Chattanooga area member with AR tools?

[Buzzard217]

I would like to swap the carry handle upper on my dad's AR to a flatop and do not have the tools or experience.  Anyone willing to loan the tools and/or help out otherwise?

[GlockSpock]

If you are truly replacing the entire upper, usually you can just pop out the rear and front pins, take the new upper, and pop the pins back in. If you have what would be considered a stripped upper and are wanting to take all the "goodies" (barrel, forearm, etc) off the old upper and place them on your new stripped upper, then yes, you'll need a few minor tools.

 

Which is it?

[Buzzard217]

Sorry, I will be replacing the old upper with a new stripped flat top upper.  

[GlockSpock]

Sorry, I will be replacing the old upper with a new stripped flat top upper.  

I have never done this before, but someone here in Chattanooga surely will help you out.

[Kevo]

All I have is a cheap stock/1911 bushing wrench. Pretty sure you can use a chaintype or regular pipe wrench to remove barrel if you use a piece of leather as a buffer. I have both of these if you'd like to use. I think you'll need a set of go/nogo gauges to confirm headspace, although you might be able to set by tightening barrel until it barely chambers a round, backing it out a little and the checking spent brass for signs. I'VE NEVER DONE THAT AND DON'T KNOW IF MY COMMON SENSE APPROACH WL BLOW UP IN YOUR FACE. Please consult a knowledgeable source beforehand and wear eye, head and hand protection. I have a full face motorcycle helmet you could wear. Please keep us update.

[LawEnforcementSalesTN]

Headspace will be determined by barrel extention, chamber and bolt.  As long as these are ok now and are kept together, you should be ok. The barrel nut is only to retain the barrel inside the upper receiver and should never be used to adjust headspace.

 

You'll need a small punch to remove the gas tube pin and depending on what type of barrel nut you have (if original plastic 2 piece handguards or free-float one piece, etc.) you'll need a barrel nut wrench.  I have seen people use pipe wrenches and I have seen people ripped the teeth off the nut doing so.  Not the end of the world but to replace the barrel nut, you have to remove the entire front sight/gas block assembly... then you get to messing around with being sure the gas port gets lined back up, etc.. can be a real challenge if doing this for the 1st time.

 

If you're still needing this though and plan to be in the Knoxville area anytime soon, I will swap them for you for free.  I'm sure others are a lot closer but just offering if you can't find any other alternative.  10 minute process with the proper tools and that's taking your time ;o)

 

Good luck

[Dolomite_supafly]

It is a simple and safe process if you have the right tools. Without the right tools it can be frustrating and you can actually damage the firearm. I have seen uppers crushed by not having the correct blocks to support the upper.

But once you have the barrel nut loose putting it back together is a simple afair.

Dolomite

[Buzzard217]

I got everything swapped out folks, thanks for all the help!