Good vid, but you don't use a hammer on an automatic center punch. You hold the handle and push the point exactly where you want it until it "snaps down". This is your starter hole. Then you finish it as you describe with a standard center punch.
ACP doesn't have enough force to deform or bend my steel end plate. You'd need to hammer for additional force - however, you may ruin your ACP at the same time.
To be honest, I guess I just didn't understand how the spring worked in the thing, so, I smacked the crap out of it with a hammer! Haha, thank you for the kind words. I appreciate it!
By the way that "spring loaded" punch is not made to strike with a hammer it is an Automatic Center Punch. It is made to push down with your hand only to make a small dimple.
I work for a military aircraft manufacturing company and I can tell you from experience that military TM’s can contain errors. A common error is getting in-lb. and ft-lb. mixed up. At my company, the engineering drawings are always in in-lb.. The Tech writers will sometimes convert in-lb. to ft-lb. based on the type of torque wrench that is available to the user. In doing this, mistakes are made. Another common mistake is omitting a decimal point or putting it in the wrong place. Anyway, the point of my little rant is just because you see something in a RU-vid vid or a military TM doesn’t make it correct. If it doesn’t look right, you should question it. Hope this helps.
Thank you for sharing this video. I’ve been really depressed lately because work has been slow, and then last week my girlfriend got an abortion even though she was 8 months pregnant and she didn’t even tell me she was pregnant until after she killed our child, so I’ve been trying to get into a hobby and I think I might try staking castle nuts to pass the time
Those Magpul ASAP plates allow you to put a small block in the castle nut notch and the notch in the ASAP plate that will act the same as staking the CN.
Quick question: What keeps those blocks from falling out of the notch once they're placed? I've always seen those little blocks but never bothered using them, but have since decided to either stake, loctite, or now use one of the retaining blocks.
Great video. Thanks for sharing! To anyone out there who says there is no need to stake your castle nut ... well you must not use your rifle that much. I am 100% confident that if you do not properly stake your castle nut then it will work itself loose if you shoot a few hundred rounds (maybe less). Take the extra 30 seconds and do it right. Don't worry about marring / marking up your rifle - it is a tool and you should treat it as such.
Sorry to burst your bubble. I've got a 1989 Eagle Arms Rifle. Father and I replaced two barrels. Called him and we figured + 9000 rds. The nut was never staked. No issues. The more you know.
I’ve never staked a castle nut , switched buffer tubes many times installing folding adapters or different end plates with sling mounts and never had one come loose 🥴🤔…
True, and I have not had to use the hammer on my other builds. I wanted to show how to do it with a hammer and punch since most people would not have a spring loaded one. I will probably end up making another video showing how to do it specifically with a spring loaded punch.
I used to do this all the time, but with frequent changes i just use loctite 222, good stuff but keep it away from plastics such as Ruger mark iii grip panels, total breakdown of plastic.
I recently bought an AR15 and have found a bunch of videos on staking and un-staking the castle nut. On the other hand you do have a nice video on the subject.
My background is 21 years in the Army, over 26 years using the AR platform, and I also know how Technical Manuals are written. And, yes, it is in the TM to stake the end plate in 2 places, but if you don't want to replace your end plate and castle nut, an alternative is loctite. Like I said before, I torque check my castle nut, and if it ever fails, I might consider staking. The key thing is that if you don't trust it or don't want to be bothered torque checking it, then stake it.
With an automatic center punch you don't need the hammer, just push it down until it clicks at the edge and keep doing it until you made a decent size dimple with some metal in the notch.
The tail of the unit will unscrew, you can inspect it to see if it is broken. The deal is you just press towards the material to be punched and you are loading the spring, at a certain point "you usually have to press hard" it will release "pop". I use one in many of my videos although I cannot think of an example to save my life right now. haha
Good video, as usual. (I said i would never change out my Magpul ASAP too, but I got so tired of the "jingle" it made I just switched it out on Friday. Time to stake the castle nut!)
I use my ARs for competition and training. They get worked pretty hard. I've had a blue-loctite'd castle nut work lose during some intense match stages even though it was torqued to 40ft lbs. I no longer trust loctite for this application. Maybe it's the anodizing of the buffer tube that makes it too slick, who knows. I now stake. I use a spring-loaded center punch, it's actually simpler than loctite. No vice, no hammer needed.
Hey man, just want to thank you for all of your build videos. I'm trying to reconnect with my dad and my idea was to get into shooting together. I'm hoping we can start a build in the spring and be shooting by next winter. At any rate, all of your stuff is nicely clear and concise and I'm confident that we can do the build pretty easily with you as our video tutor. All that said, quick question - I've watched your videos regarding headspace as well as a few others. Would you recommend having a smith do the barrel install right from the get-go?
If you ever go to a carbine class they have punches and blue locktite on because the rifles people bring may function well at the range while seated only running 50 rounds through, but when your in a run and gun diving to the ground going through 1000 rounds anything not staked or have locktite usually falls off.
I'm what you'd call a learning gunsmith...lol. Basically because I'm always learning something about this wonderful hobby of mine everyday. I enjoy being able to work on my firearms and trust in the fact it's done correctly. However I'm not one of those guys that thinks he knows everything and won't ask questions. I would rather ask than ruin my firearm or have it self destruct. Well so far your video's have answered a few questions of mine or rather showed me how to do what I wanted in an easier different way. I just found your site today and subed after the first video. Thanks and great job! Very helpful video's much appreciated!
That's kinda why you had a little difficulty staking. The spring absorbed the impact from the hammer. But sometimes, ya gotta do with what ya got. Just got my first stripped lower for my first ever build and am always on the look out for tidbits of info when it comes to building one. Thanks for this video as well as the removal one.
I have found that using just the spring loaded punch with out a hammer works very well for staking operations. The springs within the punch have plenty of power to perform this function and this method gives you a lot of control. Good job posting a video that people can use, that's what I try to do is make videos for people that might not be "super mechanics" haha
Thanks for showing this, good knowledge to share. I wish you would have just used a regular punch though, not that weak auto punch and a hammer....your stake would have been much deeper and defined, nut muddy and shallow
Nice video! You do know that those automatic spring loaded center punches are not supposed to be hammered on, right? You just push down on the body of the auto punch until the internal trigger trips and it "hammers" itself via the internal spring. A one handed operation. Otherwise a great tutorial on staking the nut!
Please use a solid center punch................That punch is just to make a pilot hole for the solid punch or drill bit so it don't walk . Good video tho!
All you’re doing is creating a burr so that you can rotate from shark I want to say similar to a lock washer I guess will call the cut in the middle the burr which causes grab which in theory is supposed to prevent backing off unscrewing coming loose however you desire to term it.. Call it in antirotation burr
Great vid brother.......For all the idiots saying the castle nut does not need staking need to go play in traffic....A hard use tool need proper staking no doubt bout it .......threw my 6 years of service in the corps I've seen more than a few primary's go down from castle nut's working lose from long strings of fire threw out the years...I RATHER HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT THAN NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT PERIOD .....AGAIN GREAT VID BROTHER
I'm here today because at the range my properly tightened castle nut somehow worked itself loose after a few hundred rounds. I was looking for alternatives to staking, but staking is an option and it offers visual verification that the nut is not loosening. I'm still not sure which method I will use, but peening a little metal over certainly doesn't harm the firearm and is easily filed off if removal becomes necessary. Thanks for the video nsz85
nsz85, great vid as usual. Know handgun work inside out, but have almost finished my first AR build after having bought a Colt LE6920 some months ago. Yes, the addiction is in full gear! Have learned so much from your videos, it's not funny. Went for an SPR build and up to last night was perfect. Vltor A5 stock. Found out last night that I had a lousy AR armorer's wrench with one 'tooth' to tighten the castle nut. Ruined it and the plate. The good folks at Bravo-Tac were nice enough send me replacements. Better tool on order. Learn by doing! Am a subscriber. Keep up the good work.
1 castle nut wrench, and one armorer's tool that didn't fit in my castle nut before buying a 2nd AR armorer's tool that did work/fit. For some reason I didn't look at the reviews when I bought the first one off amazon(which had countless comments saying they had the same problem as I did), but the second one I bought did have good rating(though when I went back and looked I saw some reviews saying their tools/wrenches didn't align properly with the gaps in the castle nut.) I don't know if that castle nut was just a bit out of spec or what(it was my first AR build, and it was a BCM castle nut(or wait, it might have been a Anderson CN, as that's the buffer assembly I bought for that gun now that I think about it)), but after buying that third wrench I haven't had that problem again. I don't know what it is about castle nut wrenches/armorers tools(or its the nuts themselves), but I see a lot of complaints from people who's wrenches either don't index properly with the cutouts on the castle nut, or that have teeth that are too big to fit into the cutouts(which was the problem I had with the first two tools I got.)
