Ar15 handguard installation

Allows you to season the threads. The first thing we are going to do is ensure the gun is unloaded. Clear the weapon and remove any live ammo or magazines. Now separate the upper and lower receivers. The same goes for the BCG and the charging handle. Once the handguards are removed you can set them aside. Attach your upper vise block to your upper receiver, and then to your vise. We need to remove your muzzle device. Regardless of how, go ahead and remove the muzzle device.

Now we have to remove your gas block. There are two types, gas blocks with front sight bases and low profile gas blocks.

With an FSB gas block, we need to remove the gas tube. If you did not have a front sight base, you get to skip this step and you can just remove your gas block with the tube attached. Once the old barrel nut is removed you can then clean the threads and ensure they are ready for the next barrel nut. Apply chrome moly grease onto the threads of the barrel nut. You can then hand tighten the barrel nut down.

Set the torque to foot pounds and attach the crowfoot wrench to the torque wrench. Torque the barrel nut down appropriately. Now we are going to use a breaker bar with the crowfoot wrench to loosen it once more. Breaker bars are a safer tool to use. We are going to loosen and retighten the nut three times to season the threads. This is in the old Colt manual and ensures the barrel nut is going nowhere. On the final tightening, you can go over 30 ft pounds. Max 60 ft. Now you need to apply a little lube to the gas block area.

Just a thin layer. Take your gas block and slide it down to the barrel and align it properly with the gas port, and the upper receiver.

You may need to use your mallet or nylon hammer to push the gas block downwards until it reaches the shoulder. Once the gas block is installed, apply Loc-Tite to the gas block screws. Then tighten down the screws with your Allen key. Ensure the gas block is tight and does not move. Install the anti-slide plate and put a little blue Loc-Tite on the set screws. Using a torque wrench screwdriver install the set screws with 20 to 30 in-lbs of torque.

Max 45 in-lbs. Reinstall your muzzle device, and put your gun back together. If by chance there is something still on the barrel, now would be the time to remove it. Since we are assuming a standard rifle upper here, there should not be anything else there. Here is where you take your handy dandy action wrench to remove the barrel retainer nut. Once that is done, you are ready to install your new handguard.

This is one of the less common styles of handguard, using both inner and outer retainer nuts. The outer nut is screwed onto the receiver, often with thread locking compound to hold it in place in alignment while the inner nut is tightened against the barrel extension.

In the case of this JP handguard, the body of the unit is a simple extruded tube with slots cut in it for ventilation. The rear end of the tube is counter-bored to accept the outer handguard nut and has six holes around it to fasten it to the nut. However, since we are replacing a carbine-length standard handguard with a rifle-length free-floating handguard, we now have to install a minimized gas block first, since it is going to be fully inside the confines of the tube and virtually impossible to install correctly with the tube emplaced.

If you are going to install accessory rails to this tube, this too should be done before the tube is attached. This JP tube uses six flat head screws to hold the tube to the nut. With these six screws attached, you are pretty much ready to go, as long as you remembered to install the gas tube and gas block. Of course, you no longer have a front sight. JP sells partial or full sized rails for that purpose. Flip up sights can still be used effectively with optics , and particularly offset sights are a good choice for rifles with high magnification scopes used as the primary sighting device.

Save my name and email to use for future comments. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Forgot your password? Get help. Password recovery. Gun Digest. How to swap out for a free-floated handguard: Remove upper receiver and pull back delta rings to remove standard handguard.

Remove retaining pins from the A-Frame — after the gas tube is removed. Use a special bench block to keep rest of upper elevated. Once pins are removed, gas block collar should slide off the barrel.

Upon removing barrel retainer nut, new free-floated handguard is ready. Before new handguard is fitted, a new minimized gas block must be installed. Once the gas system is in place, tighten handguard onto nut. Target grids and bullseye sizes are in MOA. Ideal for long-range shooting! Get Free Targets. Please enter your comment! Please enter your name here.