Hey guys, I am new here and new to AR’s (bought my first one a month ago). I am currently trying to get my tool collection started, and I was wondering about the priority of tools to get and the best place to get them. I am also currently looking for a gun stand with a parts tray, or a cleaning stand with a parts tray. If someone could point me in the right direction I would love the help. Thanks alot!
And I am sure you will find many more posts by me lol.
The tray I am looking for (sorry to steal the picture. It came from the Cleaning thread)
Dont know who makes that tray but as far as tools go, it really depends what level of work you intend on doing. If you plan on building uppers and lowers, a vise block set would be a good place to start. That, followed by the hammerhead tool for the lower and a good barrel nut wrench tool for the upper, then, a torque wrench, punch set, and roll pin starters/punchers.
IF you dont plan on that level of assembly, I would get either the Multitasker or Gerber AR tool kit. Not sure which one is better though.
thanks alot, you guys were a lot of help, and I will make sure to search a lot better next time, i must have skimmed over that one. Sorry. *stupid newbies!
In all fairness to Hammer, those threads are all 5-6 years old. Has anything improved been introduced to the market since then? Maybe Robb could update his sticky if necessary, and if he is inclined?
I have that tray and it’s great for holding everything in one place. I also bought both the lower and upper vice block set from Brownells for $57, good deal. You should also buy the wrench that is used for barrel nut, castle nut and flash hiders etc… A good set of punches is a must have. Brownells I think has complete sets of tools for different weapons systems, might be worth a look if you plan on doing a lot of the work yourself.
For punches, screwdriver bits, hex keys, etc.: Snap-On. Most of the Snap-On franchisee’s customers are mechanics who buy on credit and want metric tools for newer cars. Snap-On makes their dealers buy the whole line, so they end up with plenty of the SAE stuff with fewer customers for it. If you have cash in hand, they will deal. Snap-On will also warranty anything that breaks or wears out.
For the AR special tools, Brownells has a pretty decent selection.
I did as well, but the mag well block was junk. In my case it was a poorly done injection-molded part that wouldn’t even fit into the mag well.
Brownell’s traded it out for their Sinclair mag well block which is machined UHMW. A very nice part and excellent CS from Brownell’s.
You can gather good tools from all over, but for a single source for quality AR tools, it is Brownell’s hands down.
One last question, would you recommend slowly building up tools or spending the huge chunk of change off the bat and buying the entire kit? but good God it’s expensive!
its totally fine, I understand, new guy in a forum usually they dont know how to hit the search button and for all the guys that know what they’re talking about its very frustrating to answer the same question 10 times a day. lol
It all depends on whether you NEED them and if your wallet can bear the burden. There are alot of unnecessary things that are marketed out there. But, if you need them I suggest the following;
Barrel blocks
Punches (starter, roll pin and standard)
Vise Block
Brass/Nylon hammer from Brownells.
Hammerhead Tool
Barrel Wrench
Good screwdriver/ bit set like the Magna-tip.
Miscellaneous stuff like pliers, Loc-tite, grease, etc…
With the above you can make most repairs and assemblies.
Cool, I remeber Stickman reviewing this a while back but hadn’t heard anything about it in a while. I guess you consider this thing to be in a different class than the other multi-wrenches that have been available before?
