I'm building my first rifle based on the AR platform, and I have a dumb question to ask. Well, it's actually going to be the first of several dumb questions over the long run, but we're all idiots on some subject at some point in time. Today it's my turn.
When I ordered a barrel nut today, I looked at it fairly closely, and I didn't see how it would support a floating handguard assembly. I figured I'd find a barrel nut with internal threads to mate with the upper receiver and secure the barrel, and external threads to use when attaching a handguard that doesn't contact the barrel.
How is that normally accomplished? Is there a drawing I can download to help me visualize the proper arrangement?
Free float handguards have their own barrel nut, generally. Some do indeed gave threads on the outside for the guards to thread to. Others have screw holes that attach the guard to the barrel nut and every free float handguard I've used has came with their own barrel nut wrench. The standard AR armorers tool won't work on them.
Sounds as if you ordered a standard barrel nut that a two piece non-freefloat guard uses. Every freefloat guard I've bought came with their own barrel nut.
I haven't decided yet. I'm planning to make a wood forearm stock for it, but that will have to mount in some fashion similar to that used for a normal tube. I may adapt a standard floating guard by using the appropriate barrel nut and just the upper part of the tube itself, affixed in some way to the wooden lower portion.
Sounds interesting. I know there are heat issues with tubular style forends, so make sure you have a way for the heat to vent. I would also be concerned about the wood flexing while only be secured in the one end. It may be better to go with the old style M-16 style hand grips that are removable.
Very slowly, I'm afraid. I mucked up the first 80% lower by following a drawing from the Internet that wasn't quite right - the selector hole is about .008" off, resulting in the detent resting off-center. I found better drawings which I'm redrawing to use the centerline of the selector detent hole as the front-to-back reference point for the selector hole, then the center of the selector hole for all other measurements.
Now that I'm busy every day off, commuting to the PRC to clean out Mom's house for sale, I've had zero minutes for working on the new lower. If anyone on this site would like to move to California (LOL! I crack me up! ), I'll be glad to sell it to you cheap! There's no great rush, though, since the barrel I ordered won't be completed until sometime in March.
It would take somebody with a lathe or mill to do, but you could use a freefloat handgaurd nut as the attachment point and have some kind of metal support running the length of the wood then just sleeve the wood over whatever you make for the support. I am just visualizing a tube threaded on the nut with some material cut out to lighten it up. This would allow your wood to be lighter than a full hand guard and not have to worry about flex. Could take some fairly involved fabrication though. You would also have to port the wood to vent it. Could be done fairly easily if you had the background and tools though.
Good idea country! A small dia. free float handguard milled down to a skeleton for weight. Then a wooden sleeve tunneled out on a metal lathe with a wood turning knife mounted as a cutter.
I'm pretty sure they do. Just like boring out a piece of rod. You may have to have a pilot hole of some kind. I'm not sure of all the bits and setups, but I know I have seen my old boss do similar when machining parts. Wood shouldnt be much different.
Well, there's progress. I've got the upper mostly assembled, and I have some good ideas on how to attach the walnut fore end. So far:
I'm thinking I can saw off part of the handguard on the underside, then fabricate a wooden part that sits partially inside the guard. I'll retain enough metal front and rear to allow a threaded hole for attaching the wood.
Glad you're making progress! Wish I were. I have two project guns going right now, and both are stalled. More important to finish remodeling my house....
BTW, When I posted the pic of the TAR-15, I was actually looking for something else. I liked the TAR-15 cos it was color case hardened steel. I finally found the one I was looking for, but I don't remember where I got it. It's just plain beautiful, though.....
That is the great thing about aluminum and steel. When you screw up, you can usually put it back and try again.
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