Final Assembly
If you’ve come this far, you are only moments away from your fully-assembled AR. In this section, we will cover the final assembly and function check of the AR.
Step F1: Move Pivot and Takedown Pins to Open Position
Push the pivot and takedown pins from the left side of the lower receiver until they click out of the closed position. Extend the pivot and takedown pins to the full-open position.
DIFFICULT PINS
If you find that the pivot pin or takedown pin is hard to open or close, the detent/detent channel may need to be broken in. We recommend that you take the following actions:
- Ensure that the detent channel is well lubricated.
- Tap the applicable end of the pivot/takedown pin with the rubber/plastic head of a gunsmithing hammer to knock it out of the locked (open or closed) position.
- Cycle the pivot/takedown pin until you are able to open and close it by hand.
Step F2: Place Upper Receiver Onto Lower Receiver
Insert the pivot and takedown lugs on the upper receiver into the lower receiver.
Step F3: Close the Pivot and Takedown Pins
Press the pivot and takedown pins to close them fully.
CAN’T CLOSE PINS
If you are unable to close the pivot and takedown pins with the receivers mated, verify that the holes in the upper receiver lugs are properly aligned with the holes and pins in the lower receiver. You can view the path of the pins from the left side of the receiver. If you don’t see a clean path (i.e. the holes don’t line up), there may be a problem with your upper and/or lower receiver. Hopefully, you heeded our advice on inspecting for this defect BEFORE you assembled your receivers.
Step F4: Function Check
Now that everything is where it should be, its time to make sure everything moves like it should. We have a specific regimen to ensure everything functions, dry.
Step F5: Pat Yourself On The Back
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve completed the final assembly of an AR and you’ve built a firearm. Congrats!
Now head to the range and start shooting!
Get Social - Share This Page!
Tell Us What You Think!
Your feedback is really important to us. Our goal is to provide the highest quality content possible to help you on your AR journey. If anything isn’t clear, is missing, is incorrect, or otherwise needs our attention, we greatly appreciate you letting us know. It will help us continuously improve our content for the firearms community.