Sorry I should have been more clear. This is the upper I have. It is a free float handguard. That is why I that is why I thought it might be proprietary.
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Kris, That looks to be one of PSA’s In-House Free Floaters. I have Zero experience with that line, so whether they require use or provide for lack of better terms a Spanner Wrench Adapter is unknown to me?
I’ve had plenty of On and Offs with the OEM Stoner design and a few laps around the track with Daniel Defense, Gieselle and Midwest products . All of those either came with Proprietary Tools or I bought the Tooling to avoid making a mess of some Expensive Hardware.
I look at Firearms the same way I do my real job. Which it ain’t carpentry, so beat it to $hit and Paint it to fit isn’t an option. If you can ID it as an OEM style? Armorer’s Wrench away .
I’m sure plenty around here have bought your type of Free Floater and have elected to upgrade or alter their purchase along the way. Be patient till you get the dang certain answer you need. Full disclosure of the item at hand should help tons.
Good Luck
Kris,
Made a trip to the Denver Lake Norman store today. The Range Guys were kind enough to bring out a Hand Guard like yours, still new in the box.
They had a time getting the barrel nut out of the hand guard from just factory shipping tightness.
Yes Sir…this Barrel Nut has 4 Flats sides cut in,so a good sized metric ( kidding ) adjustable wrench should do the trick. They said they use a product called Rock Tight for Installation . They recommended a soak in water then heat before putting the big wrench to it.
I hope this helps you.
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Sorry the last reply didn’t post as Id written it.
I was saying that I made a trip to the Denver Lake Norman Store for some parts and Optics. While I was there, I spoke with the Range guys and one had 1st hand experience with removing your Rail and Barrel Nut. He brought one out and removed it from the package to show me exactly what was up.
Yours has 4 Flats cut into it which is Ideal for a Large and Long Handled Adjustable Wrench…I saw No provisions for an AR Armorer’s Wrench
Not to be redundant but he suggested a Water Soak and then Heat to break loose the Thread Locker type used by the Gorilla at assembly time.
I personally would not use a thread locker once you are ready for reassembly time .
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Thanks everyone. Yet again my question has been answered. I have learned so much from this forum. You guys are the best.
So I went to check the size of my barrel nut last night. It is 1 1/8 if I remember correctly. While using my caliper I knocked the barrel nut loose. It was barely hand tight on the upper. I removed it completely checked everything and reassembled. I didn’t have the correct size adapter for my torque wrench so I did my best to get it around 50ftlbs. Anything is better than about to come loose. How dangerous is this really? Not a big deal or I could have blown my hand off? Really asking because I don’t know what would happen if the barrel nut came loose.
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Does the rail have anti rotation tabs? If so, it shouldn’t blow off. The tabs will keep the rail from turning and if the rail is torqued to the nut then the nut wont turn either. Its not ideal and i wouldnt want it that way, but you would have to have several things fail to get a blow out.
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This PSA Rail is pretty basic. The Unit pictured earlier , as well as the NIB Model I viewed at the Denver Lake Norman store did Not have an Anti-Rotation Tab like you’d see on higher end products like Gieselle for example.
Getting Injured? Who knows at what point those hand tight threads strip or walk? You’d still need the Barrel Extension to move forward enough to allow seperation from the Receiver for an Un-Contained mega problem.
I think its a God Send this was caught before anything real or unimaginable could take place from sustained or prolonged use.
.223 and 5 .56mm do generate 50,000 to 60,000 PSI of pressure at the moment of detonation. ( just ballpark figures)
Things like this will keep me from buying Upper Assemblies without a thorough inspection before use. Sounds like the Assembly practices are in need of some serious overhaul or a second set of eyes before moving ahead in the process.
Its the only example i have heard of since i started following and buying PSA products in 2013. Occasionally things do slip through the cracks, but even without tabs your hand will let you know if you rail moves.
You shouldn’t be using ANYTHING without inspecting it first anyway. Do you shoot a pistol right out of the box? No. You disassemble it first, clean and inspect it. Why wouldn’t you do the same for a complete rifle, lower or upper? Just my opinion anyway.
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I tip my hat to anyone whom inspects a newly purchased upper to the point a Free Float Hand Guard Assembly is removed and the Barrel Nut is checked for proper torque before shooting it.
That’s what I call dedicated.
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If you can loosen the barrel nut with your calipers then it’s loose enough to be noticed without disassembly.
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Mine came off easy with 24" inch breaker bar and my 285lbs of man muscle. It was just over torqued but was coated with anti-seize.
this was on 6.8/.308 upper not 5.56 so just double check the size but the breaker bar is great for the price.
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No .. angle grinder .. down to the threads on opposite sides of the nut. PSA sealed this nut on my upper.
Asstumbler must have mistaken his container of assembly lube with his Rocksett.
Wrench & breaker bar after 10 minutes of constant propane flame .. tweaked the upper receiver.
Angle grinder down to the threads .. no trace of loctite so it had to be Rocksett .. not possible to have been a standard install.
I was after the barrel. I had a spare receiver now looking for a replacement barrel nut.
What gun?
AR 15 10.5 “pistol” purchased … a few years ago. It’s a spare and I decided to undertake a project. Now I’m searching for a replacement barrel nut but it appears I’ll need to buy a handguard with barrel nut. This is a smaller diameter barrel nut .. 3 clamp screws and two smaller, cross / anti twist screws.
You have a spare?
TWB
I still have no idea what you have. Do you have the sku in your order history or at the very least a picture?
Had a friend that his barrel nut was seized. heat did nothing. Eventually we took a dremel tool and cut one side of the barrel nut. saved barrel, buggered up upper.