Tactical AR15 Build FAIL

The barrel with the gas system is the most important part of the rifle, you have to know your barrel's specifications so that you know the correct ammunition to use and what to expect from the rifle's gas system as far as cycling and feeding, make sure those M4 ramps are not only there but nice and smooth cut and polished as well. Also, any barrel even cheap ones are supposed to be at least marked with the caliber it's chambered in and the twist rate, the higher end barrels will always have this as well as other markings such as MPI( magnetic particle inspection) and HP or HPT( either means the barrel has undergone and passed a high pressure testing) companies like Colt, FN, Daniel Defense will not fail you in these processes. There are a lot more companies making ARs out there today and many more quality ones I could have listed but I didn't want to dedicate two paragraphs to it. Basically just inspect what you are buying before purchasing, your buying something that your life may depend on one day so just like a car, open the hood, do a close up inspection and if you can, go for a test drive. Many firearms shops have indoor ranges that rent out guns for people to try before they buy or just have fun but if your in one of those shops considering purchasing an $800-$2,000 rifle, chances are you will not be charged to take some shots with their demo. If a barrel has no markings, don't even think about buying it know matter what the seller is telling you, it's just not safe.

Yeah I've had one of those rails, it's ALL out of spec and the barrel nut is complete shit.

There are almost NO situations that truly require Loctite. Loctite is, like virtually all "chemicals" used in mechanics, a product that resulted from manufacturers of complex machines wanting positive and reliable fastener retention in areas where fasteners are immersed in oil and other fluids and SEALING the threads is desirable, where vibration is an issue, where pressure fluctuations occur, where frequent hot-cold cycles occur, where lock-wire wasn't practical and where easy access, inspection and retorquing of fasteners is difficult or impossible and where fasteners are so small sufficient friction isn't created by torquing to lock the faster in place.

I've been a professional diesel-mechanic and amateur "gunsmith" for most of my life and a gearhead my entire life, and I've worked on everything from nitro RC engines to 4500-hp diesel-electric locomotives and mechanical, hydraulic, electric and electronic systems. The number of SPECIFIED applications for Loctite as per manufacturer requirements or recommendations are FEW and FAR BETWEEN. If professionals used Loctite the way shadetree DIY wannabes do, the wouldn't be able to make the shit fast enough, mechanics would spend more time drilling out broken fasteners than removing them intact and we'd be installing Heli-Coils or replacing parts left and right.

And steel screws in aluminum, if left there for long periods in situations where moisture can be an issue, will LOCK THEMSELVES in position thanks to GALVANIC ACTION. And Loctite seals threads and can prevent it when its intact, but if its broken down and burned by excessive heat (250 degrees F is plenty), you can get galvanic action anyway. That shit will lock threads so tight you'll never get them loose. Been there and done that on piles of engine parts like air-to-water aftercoolers with blind holes.

Loctite is also a horribly idea for steel screws in aluminum because the two metals have different rates of expansion and contraction, the Loctite cures and expands to increase friction by filling the voids UNDER the threads and when you eventually want to take the screws out, you'll like as not take the aluminum threads with the steel because of the friction. IF you actually torqued the fasteners properly to begin with "properly", which means OVERTIGHTENED them since the Loctite is a LUBRICANT and you want LESS torque with any LUBRICANT on threads.

Torque specs aren't reached because the fastener is bottomed on the hole and can't go any further. They're reached because the friction between the threads and fastener head and part its screwed into or through reach a point where the applied torque can't turn them. The torque wrench clicks and disengages or beeps or lights up or vibrates or displays that the torque has been reached.

And torque and friction STRETCH the fastener to create the load to maintain torque. And torque specs vary depending on the material of the fastener and threads and any plating, lubricant, etc involved. Lubricants mean less friction for a given load and you'll over-stretch the fastener before hitting the desired torque because you'll keep twisting it further and further before the friction gets high enough to meet the torque spec. Like I said, the actual recommended uses for Loctite are very few and professional mechanics don't slather the shit on every part if they want to be employed long.

