No Buffer Tube Castle Nut Wrench?......No Problem.

hm1996

hm1996

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Staff member
Cut an 18" length of 3/16" gas welding rod, bend it in a vee. Drill a 3/16" hole 1/4" deep in a piece of steel and insert one end of vee full depth into hole, then bend 90*; repeat on other leg. Grind legs flat to fit grooves in your castle nut and you're GTG.



Regards,
hm
 
Can you take a picture of how it orients with the castle nut? Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't see how this works?

In the past, I've used a hammer and a large flat-blade screw-driver to tighten a castle nut when a wrench wasn't handy.
 
Looks like the feet straddle the receiver extension, then key into the end of the castle nut, not wrap around it.

I'm kinda surprised the wire is hard enough to apply sufficient torque.
 
Originally Posted By: JoeBobCan you take a picture of how it orients with the castle nut? Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't see how this works?




Quote: I'm kinda surprised the wire is hard enough to apply sufficient torque.

I was also surprised at the strength. I was in he hydraulic business for years and, while these wrenches are a bit light duty, they do work on most applications. Overload them and they spring a bit, but the short radius of the "teeth" is hard to bend.

The beauty is that in close quarters, you can bend wrench to fit (ie, one leg shorter than the other) when you can't get a 90* turn of wrench. Have made as many as three wrenches to reach especially challenging locations.

Edit to add: I hate to mark a spanner nut, especially on a rifle. Being the clutz that I am, a punch or screwdriver and hammer would not be pretty.
lol.gif


I might add, not sure if my nut is torqued to spec, but hasn't given any problems on the few I have put together.

Regards,
hm

 
Last edited:
I previously mentioned the wrench springing under extreme load....the weak point is the "handle" will distort a bit. I've thought about bending a sheet metal sleeve to fit over the handle to reinforce it, but never tried it. Too easy to just make another wrench when I have overloaded one.

Another thought, if you wanted an extra tough one, I'd try using 3/16" drill rod. A bit more expensive, but if you use the wrench a lot, might be worth extra cost. You would probably have to heat the end of rod to make the bend for "teeth", but quenching would make for a lot harder wrench.

For my use, the welding rod had served me well and can be bent cold.

Regards,
hm
 
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