Putting Together An AR-15 Rifle, Part 2

Well, I put together an AR-15 lower receiver the other day at my desk.

If I can do it, so can you, trust me.  Nothing to it.

Let's get started, shall we?  Yay!

First, let me clarify for you good folks overseas and in Bill-Of-Rights-Restricted states, this is not a machinegun, nor an "assault rifle."  This particular rifle is incapable of fully automatic fire.  Semi-automatic only.

One trigger pull, one round fired.  Just like the M1 Garand of World War II lore.  No major technological difference in action or operation.  

The AR-15 is the result of the same 1920s/30s/40s/50s (dare I say, Dieselpunk?) technology, refined via more modern manufacturing processes and materials.

Nothing too terribly fancy, or dangerous.  The AR-15 is certainly not the implement of mass slaughter and doom as it is popularly portrayed.  It's just an assemblage of parts, as I'm going to show.

You face far more peril from crossing the street every day, or from being mauled by a pack of feral wiener dogs, than from dying at the hands of law-abiding rifle owners.  Hyperbole aside, firearms won't chase you down and eat you of their own volition.  If you have strong feelings about guns, I suggest you visit a website called A Human Right.

Enough sermonizing.  On to the build.


First, Tools.  I am living proof that you can put together an AR-15 with a small hammer, a small drift punch, a pair of tape-wrapped vice grips, and a screw driver.  That's it.  Well, a touch of lube helps.  Use CLP or Breakfree (found in Walmart sporting goods sections), and only lightly.


Second, parts.  I purchased these over a few years, but you can get most of them online from a number of sources.  The only part that is tracked by the .gov is the lower receiver, which is a serial-numbered part.  I had to pass a NICS check to be able to purchase this portion of the rifle.  No, you can't make fun of the guest bedroom's quilt pattern.  Yes, those grease stains from the rifle parts will come out.  Don't tell my wife.


Third, information.  I enjoy spending far too much time on the Interwebz forum known as AR15.com.  They're a hive of villainous scumbags, posting from their mothers' basements during commercial breaks of Spongebob, and, naturally, I fit right in.  There's a section in the Technical forums that details how to put a rifle together, from buttstock to flash-hider.  Knowledge is power.  Get some.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how a lowbrow, broken-down knuckledragger like myself is able to put together a rifle with only a few hand tools and a glorious bouquet of curse words.

Stay tuned.

Best,
JBR

Comments

David said…
"... a glorious bouquet of curse words."

LOL - I can't wait, sounds like me doing home handy jobs!
Evyn MacDude said…
John I visited the web sight "A Human Right", unfortunately their poor choice in language, examples and lack of critical thinking in the presentation of their arguments makes me want to confiscate their firearms and car keys. Mind you, this comes from someone who basically supports firearms ownership. (ok, I want my own M2HB, but that is different story)

Heck, I believe that a firearms safety class should part of the core requirements of a high school education.
John Bear Ross said…
"Heck, I believe that a firearms safety class should part of the core requirements of a high school education."

I'm with you on that point, Evyn.

As to Oleg's essays...well, he has a unique perspective: a Soviet-era Russian Jewish immigrant whose grandmother's family was wiped out by the Nazis. I'm not sure if he's going so much for gentle (or even reasoned) persuasion as much as giving testimony.

To each their own, I say. Take from it what you can use, and filter out what you can't.

Best,
JBR
MIK said…
Greta post! Having put a handful of these together it gets easier every time. You're totally right too, if you've ever put together a model or a LEGO set, you can build an assault rifle! I would recommend a pair of hemostats for the front take down detent and spring though, makes things /so/ much easier.
John Bear Ross said…
The truth. You speak it. The Emperor's shuttle Lego set from Attack of the Clones was tougher than this.
John Bear Ross said…
..* forehead slap *
Not Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith. This one...
http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/8096_Emperor_Palpatine's_Shuttle
Those wings and the operating table and roof were buggers.
The rifle was definitely easier to build. Heh.

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