Most wannabes that use Loctite because they've had fasteners come loose never torqued the parts properly to begin with and never RETORQUED the parts if required, which is VERY important with aluminum, which gets VERY HOT at the thread contact areas during torquing due to friction, but then cools and "relaxes" afterward, leading to a loss of friction and load on the threads. If you never property torque a part to begin with, it's nothing to do with the material or anything else when it comes loose.

It's always an excellent idea whenever working with steel fasteners in aluminum threads to TORQUE TO SPECS and then RETORQUE even if the instructions don't mention it. Plenty of things are manufactured and have instructions written by "engineers" that don't know jack about actual mechanics and physics and are just stuck writing instruction manuals because they're not good enough engineers to be designing things. If you torque something once, you can't hurt it torquing it again.

Given all the issues with aluminum and steel and HEAT and MOISTURE, if you're going to put ANYTHING on steel fasteners going into aluminum threads on VEHICLE or GUN or anything else that gets hot and cold a lot and is subjected to moisture, try ANTI-SIEZE COMPOUND. It is ALSO a lubricant and you need to reduce torque accordingly, and instructions for how to do so can be found online.

But anti-sieze is basically a stainless steel powder in a grease/oil carrier, it dries out over time and fasteners tend not to come loose later if they don't immediately. So you can try reducing specified torque by about 25%, torque and retorque after 10 minutes or so, shoot the gun and then check the torque again. If it's still tight, its good enough. And you'll save yourself and anybody else a SHITLOAD of problems later trying to get Lotctited or corroded screws out later.

Keep encouraging fanboys and wannabes to buy ARs and accessories as "toys" and creating an incentive for fly-by-night "manufacturers" and "gunsmiths" to throw together the cheapest parts available and this is what you'll get.

But some aspects of this "build" are not exclusive to cheap "builds" or inexperienced "builders". If you mix and match manufacturers, you'll never get parts that perfectly fit and match each other when they're ACCESSORY parts. Especially if they're parts that are CNC machined, mass-produced and "once size fits all" generic parts specifically designed to make them cheap and easy to produce, purchase and install.

There is no "factory spec" for HANDGUARDS and all that other bolt-on crap. And even "1913" and "Picatinny" rails from companies that produce the "best" or "high end" parts are nothing spectacular if you want precision. They're made for QUICK AND SIMPLE attaching and removal of components and accessories and to be adaptable and versatile. Not to menion why anybody thinks a RECEIVER RAIL and HANDGARD RAIL have to be perfectly matched and aligned on a "general purpose" AR is beyond me.

If you're using anything but low-profile open sights and are foolish enough to use rail-mounted sights that are going to make your sight radius as short as possible OR some stupid combination of "optic" and "magnifier" OR some ridiculously long "sniper scope" that sure as shit is completely impractical for the type of shoot a "tactical" AR is giong to be used for and is used and mounted by a TACTITOOL that for some reason puts one mount on the receiver and one on the handguard there's no reason for perfect aligment OR a handguard top rail anyway.

I won't even get into how ridiculous it is to have a bunch of bulky, sharp, weight-adding and cost-adding rails that serve no useful purpose besides a place to hang more junk that make the rifle LESS useful for "general purpose" use, where for centuries a "Keep It Simple Stupid" approach to rifle design has dominated. If you need an "optic" on a rifle you intend to use for fast, close-range defensive use, you're probably better off with a handgun. Switches and buttons and batteries and combat don't mix well, all Hollywood bullshit aside.

The Tactitool mentality seems to be "Gee, I think I'll put tons of shit on my RIFLE so it's nothing more than a really heavy, complicated, expensive, bulky, maintenance-intensive, unconcealable, unholsterable "defensive" gun that I will never in a million years be able to use quickly, efficiently and effectively and INSTANTLY in an emergency and can't possibly shoot one-handed if I'm wounded or injured during a "gun battle". Sure, handguns can be damned hard to load and operate during a gun battle, but its still fucking POSSIBLE. ARs and AKs? Not so much IF you actually want to AIM THEM once you LOAD THEM.

As for the criticism of other parts of this "build" and the apparently "weirdness" of some parts., the funky barrel profile is because its "designed" to be kind of a "hybrid" of HBAR and pencil-barrel diameters to get lighter weight than HBAR with less flexing and SUPPOSEDLY better accuracy and precision than pencil barrels. Of course barrel flexibility is always more about the MATERIAL and overall investment in quality materials, manufacturing and rigidity regardless of barrel diameter than just the diameter itself.

