I started my 20" flattop build

[Big Frank]

Yep. Home Depot might have them, but neither the hardware nor auto store I went to had them.

I took time off of the 20" build to put the same Duck tape on the 16" upper and 12.7" gun. The 20" upper uses the same collapsible stock lower as the 16" upper. You can see where the seam between the upper and lower half of the handguard is on the 16" gun, but only on the right side. I'm still on the first of 2 rolls of tape. I had 5 leftover Squid Grips and put 4 of them on the 16" rifle so it would have more ventilation. My left thumb will be touching one of them, but no part of my hand will touch the other 3. If my thumb gets hot I'll put an M-LOK or ERGO plug in that 1 slot. After I finished putting tape on both guns I wrapped them with Camo Form Reusable Fabric Wrap. It comes in 8 different camo patterns and is made for wrapping guns and knives, and whatever else you want to camouflage. If you've ever been wrapped with 3M Coban Self-Adherent Wrap, it's the same thing. There's no glue or other adhesive but it does have latex rubber in it. You stretch it out when you wrap it and it sticks to itself. It's easily removable, and reusable. You can even wash it off if it gets dirty. The biggest downside may be that you need to take it off if it gets wet because it will make your gun rust. If the barrels get too hot for it I'll take it off. I smelled wintergreen or something like a liniment when I was stretching and wrapping it. Weird. I wrapped all 3 of my Duramags while I was at it. The aluminum is supposed to be anodized but they feel like they're coated with Teflon. They were really slick but I can get a good grip on them now.

https://www.gearaid.com/products/camouflage-gun-wrap-camo-form?variant=18469277401185

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_LB/p/d/b00003205/

[Big Frank]

I wrapped my M7 bayonet and M10 scabbard too. I wrapped the entire plastic part of the handle but couldn't snap the retention strap on the sheath. It's already a tight fit when there's nothing on the handle. So I unwrapped it and re-wrapped it below the strap. I put the Hi Helix flash hider on the 16" gun too. The wrench flats are where the right hand arrow is in the picture, instead of at the rear where the left arrow is. And besides the wrench flats being in a different location that A1 and A2 flash hiders, it also takes a different size wrench. Instead of the smaller 5/8" slot on and M-16 barrel wrench made for flash hiders, it uses the larger 3/4" slot that's made for upper receiver extensions (buffer tubes).  I used the JP Enterprises double crush washer instead of the regular crush washer that came with it. I still need to finish the 20" upper and put mag well skins on both guns. And change springs in all 4 bolts. And return the tactical Hard Charger side charger I got and order one of the original style. I like the tactical pull handle and the original is probably okay too. I don't think I'll spend the extra $7 for a folding handle.

https://devildogconcepts.com/product/hard-charger-black-anodized/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_eVXGYxsmA

[Big Frank]

It's a good thing I have a new gas tube for this build because I mangled the old one unscrewing the old free float tube with a big pair of Channellock pliers. My big pipe wrench was a little bit too small to fit the tube, and the Channellocks were barely big enough. I heated it up with a torch but I guess it wasn't enough. I had the threads completely covered in blue Loctite and it didn't want to let go. I saved the old barrel nut. I may be able to use if to attach the golf ball launcher barrel to my can canon, without screwing it inside of the the can barrel. If I'm just shooting golf balls it would be nice to not have to use both barrels.

I sprayed down the front sight taper pins and the barrel with non-chlorinated brake cleaner to degrease them. Then I applied 602 green Loctite made for non-threaded things like bushings and sleeves and tapped the pins in with a hammer. Then I heated it up for about 4-5 minutes with my heat gun to try to make it set faster. This stuff is made for high pressure and high temperature. If you have to remove it, you need to heat it up to 572 degrees F. I'll try sawing off the long end of the pins with a hacksaw if I can find it. I'll probably do a little bit of grinding on the bennch grinder, then a whole lot of filing. When I'm done the barrel will be almost as solid and stiff as if it had never been drilled. I realize this is totally unnecessary, and I may be the first person in history to ever waste their time doing it, but it's what I want to do. The last pic tells you a little about the green Loctite. I finally used it on the project I bought it for. And made an extra day of work for myself.

[Big Frank]

I transferred the ejection port cover over from the old upper to the new one. And I installed the forward assist that I previously removed from my can canon and replaced with a EGW AR Forward Assist Plug. An Anodized Matte Black Aluminum one like mine is $9.99, and 5 Cerakoted colored ones are $14.99. The forward assist I used is in a little better shape than the one that's 30 years old or whatever it is. I bought a Real Avid Master Bench Block - AR15, and the part that holds the forward assist spring compressed makes it a lot easier to remove and install the F.A. And I need all the help I can get. When I was pounding in the pin my punch slipped and I buggered up the edge of the hole. Then I hammered on the pin until the end started to flare out. I knocked the pin out from the other side and fixed it, since I don't have a new one. I drilled through from the bottom to take the tiny bit of metal off that was peened over the edge of the hole. Then I ground and filed the end of my punch that was all rounded off. No wonder I was having problems. Then it went together as easy as it should have the first time.