Good vid! I staked mine using a hammer and a cold chisel. The metal on the magpul asap is quite soft. You can also clean it with alcohol and hit with Casey cold blue to hide the stake markings
That also a way that works. There about a million different ways to do things that all end in the same result. You just have to find what works best for you :-)
For everyone who watches the video and comments, do not use Loctite on the extension/buffer tube. That is wrong!!! And, whoevers says otherwise don't know crap about the AR platform!!!! Besides the TMs saying to properly stake the castle, here is the reason why!!!. You are attaching/securing two different metals (Steel and Aluminum), no amount of torque can properly secure an aluminum bolt (ie buffer tube/extension) to a steel nut (castle nut). They both react differently to heat and cold, and will contract and expand at different rates, that is why castle nuts come loose. The amount of torque (way more than 40 (-+) 2 in lbs, TM 9-1005-319-23&P) necessary to properly secure them correctly will destroy the Aluminum, therefore staking is used. Loctite could how them in place, but not for long!!! Follow the TM not idiots on youtube that have no real clue as to why things are done correctly in the first place.
Used on two different metals, its obvious that locktite will disintegrate into powder after enough changes in temperature. Locktite will work for a castlenut if the gun is kept in a temperature and humidity controlled environment, permanently, like an artifact archive facility. There is no technology which will replace the function of staking two differing metals. Also, to removed a staked castle nut, I would use dremel with metal cutting blade and angle it so that I grind off just small portion of the dimple on the plate, while leaving the nut untouched by the cutting disc. That relieves pressure as you unscrew the nut.
Clearly you don't know much about the complete LINE of loctite products, been using 222 for many years, hasn't failed yet, what was the date of your TM? 1965? in that case carry on troop, and keep a sharp eye out for Charles.
First of all thank you for the video, very well made and info is great, the only thing I would change is using the punch you used only to mark the center of the staking, just push it a few times with your hand and the spring will do the mark, then just use a regular punch and hammer to do the actual staking. The reason for this is that I got the exact same punch that you used and it's intended to be used only with the hand and let the spring do the work, I made the mistake long ago of hammering on that particular punch, ruining it and had to get a new one, those punches are expensive and serve the purpose of only marking the metal with a small indentation to avoid a non spring loaded punch or drill bit walking on the metal ............
True, I may be wrong but I think it's called a center punch. The one I have is adjustable by rotating the stock to vary the impact. Then press down hard and it will ping the metal for you. However since you have been hammering on it , it may not work anymore.
Good video, can I offer some constructive critisizm? Everything was done correctly, just had the wrong tool for the job. That punch isn't really intended to be struck with a hammer. Secondly, if you have any wood working tools or even a cold chisel about the size of the flat head screwdriver you used to to press down on the buffer tube retainer... One or two good smacks with a framing hammer (or a ball peen I suppose), and Bob's your uncle. @Bob B , that's interesting about the ft-lb vs. In-lb. Do they ever use Nm values?
I'll use blue lock-tight at first.Test out the platform,when happy with It,then re- check torque and stake the castle nut.SOMETIMES A LITTLE BREAK IN WORKS WONDERS!!! I ALWAYS USE QUALITY PARTS,BUT SOMETIMES YOU GET SOME LEMONS!!!
Let me ask then... Do you now know how they work? by just pushing down and towards the area to be marked eventually you will reach the release point and it will snap.
One of the ppl on here that wants to be a smart ass. I apologize if my statement offended others on here. Information false or other can be shared and corrected in kind, no need to be making comments or mocking ppl.
+Nohl Campbell Ok. It is just showing up as a new comment instead of you replying to another. I just wanted to see if I had done something to deserve an internet stranger yelling at me :)
How do I tell you • you missed the runway? There's approximately .040" that castle nut can travel as it sits upon your completion. A tiny stake like yours would be fine if it were butted up against the most R/H side of the cutaway. It loosens anticlockwise, i.e., right-to-left. Your goal is to prevent it from loosening to the left and NOT making a stake look pretty in the middle of the cutaway. I'm not being a dick - but someone must tell you and everyone else tuning in to get info.
I'm new to all of this and close to getting the magpul asap. I don't think at first I'd stake the nut personally until I know it's the mounting method I prefer but wouldn't a small tack-weld that can be ground off completely be better than damaging the material of the asap? Just my initial thoughts. Thanks for the video.
nice video....very good description and instruction. not sure i'll ever do this, but could if I needed to, just based on your video. (want to change out my end plate for a qd one and the gunsmith at my range said like a 4 minute job.....so was curious....already watched your other video on removing a staked castle nut....and ditto comments for that vid as well). nice job!
i thought i selected a video of staking a castle nut but instead (as a tool and die maker) i'm watching a video on how to wrongly use a spring loaded center punch.
