AR15 Build try this link.. its a pretty good deal with minimal tooling. found it when i was learing how to do AR work..
Home Built AR15 A4 Stainless HBAR w/ Removable Carry Handle & CAR Stock
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Ordering the parts
05/25/2008
Ordered from Model 1 Sales
Upper Receiver, Barrel and Lower Parts Kit
16'' AR-15 C.A.R. Kit -
Caliber 5.56 NATO
Price $460.00 plus options below
E.R. Shaw Heavy Stainless Steel Barrel, 1-8 Twist w/A2 FlashHider ($50.00 option)
A3 Receiver w/ Removable Carry Handle ($75.00 option)
Front Sight Base w/std front sight (nc)
Aluminum Free Float Tube w/swivel stud ($35.00 option)
4 position C.A.R. stock (nc)
Total Kit Cost $620.00
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05/27/2008
Ordered from Del-ton
Stripped Lower Receiver ( Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum, hardcoat anodized ) $95.00
+ Shipping
+ .07 Sales Tax
+ FFL paperwork from my local gunsmith shop, Labs Unlimited ( Email )
Total Lower Receiver Cost $144.00
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05/29/2008
Ordered from Fulton Armory.
Upper & Lower Receiver Action Blocks $39.95
Armorer's Multi-Wrench $29.95
Front Pivot Pin Detent Installation Tool $5.95
(You also need is a set of punches but I already have these.)
Free Shipping over $50.00
Total Armorer's Tool Cost $79.00
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Total
Cost for Gun $764.00
Cost for Gun + all tools** = $843.00
**(Most tools not really need for this project)
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05/30/2008
Just received my DTI (Del-ton) lower receiver today, it looks very nice and only took 3 days to get here. There's no blemishes or tool marks and the finish is perfect, still a little oily though.
DTI Stripped Lower Receiver
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06/02/2008
12:30 pm; I received the rest of my parts in today, below is a picture of the Grip, Telescopic Stock and bag containing the Lower Parts Kit.
Model One Sales Lower Parts Kit.
This is what the Lower Parts Kit looks like after removing them from the bag.
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06/02/2008
Building the gun
6:30 pm;
I started to assemble my lower parts kit into my lower receiver. Everything fit perfect, the first step and the hardest part, was installing the bolt catch roll pin, it was a very tight fit, but this only took about ten minutes. It's pretty hard to drive this pin in without scratching the receiver so put some heavy tape on the receiver and use a long punch. After getting this pin in, I decided to design a special tool for this. I'm still working on my tool so check back later.
I then installed the magazine catch, this was pretty easy, just be carefull not to scratch your receiver. Insert the magazine catch into the receiver then insert the spring, start the magazine catch button about one turn then push the button all the way in and turn the magazine catch carefully until the threaded part is almost flush with the outside of the magazine catch button.
Turn Magazine Catch Clockwise to Tighten.
Turn Magazine Catch until it's flush with the outside of the Button
Magazine Catch after installation
Next I installed the trigger, this step was simple, just make sure the spring is right, then insert the trigger pin. I then installed the hammer, making sure the hammer spring was over the trigger pin's groove then tapped in the hammer pin. (See Animation below.
Here's a little animation I drew on PhotoShop showing how the fire control group works. It also shows how the Trigger Spring (Red) and the Hammer Spring (Blue) fit, make sure you have these springs on correctly. Notice how the hammer spring fits over the trigger pivot pin to hold this pin in place, this is one reason it's important to install the trigger first then the hammer. I spent more time making this stupid animation than I did building the gun, but fill free to use the animation if left unmodified.
The next step was to install the safety selector and it's detent. The safety selector detent spring is held in place by the grip so I then installed the safety detent and the grip. The grip was very tight and had to be tapped on with a rubber hammer being carefull not to bend the safety detent spring. After getting the grip in place, tighten the grip screw.
Picture of the Safety Detent Spring as the grip is being installed, be careful not to bend the spring.
Next was to install the front pivot pin and it's detent and spring, I had ordered a special tool for this but it hadn't arrived yet, it went in very easy without the tool but I'm glad they sent two, the first one shot out and I still haven't found it. I then installed the rear take down pin and it's detent and spring. This spring is held in place by the buttstock receiver plate so I then installed the buffer retaining detent, buffer tube and stock. Install the buffer detent and spring then screw the stock castle nut all the way on the buffer tube, slide the buttstock receiver plate on the buffer tube then screw the buffer tube into the receiver until it hits the small part of the buffer detent, then back the tube out less than one turn until the receiver plate lines up with the receiver. Make sure you don't bend the rear takedown pin detent spring while screwing in the buffer tube. Next tighten the stock castle nut, I didn't have my stock wrench yet so I just tightened the castle nut by hand for now.
It's very easy to bend the rear takedown spring while screwing in the buffer tube.
I then installed the trigger guard roll pin, this pin was also very tight and had to be driven in by hitting it very hard with a hammer and punch, make sure you support the bottom side of the frame or it can break, a gunsmith friend of mine broke one he was building. A small plastic cutting board from Wal-Mart works great for supporting this.
