AR Sponsor
Posted: 4/17/2016 12:17:12 PM EDT
| Im looking to do some work on a few rifles and am in need of some vice blocks. Any recomendations on a decent set that wont break the bank? |
| Go to Brownells, Midsouth Shooters Supply, Amazon, for starters and look around. All have pretty reasonable offerings. If you are going to be working on non-AR guns you will need lined vice blocks (aka non-marring) for receivers and barrels. You should be able to get all you need for around $40-$50. ymmv. |
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What kind of blocks are you looking for? My aluminum barrel vise blocks cost about $19 from Midway/Brownells. Most clamshell upper blocks cost anywhere from $30-$60, but are almost all pretty much the same. The clamshells with a receiver core piece are potentially better tools, and I'd pay a bit more for those than the ones without.
I like to do all barrel work with the barrel secured, not the upper. It's likely that someone will chime in and explain their understanding of the way "all the torque goes through the index pin and into the upper" when using barrel vise blocks, but I disagree - once the barrel nut is hand tight, the barrel isn't going to move relative to the upper. I do not have, and have not tried any of the Reaction Rod-type tools, but I have seen them used to barrel and un-barrel without any problems. On the other hand people have posted here that they have un torqued their barrel extensions while using these tools... Blocks like the DPMS Panther Claw, that ONLY hold the takedown and pivot lugs are fine for working on the upper, but I don't recommend them for barrel nut or muzzle device work. I actually twisted an upper using mine - just enough to be able to measure using squares and levels, but that's way too much for my tastes! |
| I just a simple two piece clamshell upper block and lower magazine block I got off ebay for around $25 bucks for the pair and a nice set of firm soft jaws I ordered from Home Depot for $10.75, I use a 6 inch vise that I got from Lows for less than $70 and everything is good to go, in reality, vise blocks for working on these guns are not rocket science and you don't need to spend a lot. |
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I don't have these but I'm going to try them out soon. I have read a lot of good reviews and all their products are reasonable.
Plastixrevolution AR blocks |
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Quoted:
I don't have these but I'm going to try them out soon. I have read a lot of good reviews and all their products are reasonable. Plastixrevolution AR blocks i have the one posted here and it works great and i have built over a dozen AR's using it. |
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Quoted:
I don't have these but I'm going to try them out soon. I have read a lot of good reviews and all their products are reasonable. Plastixrevolution AR blocks what's with the set that has the plastic shields on the ends? I just purchased the 223/308 block set [top left corner of that link, no plastic shields with mine] , have not used it yet, it is recommended over the DPMS "claw" I used on my first build, BUT it will require my garage sized vice [upper must lay in sideways] over my 3" hobby vice I can clamp on my office desk so I can watch the how to vids while I put it all together lol with that being said, I still need a clamshell such as the one I linked to above as I have an A2 upper to put together , alas I have both 556 and 308 reaction rods but I bought those early on, and now they are deemed risky to use? I did use the 308 reaction rod for the muzzle brake on my 308 build as it took several tries with a shim set to get it just right, and I was freaking out over removing it each time....oh well, im a sucker for a tool box full of tools to work on my stuff.......... doug |
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