AR Barrel Replacement

[Hack Job]

I'm upgrading my 300Blk pistol with a new barrel and muzzle device and I have a question with the required tools. I have an upper receiver vice block (AIM Sports Inc AR Armorers Kit), armorers wrench, quality torque wrench, and Aeroshell 33. I've done quite a bit of research and watched several YouTube videos and most indicate this is all that is needed. Others say you risk damaging the upper receiver in using just the vice block instead of a reaction rod.

For those that have replaced barrels, what tools did you use? Any other gotchas?

Thanks.

[DocV]

I use a reaction rod.

[PBratton]

The Kley Zion barrel spline tool is much cheaper...

[jb2012]

You don’t have to have a reaction rod, just makes instalation more secure.

[jason812]

Don't forget a touch of anti seize on the upper receiver threads.

I use a vice block only because I got it before I heard about the rods. I do want to get one but you can put a barrel on with the block.

[Nuts]

A vice block or a reaction rod are unnecessary. Most of the tools that everyone thinks you need can be done with a standard tool set and a vice with 2 pieces of wood to clamp the barrel into the vice without maring your barrel.

So to make a long story short, you have everything you need. The only thing I would suggest is green or blue loctite to bed your barrel. Just make sure the loctite doesn’t get on your threads.

[Hack Job]

Thanks for the info. If I was planning to do this more often I would probably purchase one of the barrel spline tools. I had not considered barrel clamp in the vice, but I'm going to give that a shot. Now just waiting for the UPS truck for new 9" barrel and Q Cherry Bomb.

Also, I looked into bedding the barrel. Mostly see mixed results on doing this. Does it really make a difference? Would lapping be better, maybe for a precision gun?

[Nuts]

I lap all my uppers and have on all the uppers I’ve built. That being said, a coworker or mine went a little nuts on building uppers in different calibers and lengths. He was using the cheapest barrels that he could find like BCA,Anderson,Ar Stoner, Davidson Defense. He had 2 that didn’t group at all, the targets looked like shot gun patterning boards. He was going to junk the barrels and I told him to try bedding them to the receiver first and both of them improved significantly. After that he bedded all of his barrels and told me it improved the groups on most but not all of them.

[TreyHouston]

Bedding a barrel. I learned something new today!

[The Annoyed Man]

Lapping tools can make a big difference, they’re cheap, and the work is easy to do. I bought one maybe three years ago, and we’ve used it on each AR we’ve assembled since. Whenever I get around to rebarreling any of the older ones, I’ll lap them for sure if necessary.

Note worth looking into....how necessary is lapping for a machined billet upper, as opposed to a forged upper? Ima hafta talk to my son.

Follow up.... my son says it won’t matter if the receiver is machined billet or forged, the threading that receives the barrel nut is machined, and there’s no reason why a billet receiver wouldn’t benefit from lapping.

[SQLGeek]

I've been doing a fair amount of reading on the reaction rod / bev block versus the receiver block. There have been more than a few complaints about folks shearing off index pins from their barrels while using the reaction rod. I've settled on a receiver block for myself plus they are cheaper.

[PBratton]

Bedding a barrel. I learned something new today!

Yup, it convinced me to order the Wheeler Lapping kit. I'm about to update my AR-9 SBR, figured that while I had the barrel off...

[Hack Job]

I ordered the Wheeler lapping kit as I can see the value in trueing up the mating surfaces. It should be here about the same time as the barrel & brake.
What about headspace? I read several forum posts and it seems the consensus is not too worry about it when using a new mil-spec AR barrel. Or is this something that must be done?

[The Annoyed Man]

I ordered the Wheeler lapping kit as I can see the value in trueing up the mating surfaces. It should be here about the same time as the barrel & brake.
What about headspace? I read several forum posts and it seems the consensus is not too worry about it when using a new mil-spec AR barrel. Or is this something that must be done?

Not to worry. The design makes that a non-issue.

[PBratton]

Bought the Wheeler AR kit.

I am pleased.