Before I get accused of wanting to ruin a perfectly good NSR, let me say I don’t have one yet so please calm down.
When/if (depending on your opinion of the political climate) I can get my hands on a Noveske complete upper, I plan to splurge on the 16" Light Recce w/ Switchblock, but I don’t want the extra weight of rails I’m not using. I would love it if they came out with a Light Recce w/ switchblock AND NSR, but they haven’t yet, so it looks like my options will be to replace the handguard it comes with with either a 9" NSR or a 13.5" NSR. A 9" NSR obviously means less rail space and a fully exposed switchblock. I’m more concerned with the latter, although I’m still confused as to why you apparently shouldn’t leave a gas block exposed… perhaps someone can enlighten me.
In order to use a 13.5" NSR with the switchblock the NSR would need 4 slots cut out of the rail in the right spot. Unfortunately it appears that the “right spot” would fall right in between two of the vents already cut into the rail. Would this compromise its strength? And then there’s the issue of the anodizing. Is it as simple as cutting out the section and having the rail Type III anodized again to hard coat the exposed aluminum or would the rest of the rail need to be stripped and re-anodized as well? Would re-anodizing have any unwanted effects on the rail?
Here’s a pic of the section of the rail that would need to be removed:
Nobody “needs” a switchblock. I want one because I plan to run the rifle both suppressed and unsuppressed, and I have decided that the switchblock is a feature I want on my rifle because of this. Would it work without it? Sure. I just feel like it will work better with one.
I’ve thought about that, but Noveske manages to put a regular rail with a front sight cut out over it some how, so why couldn’t I make the NSR fit if I put a front sight cut out in it myself?
I would prefer a pinned block, and after considering to just build my own upper I decided I’d rather purchase a pre-built Noveske for various reasons. Thanks for the recommendation though. If I planned to run suppressed 100% of the time I think that would be a much better option than the switchblock, but I want the ability to switch back and forth on the fly.
According to Todd K. at Noveske, the rail they currently use for SB uppers has a removable section. I am sure if they could get the NSR to work they’d be doing it. https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=48514
Perhaps he could insert the SB into the rail before either component is installed onto the gun. Slide both components over the barrel at the same time and install the SB through the holes. He could even rotate the NSR around to access everything.
You can get a 16" Light Recce with a pinned Switchblock and 9" NSR from Noveske. While not a 16", this is a 14.5" Light Carbine that I got for a customer a few months ago, from Noveske.
If you want the NSR to extend past the Switchblock, then you will have to try that out on your own. I have not tried to slide a switchblock through an NSR yet, but I do not think it will fit, even if you tried to do it prior to installing both on the barrel.
A little bit of structural strength would be lost due to the cut, but not enough to be a concern. After making the cut, just touch it up with some Aluma-Black. I don’t know if the Switchblock and the longer NSR are compatible.
If the Switchblock needs to be fitted with everything installed loose first, it will make installing the pins a little bit more difficult but should be do-able
This works. But you don’t know yet that the Switchbock with gas tube attached won’t fit into the hole you cut in the handguard. So you will need to take the gas tube out and then pin the Switchblock parts and gas tube together inside the handguard as well.
Disclaimer - I cannot guarantee what follows will work as I do not have the particular parts in front of me. From looking at pictures and having done similar installs on one piece tubes with front sight bases I can only take a guess that this can be done successfully. Try it at your own risk.
I have cut up a lot of rails and IMO the cutouts that the OP describes probably would not be an issue as far as integrity of the rail is concerned. I don’t happen to have an NSR in front of me to look at but it would probably not be an issue with rigidity. The cutout would need to be large enough to drop the switchblock into the rail without the gas tube.
From there you would need to mount the barrel (without muzzle device) onto the upper receiver. After that you would need to hold the switchblock in place in the NSR and slip both the NSR and switchblock over the barrel. You will need to be able to access the pin that holds the switchblock to the barrel with a punch. Removing a small amount of material on the rail over the pin gas block pin area might be necessary. This can be done by drilling (drill press is best) out material, possibly opening up a slotted area to access the gas block pin. A dremmel or similar can work to open up a slot. Or you might be able to move the rail around enough to access without drilling, just depends on how things line up. I can’t be sure there without having one in front of me to play with. I would also think on a true Noveske the anti-rotation pin could make it more difficult. On the plus side the NSR’s slots at 5 and 7 o’clock look like they might access the pin, or a slight removal of material just over the pin will gain access to the pin. How large you make the initial top cut out will determine how much “wiggle room” you have. Again I would need to play with one to get a better idea.
