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Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Kit

Sat Aug 25, 2018 11:19 am

I put together my new PSA AR pistol kit last night while watching the game. This is the 4th AR I've built, and damn near the only one I haven't marred while doing so (so close!). A while back a bunch of us talked ourselves into purchasing a pair of Knipex pliers. While expensive, what a game changer for assembling an AR! I used them to push the pins on nearly everything. I wrapped the jaws with painter's tape to prevent marring, and taped off sections of the lower receiver I knew were prone to getting messed up. The great thing about the Knipex is that the jaws close parallel to each other, so all you have to do is control the pressure.

Trigger guard housing ears, get the pin started, adjust the pliers till they're just a bit wider than the pin-ears distance and slowly close the jaws. You'll have to adjust the jaw width a couple of times, but once you get the hang of it, you can do that one handed. No marring.

For the bolt catch assembly? My most feared part of the build because it's hard to get the pin started and driven without bunging up the side of the receiver, or worse, bending the ears. Enter Squirrel Daddy punches. They have a recess in them that allows you to insert the pin, and then have very nice control over the pin while gently tapping it into place with a plastic mallet. The punches are short enough that they don't have to be cocked around the end of the receiver. Once the pin is started, you have to work the punch back off carefully or it'll happily draw the pin back out with it. I found that spinning it as I pulled kept it from bringing the pin with it. Adjust the Knipex to the proper width and starting pushing the pin in with complete control. No marring.

Trigger group pins? Here's where my mistake came. I didn't bother taping the sides of the receiver because drifting the pins in is usually straight forward. These fought me for a while till I figured out that one of the Squirrel Daddy punches was the exact same diameter as the pins, so I got everything lined up with the punch, withdrew it enough to get the pin started, and then applied the Knipex. This went great until the very last moment when the pin for the hammer "popped" the last 1/16" or so and I rocked the pliers right into the side of the receiver. So now I have a tiny-tiny marring in the anodization. Not the plier's fault.

The PSA build was fairly straight forward. They shipped a pistol length AR in a full sized box (it was free shipping, but seemed ridiculous). They provided an extra take down pin spring and detent. They bagged up most of the components with their associated parts so while there was some hunting around it was limited.

Squirrel Daddy punches are dirt cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-Daddy-G ... rrel+daddy

Knipex pliers are NOT dirt cheap, but you'll never regret buying them: https://www.amazon.com/Knipex-8603250-1 ... ipex+tools

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Sat Aug 25, 2018 11:40 am

I used a set of those knipex @ Madpicks place once. didn't tape enough so still marred the BHO install. but was nice and easy pressure to get that pin in for sure.

I went and bought these to do my AR10 lower. worked very well and highly recommend.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:08 pm

I have a knipex addiction. Great tools!!

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:03 pm

I've used my Knipex pliers a couple of times now, and I've been really impressed. thumbsup

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Sat Aug 25, 2018 2:27 pm

Plus one for squirrel daddy I used their punches on the last build I did and they helped alot.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:59 pm

Following up on the Knipex pliers . . . I keep finding more uses for these, I really like them. Basically, I use them instead of Vise Grips when I need to hold onto something, but I don't want to mar it.

I've had to use them twice in the last week. Once to separate two suppressor parts; I wrapped a towel around one and gripped it with the Knipex pliers, and used my hand on the other half and was able to separate them. The other use (which happened a couple of times!) was to loose the seating stem of an RCBS seating die; the RCBS dies don't have anything flat to grab onto, just a knurled surface. Again, I put a towel over the knurled area and then gripped it with the Knipex pliers.

What a great tool. thumbsup

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:27 pm

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Last edited by CQBgopher on Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:56 pm

^Love those Cobra pliers too (the red handled set on the far right). I use them all the time at work instead of other wrenches. Show off. lol

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:05 pm

I wish I had gotten in on the Kniplex sales that were posted on here awhile ago :frust:

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:10 pm

After I made that post earlier, I used the Knipex pliers for a couple more things as well.

Here's one of them....

NSFM WARNING

If you're a machinist and have a sensitive stomach, do not look at this!

Spoiler: show
Image

Yep . . . holding a titanium suppressor endcap to drill it. Two of them, in fact. :bigsmile:

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:12 pm

Steve, you're a savage. :thumbsup2:

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Sat Jan 05, 2019 3:11 am

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Last edited by CQBgopher on Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Sat Jan 05, 2019 5:39 am

NWGunner wrote:I wish I had gotten in on the Kniplex sales that were posted on here awhile ago :frust:


Amazon has Knipex on sale pretty regularly. Though it will be random as to what is on sale. The cobras/water pump ones tend to not go on sale very often though. Best is to just wait for a holiday and when a lot of companies do sales around then.

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Sat Jan 05, 2019 5:53 am

I have bought a few different Squirrel Daddy punch sets and even their Glock firing pin channel liner insert tool. My only (minor) gripe is they are so short. Just when you need that extra few mm's to go through something, SD punches come up short. I have a multiple other punches so not a big issue.

Knipex are the bomb

Re: Knipex pliers, Squirrel Daddy punches & PSA pistol AR Ki

Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:08 pm

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Last edited by CQBgopher on Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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