I'm in the process of assembling an AR-15 upper with a .22LR barrel. I bought a Wheeler branded barrel clamp hoping that would be enough to allow me to torque the barrel nut. Unfortunately that was not the case.
Due to it being a dedicated .22LR barrel, a reaction rod will not work. Is an upper receiver vice block my only option or is there something else available I'm not aware of?
Edited 06/26/23:
So the upper receiver vice block I got from Brownells did allow me to torque the barrel nut properly but not without worrying about accidentally crushing the upper receiver. Makes installing a handguard more difficult as well. Reaction rods make things so much easier.
Now that I have the barrel torqued into the upper receiver the .22LR bolt carrier assembly won't fit flush in to the upper now. I've tried a few different 5.56 bolt carriers in the upper and they move freely with no binding. I tried the .22LR bolt carrier assembly in two other upper receivers I have. One fit perfect and the other is a little tight. I think I've been hosed by tolerance stacking but I'm waiting on a reply back from CMMG to see what they have to say.
Due to it being a dedicated .22LR barrel, a reaction rod will not work. Is an upper receiver vice block my only option or is there something else available I'm not aware of?
Edited 06/26/23:
So the upper receiver vice block I got from Brownells did allow me to torque the barrel nut properly but not without worrying about accidentally crushing the upper receiver. Makes installing a handguard more difficult as well. Reaction rods make things so much easier.
Now that I have the barrel torqued into the upper receiver the .22LR bolt carrier assembly won't fit flush in to the upper now. I've tried a few different 5.56 bolt carriers in the upper and they move freely with no binding. I tried the .22LR bolt carrier assembly in two other upper receivers I have. One fit perfect and the other is a little tight. I think I've been hosed by tolerance stacking but I'm waiting on a reply back from CMMG to see what they have to say.
