Shazam, that werks too.
I use a roll pin starter punch nowadays.

I never used to worry about staking the castle nut that secures the buffer tube to the lower receiver until I had an AR pistol tube that backed out on me without me noticing. Had there been a buttstock installed I would've noticed the discrepancy. The pistol tube backed out and the AR pistol failed after the buffer retaining pin and spring popped out and became lodged in the FCG.

So I looked for and found an easy way to stake all of the castle nuts on my AR builds without marring the finish on the end plate or castle nut.

I have two tools that I use. First is a pneumatic center punch. Starrett makes some top of the line models but you can get a Pittsburgh brand pneumatic punch from Harbor Freight tools for pretty cheap. These punches come with sharp pointy tips that help you avoid slippage when choosing and beginning your staking location. The pneumatic function of the punch is actuated by simply pressing down on the tool and allows for better precision than striking with a mallet or hammer.



This link is to the Harbor Freight model: https://www.harborfreight.com/spring-loaded-center-punch-621.html

The second tool I use is this spring loaded nail set/counter punch. I use this after I get an indent started with the pneumatic punch. This tool is spring loaded and carries a little more weight so that I can push a little more material into the notch that I am staking. The tool I use for this is in the link below.



This is a link to the spring loaded punch: https://www.amazon.com/Spring-Tools-32R02-1-Counter-Punch/dp/B0006Q4I60

When I'm done staking my castle nut I use a Birchwood Casey Super Black Touch Up pen to cover up any exposed metal that resulted from the staking process.

https://shop.birchwoodcasey.com/super-black-touch-up-pen-flat-black/

Here is a video that helped me when I first began staking the castle nuts on all of my builds.

I used my vice as a "press" when I built my first one. Did this on both the bolt catch pin and trigger guard pin.

I used this video for my first build. It covers the entire build, but is broken down step by step by time stamp in the description.

I am very grateful for all these tips. I'm hoping to start my first AR build soon.

I think I started this thread for selfish lazy reasons! All the tips in one easy spot. Hahahahaaha

I need to start one on Glock assembly fun.......crap that is easier.

For trigger installation a short piece of a 16 (iirc) nail makes a great slave pin. Just cut the nail a little narrower than the trigger itself, install the disconnector, holding it in place with the slave pin. Then put the trigger in the lower and push the slave pin through with the trigger pin. Tapering the ends of the slave pin helps guide it through the other side of the lower.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk