I thought I might post this in hopes of helping others. I’m not an Armorer instructor like @Wayne Dobbs but I have completed Will Larson’s Semper Paratus twice. I also worked 15 years in a large Atlanta Metro shop + range, so I’ve seen a lot of good, bad, and ugly. I’m not posting every tool I own and there are special cases that call for special tools, but for the majority of AR work, these are the tools I’ve used for years with success.
Here is what I use for lower receiver assembly:
Attachment 65910
It’s fairly simple and straightforward: Brownells 1oz hammer, Starret drift punches, Grace roll pin punches, Brownells bolt catch roll pin punch, pivot pin detent installation tool (don’t remember who makes this one), delrin punch I use to depress the magazine button while installing the magazine catch, #1 square bit driver that makes beautiful square stakes, Hammerhead Rifle Tool for castle nut installation, and Tony’s Custom Uppers castle nut wrench (useful for endplates with big sling loops that won’t let the hammerhead seat, like the IKH or Magpul ASAP).
Here is what I use for upper receiver assembly:
Attachment 65913
Torque wrench for barrel nuts (I also use it for castle nuts on the lower, just forgot to include it in that pic), breaker bar for loosening barrel nuts, larger hammer and block for FSB/gas block taper pins, PRI and Geissele barrel nut wrenches. The PRI is my favorite for USGI nuts, but it requires removal of the FSB. If not doing that as part of the procedure, I use the Geissele wrench. Geissele Reaction Rod, Geissele gas tube roll pin holder, snap ring pliers for delta ring, Mark Brown Customs gas tube wrench (used when removing stuck carbonized tubes), and a PRI upper receiver block that sucks for barreling uppers, but is useful for holding uppers while installing forward assists.
Here’s the whole getup:
Attachment 65916
And the box I carry:
Attachment 65917
Attachment 65918
Attachment 65919