The upper receiver that I had ordered came complete but I removed the bolt assembly, cleaned the bolt and barrel and checked everything twice. I also checked to make sure the gas key screws were staked properly (see pictures below) so the screws don't shoot loose. Everything looked good so far, so I re-assembled the upper receiver and put the upper and lower receiver together, they fit together perfect. Next I function checked everything for safety. With the gun empty and pointed in a safe direction, make sure the hammer don't fall when you pull the trigger with the safety on and the hammer doesn't fall when you take the safety off without pulling the trigger. Also, hold the trigger to the rear, pull the charging handle back and release the bolt while holding the trigger to the rear, the hammer should not drop, release the trigger, the hammer should not drop.
It took less than ninety minutes to complete the gun and about thirty minutes of this was used up trying to find a hex key long enough to install the lower grip, I finally just used a 1/4" drive hex bit and a 1/4" nut driver, some of these kits use hex bolts and some use a bolt with a flat head screw.
My armorer's tools had not come in yet but I really didn't need them for this project. I did need the Multi-Wrench to finish tightening my stock's castle nut but I'll do this later, I was able to get it pretty tight with my hand. The lower and upper receivers fit together very tight and the finish on these two parts match very well. The lower parts kit also fit well and appeared to be high quality parts. The trigger pull was a little heavy and had to much creep for me so I took the hammer and trigger back out and "very carefully" polished the sear contact surfaces with my Dremel tool with a felt wheel and some jeweler's polish. I polished the surfaces to a mirror finish, now the trigger pull is very smooth
(See DrawingBelow)
For a much smoother trigger pull, polish ( Warning : DON'T GRIND ) the sear's contact surfaces very carefully with a dremel tool using a felt wheel with some jeweler's polish. You don't want to remove metal, just polish the surfaces to a mirror finish and remove any burrs or tool marks.
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The 4 position C.A.R. stock fits very tight with no unwanted movement, but I'm not sure if I like this stock for this particular rifle and may change it to one from Magpul. This has been a interesting project and I'm sure I'll be building more of these in the future. I highly recommend Del-ton, Model 1 Sales and Fulton Armory, I got great service and products from all these companies. I'm thinking about sending my lower receiver to Anvil Arms for some laser engraving, they only charge $15.00 and it looks great. I like the Delton receiver that I used but I may try one from Anvil Arms next time because the engraving's free if you buy their receiver.
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Here's a few pictures I took showing some of the parts after they were installed.
Above is a picture I took of the properly staked Gas Key Screws on my Model One Sales Bolt
You can see the stakes in the closeup view of the screws at 12:00 and 6:00
Picture showing how the disconnector fits.
This one shows how the hammer spring holds the trigger pin in place.
Also notice the moly grease on the disconnector and sear notch.
Picture showing the upper receiver mounted in the vise block. Also shows the barrel index pin and the barrel nut on the right.
If you order the upper already assembled then you don't have to deal with mounting the barrel, front sight or the gas tube.
If you do have to install a barrel then it needs to be torqued to at least 30 ft lbs but no more than 80 ft lbs.
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Testing
06/02/2008
8:00 pm; I test fired my new AR15, the gun shoots very well and the sights seemed to be very close at the 25 yards that I used to do my test firing. I only fired thirty rounds through it with a GI magazine and had no malfunctions. It was getting a little dark for the iron sights I was using so I didn't really check the gun for accuracy, just for functioning. I'm going to put a scope and Harris bipod on this gun and I'll be testing it off the bench for accuracy later. I'll be posting the test results here later.
(Sorry, I sold this gun before I could test it for accuracy)
Click here to see my Ballistic Gelatin Test
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Tools
06/04/08
11:30 a.m.; I received my AR 15 armorer's tools from Fulton Armory today and used the Multi-Wrench to tighten the stock nut.
Multi-Wrench w/ Stock Wrench, Barrel Wrench, Flash Suppressor Wrench and Float Tube Wrench
Upper Receiver Armorer's Block used to hold upper receiver in a vise.
The parts look bowed in the picture but thats just the camera lens.
Lower Receiver Armorer's Block used to hold lower receiver in a vise
Front Pivot Detent Installation Tool, not really needed but very handy
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The finished product
06/04/08
Project Complete
Here's My completed AR 15 with carry handle installed and 30 round Thermold Magazine.
I like the Thermold mags but my favorite is the Magpul Pmag, I have several of these and believe Magpul magazines are some of the best available.
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This is a new POLYMER lower receiver I found, it's a COMPLETE AR15 Lower Receiver made by Plum Crazy Firearms and is made of fiber reinforced composite material. It comes with an M4 stock and a polymer fire control group installed, the cost was only $110.00 including tax. The Plum Crazy Lower Receiver is very well made, very light weight and the polymer fire control group has a nice trigger pull and needs no lubrication. Using this lower and a complete upper from Del-Ton, I built an AR15 for $541.00 This lower is much higher quality than the CAV Arms lowers and because it comes with the FCG already installed, it's a lot cheaper. I also like being able to change the stock which is something you can't do with the CAV Arms lower. I really like this lower and will be buying more of them soon.
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Pictures of my workbench, just a large shelving unit from Lowe's but works great.
My Lower Action Block at Work, used like a very heavy magazine to hold your AR15 in a vise.
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Another Project
This is another AR 15 that I built 4th of July weekend
I bought the parts at a gunshow in Dothan Alabama for $847.00 less the scope
It was a great show, I'll be going back for sure
It has a 20 inch bull barrel and an Aluminum Free Float Tube
The lower receiver is made by DPMS
I fired several sub 1/2 inch 3 shot groups with this gun while sighting in the scope
I will be installing a Compass Lake Two Stage Trigger on this gun soon