https://egwguns.com/ar-rifle-parts/ar-forward-assist-plugs

https://realavid.com/products/master-bench-block?srsltid=AfmBOoqqRss20b03AhJ6oe4gf4MY07NW-jGh2IP4NmmDHXRkIWBiIi8O

[Big Frank]

The forward assist plug is nicely rounded off, and sets slightly proud of the hole. They should fit just about any A2 or A4 upper of any brand. I decided that the can cannon, which has no locking lugs in the barrel extension, didn't need a forward assist. Either it feeds a blank okay or it doesn't. And if it doesn't I won't try beating it into submission.

[Sponsor]

[Big Frank]

Here are the MultiCam wrapped mags in my MultiCam mag holder, because the only thing better than original MultiCam is more original MultiCam.   The 6 mag holder should be on the front of a plate carrier but I don't wear armor. So I put it on my well-padded tactical rifle case. The MOLLE grid was already there so why not? 6 mags plus 1 in the gun makes for a standard 7x 30 round loadout. Sometimes it's a PITA to thread MOLLE straps and weave them back and forth the right way. This wasn't too bad but some things are really difficult. I have the 3 camo Duramags in the front, (1st pic), and 3 SureFeed E2 mags behind them (2nd pic). In the 3rd pic you can see all 4 patches on the case. Have you ever asked yourself WWJBD? What Would Jack Bauer Do?   The next 2 are self-explanatory. In the last one, Soul Stealer, he's holding a camera.   Headline of online article University research proves that the old myth of photographs stealing souls is, in fact, true. But I have another reason for covering the camera on my laptop with a piece of electrical tape. The 4th pic is the ID pocket on the back of the case. It's a metal morale patch from Milspin. They were supposed to send me a curved one to wear on a hat, but they sent a flat one. They made me the curved one and told me to keep the flat one, so I stuck it to a piece of Velcro and slid it into my gun case. The case is so well padded it makes me wonder how my rifle would fair if I tossed it off the top of my house. I never go up there, 2 stories is too far to fall, so I'll never know.

[Big Frank]

Some of you may recall that I always thought my POS Eagle Arms EA-15 flattop upper was a carry-handle upper milled down with a rail attached by glue, solder, or similar means. Well, guess what folks? I was right. I heated up the rail with a propane torch for a few minutes and dropped it in a bucket of water. It was still in one piece but I saw a crack on one side. So I clamped the rail in my vise and gave it a few good whacks with a hammer. I don't know where my 2 pound hammer is and used a 1 pound claw hammer. I think it was the 5th hit when it completely separated. The rail is NOT a Mil-Spec M1913 Picatinny rail. The spacing is off, and when I tried attaching a one-piece scope mount, when one crossbolt was down in a slot, the other was on top of a slot and it couldn't be seated.  That's why I had to replace it. And I said when I rebuilt the rifle I was going to destroy this POS trying to get to the bottom of it. 

There are 2 round studs on the upper, 1 at each end, and 2 corresponding holes in the Weaver rail. There's a large hole and small hole through the rear of the upper. Inside the upper, there's a spot the same size as the large hole at the very front of the groove for the charging handle. It looks like it's milled straight through the bottom of the upper, and is wider than the rest of the track. My brand new upper has 2 circles corresponding to this spot and the large hole. From inside the old upper, it didn't look like a hole going all the way through. It just looked like a regular upper with machine marks from an end mill at the front and back. But the outside was 2 different colors that didn't match.

[Big Frank]

I can't believe EA had anything to do with LMT PREMIUM Firearms.

https://lmtdefense.com/

[Big Frank]

I know this barrel was drilled for 2 taper pins. YOU know this barrel was drilled for 2 taper pins. We ALL know this barrel was drilled for 2 taper pins. And I glued them back in permanently with green Loctite, just hours ago. But, like they say in the Servpro commercials, it's Like it never even happened. I was using my old Front Sight Base to check the fit and see if I needed to file or sand any place, any more. The cut down FSB was a snug fit. When I finally tried the Midwest industries Low Profile Gas Block, it was a loose fit. After I spray the whole barrel with barbecue paint, it should be a perfect fit. If not, carbon deposits will fill any voids when I shoot and seal it up. I'll be using the same spray paint on the muzzle device when I get around to it. It should be within the next few days if I don't hibernate for awhile. Then I need to make sure all of my bolts have one-piece gas rings and the BCGs all have a solid firing pin retainer. I think I saw 2 gas rings and a firing pin retainer in a big Ziploc bag yesterday. I'm getting closer to bringing this job to completion. It may not have taken 20 years like a certain pistol we know about , but it did take a number of years.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-rLB_VAg-E

[Big Frank]

Here's a before and after pic to really drive home what a difference there is.