StrangerDanger Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Brownells for the win. If you're going to play gunsmith, buy the right tools for the job. Roll punches are an essential set of tools for this hobby. I place an order every 4 months or so with Brownells for odds and ends. At the same time, I throw on 50 - 100 dollars worth of tools. Over the past few years, I've gotten quite a collection of higher end tools. What you want is roll pin holders: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=781/Product/ROLL_PIN_HOLDERS Roll pin punches. Starrett are top shelf. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=12625/Product/_565_PIN_PUNCH_SET You'll want alignment pins and roll pin starters. I can only link 2 per message. Watch their web based videos. They're helpful for showing you what they do. If you don't have a vice, you're really making this hard on yourself. A solid vice will allow all the energy you're using to remove a pin to actually be used against the roll pin itself. Rather than being absorbed by your leg or the carpet. This job is relatively easy with these tools and a few tips. Note where the spring is beneath the bolt release. It isn't obvious once the release is removed. Note the depth in which the factory roll pin is seated. You'll notice that the roll pin traverses the receiver rail that the bolt carrier group cycles in. You can half ass an alignment pin with an appropriate sized drill bit. Reassemble your new release and spring. Then insert the drill bit or alignment pin through the assembly to hold the parts together. This will give you more hands free in order to tap the new roll pin into place. As the new pin is tapped in, it will displace the alignment pin or drill bit. Be smart when using a vice. Remember that this is a thin aluminum receiver. You can crush the receiver fairly easy. Remember to protect your finish with some shop rags or soft jaw chucks. When placing the receiver into the vice, sit the bottom of the receiver against the vice. That way receiver won't be held by the jaws when hammering downward. All vices aren't the same. You really get what you pay for. The cheap commie vices these days suck. You're better off buying an old one from a garage sale. Replace the jaws if need. My two favorites are from the 70's and the early 1900's. The older one is massive and closes with authority. You couldn't hurt it if you tried. It probably weighs 300 lbs with its iron base. Seriously, get the roll pin holders. Ar15 bolt release? Installs in one try, no cussing. Check out Brownells quality pliers from Germany too. You'll throw all your other pliers in the trash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AggiePhil Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Be smart when using a vice. Remember that this is a thin aluminum receiver. You can crush the receiver fairly easy. Jeez, you're scaring me. Especially considering how hard I had to pound on that improvised punch in order to get the roll pin to budge last night. I had the receiver standing upright on my workbench and I just hope like **** those forces weren't enough to bend the receiver any. I got worried when I saw that I'd loosened Kip's magazine tube (which I didn't use any Loctite on) and had twisted the buttstock where it meets the receiver. Never would have imagined it'd be this difficult to remove a little button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangerDanger Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 You are probably are fine. Drop the bolt carrier in and cycle the action. Feel any binding? Tweaked receivers usually bind when retracted to the rear. sounds like you just rattled its fillings beating on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigHat Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 Now that I've been trying some of the drills from the MagPul course, I realize THIS might be the most important modification one could make to an M4, especially if you're running a larger charging handle. Time to start working up my courage to buy one and DIY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AggiePhil Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Well, even after purchasing a set of roll pin punches from Brownells, I wasn't able to get the pin out. Finally decided that I must have damaged it using the "improvised tool" (a flat blade precision screwdriver) and took it to a local gunsmith. He said that he actually drives the pins out from the top down, but even doing that, he wasn't able to get mine out. He finally had to use a Dremel (I'm guessing) and sacrifice the internal lever by cutting it apart in order to get the pin out of there. Told him I didn't care since we were replacing it anyway. Once he finally got everything out, the pin looked like it was buggered up pretty badly. But thank God I hadn't done any damage to the inside of the receiver. I can't stress enough that other people considering this modification realize how it isn't as easy to perform as it looks. If you don't have a 3/32" roll pin punch, don't even bother trying it. And even if you do have one, it probably isn't a bad idea to have a gunsmith do the job anyway. As I told my guy when I walked into his shop with a disassembled Benelli in one hand and a sad look on my face, "Ever heard the saying, 'Home gunsmiths keep real gunsmiths in business?'" Just my $0.02. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Fab Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 I still stand by the fact that if you used the proper tool from the beginning you wouldn't have had any trouble. That, and putting a few drops of CLP in a day before the install and you would have been golden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AggiePhil Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 I agree, but since the GG&G product description doesn't warn you that you'll need a 3/32" roll pin punch, who wants to pay $100 for a part, wait a week, then have to order another part and wait another week just to install the first part? LOL. IMO, GG&G should include a punch along with this expensive ass item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austinwolv Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Did this install in minutes at home. Very easy. I already had punches in my toolbox chest however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigHat Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Did this install in minutes at home. Very easy. I already had punches in my toolbox chest however. I too have the proper tools. Still waiting for mine to arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogslayer Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 This was a really easy install. Using a vise to hold the receiver and a toothpick to help line everything up when you are ready is the key. A little clp on the pin helps as well when you are ready to set the new one in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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