Now Noveske gas block pins are tight, so care in supporting the barrel and not damaging the rail while driving the pin in place should be considered. This is how I might go about it with a Noveske pinned barrel and switchblock because the pins are usually very tight. After fully mounting the rail, slip a length of wood that will fit between the barrel and rail. You might need to place pressure on one side of the barrel to slip in the length of wood. It should be wedged fairly snug between the barrel, gas block and rail. Then using another long block of wood place it on a solid working surface. Then place the rail with barrel on this block of wood. Ideally the wood on the solid work surface will be big enough to support the entire rail and receiver. You can cover the wood with a thin rag if you want, but you need a solid support surface to drive the pin. Best if entire rail is supported and area below gas block must be solidly supported. Now in essence you have “sandwiched” the rail and provided a solid surface to drive the pin. Again I only suggest this much support as the Noveske pins can be tight. Ensure pin alignment with the gas block and barrel, lube the pin and carefully drive it into the gas block.
After this, fish the gas tube through the upper receiver and into the rail area. Continue fishing the gas block into the switchblock and install roll pin. Install muzzle device. Rail can be touched up with high temp paint or I tend to use Birchwood-Casey Aluminum Black. If you are carefull only the edges need touching up and my installs or rail cuts look like they came that way from the manufacturer so it can be done nicely.
Again I HAVE NOT DONE THIS EXACT install and without playing with the exact parts myself, I cannot guarantee this will work. I would do a lot of dry fitment and alignment prior just to see if I could get it to work. From my experiences, I think it could be done successfully if things looked to line up nicely during dry fitment.
Swapping out to an Innovative Arms W.A.R Receiver would allow you to run a standard gas block under 13.5" NSR while maintaining the ability to adjust gas at the receiver and maintaining the structural integrity of the NSR.
Thank you for all the replies! I wasn’t aware Noveske would put a 9" NSR on right at the factory, I will have to consider that as it would save me a lot of work. It looks like cutting the 13.5" is going to be more involved than I thought. If I decide to go that route, is there anyone who does this sort of work that I could just pay to have it done? I’m kinda picky… Ok, I can be downright anal sometimes, just as a fair warning. I would prefer the rail be re-anodized after the cutting and pre-fitting was done, prior to the final install. I’m not really familiar with any shops that do work like this, as I’ve always done things myself. I’m just not sure I want to attempt something of this magnitude yet.
Arrgggh! Just when I think I’ve made up my mind someone’s gotta introduce another product to consider! Thank you. What’s the scoop on Innovative Arms? I’ve never heard of them before… How does their quality reputation stack up against companies like Noveske, DD, Vltor, etc? I had previously looked into the Adcor Arms BEAR Elite, which looked excellent on paper, but after looking into their quality/reliability reviews I decided against it.
If you think the 9" handguard will be enough for you that would be the easy answer.
You can’t just anodize a few places where it was cut. ALL the anodizing would need to be stripped of the entire handguard and then re done. It would be easier to have the entire handguard painted with KG etc. if you don’t like the idea of touch up on the cut surfaces.
Surf has the process pretty well down, the only additional issue is that the pin that holds the gas tube in also holds all the pieces of the Switchblock together.
Thanks for the info. If I do decide to go with the 9" NSR who would I contact to have that installed in place of the standard rail on a Noveske upper with a switchblock? Should I contact Noveske Rifleworks directly or call one of their authorized dealers and see if they can order it that way for me?
What’s the scoop on Innovative Arms? I’ve never heard of them before… How does their quality reputation stack up against companies like Noveske, DD, Vltor, etc? I had previously looked into the Adcor Arms BEAR Elite, which looked excellent on paper, but after looking into their quality/reliability reviews I decided against it.