I just received the 12.5" Noveske barrel that I’ve been waiting on for four months and I was all excited about finally putting together a new SBR upper. Unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me punch the taper pin out of the low-profile gas block. I put the barrel in a table vise and tried to punch out the taper pin (FROM BOTH sides… just in case I was hitting the wrong side). I used a pretty heavy hammer and ended up bending my punch tool, but the taper pin didn’t even budge.
Remember that you are trying to “shock” the pin free, which means sharp blows, otherwise you can end up peening the pin.
You might want to give the Noveske shop a call. They can verify which direction the pin should be coming out for you, adn might be able to give you some hints.
OK, just got off the phone with Tom from Noveske and he said that the pin is not tapered and it doesn’t matter which side I’m punching it through. He uses a shorten 1/8th punch and just whacks it through.
It’s on like donkey-kong! Going to try it again tonight. Wish me luck. :o
The best way we have found to remove them is to put an old A2 FS on. Tighten it down. Put that end in the vice and lock it down (at an angle so that the barrel extension end is making contact with the table). Put a bench block under the barrel/GB for support. Using a short punch (or starter punch) hit the pin as hard as you can. The first blow is the most important to set things in motion.
I was able to finally get the pin out of the gas block thanks to Grant’s advice on putting an A2 FH on the end of the barrel and tightening it down on a vise at an angle. I will say that I had to knock the crap out of it to get the pin out. Broke my punch in doing so, but I got that mutha out. :o
The new upper looks great and I will give a range report (with pics) on it this w/e.
On a side note: Look for a slightly used 10.5" LMT upper for sale in the for sale section.
Well it’s finally done and it shoots like a dream. I am a new Noveske fan.
Noveske Crusader 12.5" Barrel
Daniel Defense 9.0 Lite
Trijicon ACOG TA31DOC (minus DOC)
Troy Front / Rear BUIS
Samson Low-Profile Gas Block
Magpul MOE Grip
Magpul MOE CTR Stock
Magpul XTM Panels
Magpul Trigger Guard
AAC M4-2000 Mod 7
MI QD Sling Adapter Plate
The M4-2000 looks lighter than it really does. I’ve shot the turd out of it during a carbine course and burned the majority of the finish off. Then after cleaning it with a green pad and some CLP, I think I took the rest of the finish off. It is more of a machined steel look and not as silver as it does in the picture. I like it, but it’s not very tactical so I think I’m going to paint it FDE with some Gun-Kote and hopefully that won’t burn off.
Just for future reference, I have found that using a finishing nail set works much better than a punch. Nail sets come in several sizes and are hardened, They don’t bend or break like a punch can. This is all I use now on the FSB pins.
A Nail set is similar to a punch. They come in several sizes. They can be had at any hardware store. They are used to “set” a finishing nail below the surface of the wood so the nail can be covered with wood putty and then stained. They are made of much harder steel than a pin punch.
No I’m not. I have removed dozens of FSB’s and prior to using the nail set I bent a bunch of punches because they were to soft. Now they punch right out when the barrel is supported correctly using the nail set. HAve not lost or damaged a taper pin yet.