And because any sharp edge on a machined part creates a stress riser and proper and precise metallurgy and manufacturing are crucial to preventing fractures from forming on that edge, its easier, cheaper and quicker to TAPER a transition from one diameter to another than to create a sharp edge. Not to mention it would take TWO sharp edges to go from one diameter at the gas block down to a smaller diameter for the forward barrel section and then back to the larger diameter for the muzzle and threaded section for the "muzzle device. That's actually kind of elegant "engineering" in that crappy barrel and it shows somebody was thinking about how to appeal to shooters who think all pencil barrels are shit and shooters who think all HBAR barrels are too heavy.

Unfortunately, the designer didn't remember that shooters in both of those "camps" tend to be pretty much brainwashed tools that make their decisions based on what others tell them is "best" and other "conventional wisdom", and aren't smart enough to think about the actual benefits involved. Put that barrel on a "build" or completed gun in enough YouTube channel videos from the "experts" like Nutnfancy, Hickok45 and all the rest of the "gurus" of the "gun community" and about 10 minutes later the manufacturer's phone would be ringing of the hook. And these guys would be some of the callers.

Overall, the myth of accuracy and precise barrels having to be heavy and huge was dispelled long ago, and most of the wannabes that assumed that was the case for ALL rifles looked at high-end bolt-action target and varmint rifles and assumed all the mass and weight was for rigidity.

That's not the case and its usually because high-end, high-precision barrels are made from common blanks of steel and are relatively soft so that they're easily machined and polished and lapped internally to aid in getting a "perfect" bore during manufacturing and break-in.

They're also low-production parts that take a lot of extra time, skill, material and to produce on a low-production basis and there are no huge production runs for mass-production guns intended for lower level of accuracy and precision expectations when they're purchased by guys that are hunters and general "plinking" shooters rather than guys into accuracy and precision.

Being low-production, custom or high-end barrels going to demanding shooters and often times produced as bored and rifle blanks with short chambers that have to be finished by gunsmiths, they have to be as close to perfect as possible. Machine tools wear over time and you have a lot smaller "tolerance window" to work in, so their reamers and drills and cutters get tossed much sooner than high-production tooling or they have to buy much more expensive ones and spend a lot of time checking and sharpening them and have to keep machining speeds very low to avoid overheating, etc.

Even with all that, there is always the chance of screwing up a blank. But the think about using a very heavy barrel profile and a common one for all or several cartridges/calibers is that if a blank being machined for or a barrel made for a smaller cartridge/caliber is damaged or out-of-spec at some point, it can be bored larger and become a barrel for a larger cartridge/caliber.

The last reason for huge barrels in bolt-actions is that bolt-action rifles harness all of the chamber pressure and energy and chamber pressure produced, they're capable of handing far higher pressures than semi-autos (bullshit about .223 Remington rifles not being able to handle 5.56×45 NATO pressure to the contrary) and generally precision shooters want maximum safe and sustainable pressure and velocity because less time in the air means a bullet is less affected by wind and gravity and will be spun faster for greater stability.

Longer and heavier barrels aid all of those things, heat up more slowly but also cool down more slowly, which actually makes them more consistent shot-to-shot when a precision shooter does a lot of testing and finds the obvious result that accuracy and precision INCREASE with barrel temp increases before they DECREASE with barrel temp increases and that there is a "sweet spot" in barrel temps where accuracy and precision are maximized. That's why its counter-productive to let a barrel get too hot OR too cold.

There is also the "harmonics" thing, but that's mainly a bunch of horseshit since the harmonics aren't generated until the firing process is completely. Mainly the gains with heavier barrels attributed to "harmonics" and a dampening effect are the result of more time and effort put into all of the other things that go into making ANY rifle or other gun more accurate and precise than it is if somebody just shoots it however they want with whatever ammo they can find.

All of that heavy barrel mythology has been debunked just like the long barrel mythology has. Accuracy and precision are always in the quality of the parts in the gun and everything that comes in contact with it, the quality of the knowledge and skill of the people who are involved in manufacturing the gun and everything that comes in contact with it and the quality AND quantity of TIME the shooter ultimately puts into shooting it well.

