I did a little searching but didn’t come up with much. I’m wondering what is the best way to stabilize my rifle while I torque down the battlecomp? Just a receiver block and vice? I’m asking because I don’t have a bench vice right now and was looking for an alternate method. I appreciate any help. Thanks
That would do. You could also just place the barrel in a vise with padded jaws (to avoid marring the barrel). Immobility of the barrel is all you need to properly index the muzzle device with a crush washer or shim.
Ok thanks amicus. I’m putting together a reloading bench anyway so I’ll probably pick up a bench vise too.
Not much contact between barrel and soft vise jaws, may lead to barrel slipping. Suggest borrowing or buying barrel block which consist of aluminum blocks with long semicircular cutouts to prevent barrel slippage from torque, especially during flash hider removal.
Have read of people making these out of a block of wood sawn in half.
Mark
If you have a pinned gas block/FSB (GI style) then I just use two thin softwood blocks (generic pine) on either side of the FSB and put the whole thing in a bench vise (a C-clamp would probably work if you don’t have a vise). It’s very solid and produces no torque on the upper receiver. Don’t try this with a gas block that isn’t pinned, even though it might work (it might also rotate your gas block, shear a set screw, etc.).
Not my idea - read about it here, tried it, worked great for me.
It’s a free floated barrel with a low pro gas block w/set screws.
I use cardboard.
Get a thick piece and wrap it a couple times.
Thats what Ive always done.
You can get it more than tight enough
Just around the receiver in a vice? Or around the tube secured by other means?
Make sure the BCE logo is at the 6:00 position, get some oil and lube up the thread, coat the comp with a bit of oil as to not scratch it up. Use a new wash crusher and when you’re torquing it down, go slow and back it off after several turns and slowly torque it into place until centered with BCE logo at the six.
Don’t forget. BCE is here on this forum(industry) and PRgodfather who is owner of BCE.
You clamp the barrel in the vise, not the receiver when torquing muzzle devices.
As others have said, I made my own barrel blocks from wood. To provide grip between the wood blocks and barrel I wrap a damp paper towel around the barrel then tighten between the wood blocks in a bench vice. Sounds crazy but the friction the damp paper towel provides is incredible and it’s another layer of protection from marring up your barrel.
Just be safe… A couple days ago I used a vice and a couple pieces of leather to try and take off a barrel/barrel nut that somebody put way too much shit too, and cracked the upper at the ejection port. 
I remove the hand guard, wrap the barrel a couple times with the cardboard and tighten it.
You can use the cardboard however you want.
I have some really thick stuff so it works fine.
I stay away from using the receiver, I like using the barrel better.
I just don’t want anything bent
I picked up AR Morers (?) vise jaw protectors last year for such work and other projects. It will work on a 4" vise. Same hd material as a panther receiver block. It’s been useful to have on hand.
Thanks for all the info so far. My reloading bench will be together soon and Ill have room for a vise and some extra work space. Ill pull the rail system and go from there.
If you’re looking for a cheap alternative to a vise that doesn’t require a special table, I was able to install mine on a cheap vise, the kind that clamps to the edge of a table.
I’ve made barrel blocks for the vice using 2 pieces of scrap wood with “V” notches cut a little smaller than the bbl diameter. Then wrap the bbl in a piece of leather and stick in in the “V” s of the blocks in the vice. I suspect rubber inner tube would hold the bbl, too.
Jake
This works well… I do the same though use brown paper or news print paper.
One thing I will say is using the proper tools really makes this job the snip it really is…whereby trying to improvise can make it seem like a complete nightmare.
I use the (correctly sized) aluminum barrel blocks in a vise…the key thing is to crank that vise up tight (you’ll not crush the barrel; the blocks will give before that happens, and in any case even that won’t happen with hand tightening a bench vise). If its tight, the barrel won’t slip and you won’t get aluminum marks on it. Then I use a standard GI barrel nut wrench with the flash hider cut on the side attached to my great big beam wrench - having all that leverage allows you to make really fine incremental adjustments with ease when timing things up. If you use a short wrench, its much harder (and is where a lot of the “crush washers don’t crush” complaints come from…especially when trying to do it with some half assed impromptu barrel securing method).
I have a standard bench vice that you’d find in any garage. What I like to do is take some 3/4" or thicker closed cell foam and duct tape it to the contact surfaces…it seems to hold up fine for this kind of project.