give detailed step-by-step instructions, torque specs, and useful tool diagrams to do a basic build.
On August 11, 2023 at 10:57 am, Latigo Morgan said:
My first builds were AKMs with receivers I bent from flats and riveted the parts to, and FAL kits. I always wanted to do an Uzi, but never got around to it when the kits were cheap.
AR15s are easy mode, but just as much fun to build.