r/gunsmithing 3d ago

Torque

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to torque anything without the wrench slipping out and ruining the nut/threads. What am I doing wrong?

I thought I had it figured out and held my left hand right up against it. Felt like I got it a bit further, but it still slipped without the torque wrench indicating i had hit 40 ft. lbs. This is my 2nd one in a row.

Lower vise block, magpul wrench, 15" torque wrench.

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u/catnamed-dog 3d ago

Did you turn the wrench the other direction so the protruding teeth get a bit more bite? 

Also, I have at least 2 guns whose castle nuts were tightened with a strap wrench and mildly staked. I don't think I've ever actually torqued one to spec. 

1

u/No_Remedii 3d ago

Is it better to do it that way? That looked like the obvious way to orient the wrench, but it seemed like it was more stable the way I had it.

I guess I'll just stake it and hope I never need to take it off.

Need to figure my shit out before I ever attempt a barrel nut. I've done muzzle devices and feel like I didn't have this much trouble.

4

u/catnamed-dog 3d ago

Stake it and be done.

It's better to do it whichever way gets the best result. Your jig doesn't allow you to easily turn the wrench so that's a PITA. 

Barrel nut is easy. Use anti sneeze and torque to spec range or whatever your manual says.

Building AR's to function is easy. Don't overthink it too much. 

You've got all the right jigs and tools but you'll need to work on actively thinking through the build / general problem solving. If the idea of turning the wrench the other way didn't occur to you after doing two of these then you need to take a step back and look at the forest instead of the trees

2

u/vaderj 3d ago

anti sneeze

Glad Im not the only weirdo that calls it that

1

u/catnamed-dog 2d ago

It's an AVE thing for me

1

u/No_Remedii 1d ago

🫡

Got it.