As for these parts being "unacceptable" or "useless", that's bullshit. They may be useless to someone who wants the "best" or to a "premium" builder or manufacturer or gunsmith, but those same people also directly benefit from any situation where cheap parts, manufacturers and builds result in more people spending more money on "quality" work and parts.

Its amazing how quickly "useless" becomes "good enough" if a customer says "No." when a gunsmith or builder or mechanic or plumber or anybody else that does mechanical work for money tries to sell the customer on new hardware and/or labor to "fix" something by replacing it and the customer isn't looking for a replacement. Send me those junk parts and I'm sure I can make a perfectly safe, perfectly functional rifle out of them. There isn't anything there that indicates the parts are unsafe or that makes them unusable for anybody who just wants a shooter instead of a looker.

soooooo….does is shoot 1MOA or what?

People will build shit and sell it. SHITBAGS…..

that's why you change the Barrel

if you have the muzzle device.. well assuming it's concetrically bored..

Why didn't you take the barrel nut off when disassembling the rifle. I love seeing people's screw, so that I don't screw up myself.

Those cheap china made handguards are horrible. If anyone is thinking of buying one, don't. Save a little more money and get youself a better rail, you wont regret it

this looks like one of the builds from Rebel Arms Corp

you really love the word "index"

If this is made in the US quality, then i'm gonna buy one that is made in china

The handgrip looks like it came off of an LWRC….I could be wrong though. Good call on the barrel guys – it does look neat as well. Well done gentlemen!!! I've been a gunsmith for 40 years – just goes to show that an old dog can (& did) learn new tricks! I would've liked to have seen if the barrel alignment post was broken off….

why are all your videos squashed to half screen size. that is the only reason I usually don't watch your videos. forget watching on my phone. I can't see a darn thing. contents good when I do watch though.

throw that shit away. and buy some quality parts. start over

Interesting info, thanks.

Looks like someone bought some cheap Chinese airsoft gun parts and put them on their real AR.

With some people it's all about the looks.  We call this a cubical gun, the person works in a cubical all day long.  After work his mom picks him up and drives him back home so he can build an AR on her kitchen table.  Then sets around for years dreaming about going shooting but mom will have no part of that and won't drive him to the range.  She just hopes he gets the turbo put back on the civic she bought him after a long three months of trying to fix all the cross threaded bolts on the bad ass looking header.

they cant all be perfect off the rack showroom quality models, this is mostly cosmetic and what isn't i could easily fix. i wouldn't pay a premium price for it but i would totally buy this as a range toy. if nothing else it beaft a rock, ( or a highpoint, but not by a lot, lol) thanks for sharing it with us.

I would of liked to seen that barrel nut come off and upper receiver barrel nut threads inspected…

what are you thinking about putting on the rail near the magwel?

is that from Daytona tactical?

u failed by not doint yourself dude.. just my honest opinion. i saved a ton and gained a ton of infor

That's a Tijuana build right there.

I think you can fix it though, if you align everything properly and if the threads aren't blown.

I like the rail. Too bad on the workmanship. Could of been a employee who was disgruntled…

Keep in mind every company has some issues now and then.

What's the rail system or handguard rather ?

For all of those wondering which upper and rail system it is. It is from a company called Parallax Tactical. They are still in business contrary to what the uploader states. You can purchase these rails they work fine I have used them. They do have an awesome futuristic kinda look to them. But I would recommend F-1 Firearms upper and lower assemblies if the cool look is what you're after over functionality.

Damages possibly due to an over torqued barrel nut without proper vise blocks inside the upper receiver?

Horseshit! Enlarge gas port.. Heat gas tube.. Bend so that the tube stays round, the hole lines up on an adjustable low profile gas port and enters the damned receiver straight… That damned gas tube could do a 360 bend around the barrel and as long as it went in the receiver straight, indexed the gas key correctly and the rail fit over it and wasn't kinked and restricting it would fire reliably.

Wouldn't a new barrel and rail fix all of that

Where was this gun from and what brand was it? Nevermind guess you guys didn't know it's unmarked, Wow though thats pretty shitty.