I have an older Kac lower and the buffer retainer doesn’t have enough coverage so I need to give it one more spin but I can’t get the dimples castle nut off. People recommend the brownells tool but they seem to be forever out of stock. Anyone else know a good tool to get it off?
This is what I use, Tapco, basically what JohnnyUtah427 uses. I modified the pin to fit better, made it slightly smaller diameter for a better fit and shorter so that it didn't bottom out early, so that the castle nut now fits the entire radius of the tool. ETA: forget the torque wrench, just tighten it up snug as possible
I had an older DPMS wrench and the pin sheared off. I bought the Brownells tool and have been using that. I also bought a $330 jig to hold the lower in place when tightening castle nuts. Expensive, but everything stays in alignment now. They’re only produced in small batches, so snag one when you can.
Originally Posted By krecon1: I had an older DPMS wrench and the pin sheared off. I bought the Brownells tool and have been using that. I also bought a $330 jig to hold the lower in place when tightening castle nuts. Expensive, but everything stays in alignment now. They’re only produced in small batches, so snag one when you can.
KAC uses the brownell tool. The fact you can attach a 1/2" torque wrench to the tool that applies properly radiused torque makes it better than anything else available. It's in and out of stock often. Similar tools that utilize a dynamic jaw are particularly bad because they move, slip, and damage components of both the tool and the work.
Noob question here...It looks like the pin that comes with the tool has a square head? Do you simply pop that pin out and replace with one of the circular pins you linked?
Originally Posted By Zero520: Noob question here...It looks like the pin that comes with the tool has a square head? Do you simply pop that pin out and replace with one of the circular pins you linked?
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The tool comes with both the square and round attachment (it traditionally has at least). You just loosen a set screw on the spanner wrench and pop the one you need in and retighten it down.
You need to make sure you set the depth correctly or you're going to egg the hole out.