Good buy!
This will definitely help with my rebuild!
Would you recommend this?
Yes, I would recommend to a friend
Haven't used yet.
Unfortunately i haven't used it yet because nobody has the M16a1 20" pencil barrels in stock.
Great assembly tool!
When assembling or just checking alignment between barrel and upper receiver this tool is great. If assembling a unit this takes all of the stress away from the receiver preventing and damage. Would not want too do without it! Thanks Brownells
Very nice tool
Holds the barrel tightly and I like that it does AR15 and AR10. Wish it had a longer shaft and built in flat spots for the vice.
It works
I liked the idea of only the barrel wrench, not the upper or any part of the rifle, going into the vise. The challenge was lining up the gas tube. It definitely works but I think I prefer the plastic vice adapter that holds the upper that puts the barrel nut/ gas tube alignment situation right in front of you.
Best value
I have used this many times, and to improve it's versatility I have milled flats on it to use in a vice. Normally you would put the barrel nut wrench in the vice and apply torque with this tool, but putting this in the vice requires less juggling. Best value for the money.
Torque tool
Very functional . Works as advertised. Made my 7.6239 build so easy. Careful though. It is so easy to overtorque the barrel nut. One drawback is that I had to purchase an extra breaker bar for the back end of the torque tool.
great tool, could use flats for a vise.
This socket works great. it locks in easily, won't damage the finish, and is cheaper than the competition, such as the geissele reaction rod. For barrel nuts with a torque spec, this is a better option than the reaction rod, because you can attach the torque wrench right at the axis of the barrel nut, so you don't need to do any offset torque calculations. The only thing I would change would be to add flats on the outside so that it could be clamped in a vise for some barrel nuts that don't require a torque wrench, and it's easier to fix the receiver in place. My solution to this problem was to weld a 1/2" socket drive onto a chunk of angle iron. I clamp the angle iron in the bench vise and set the extension tool on the socket drive.
Great Idea - Very Tight Fit in Receiver
The basic idea is great. This tool holds the barrel extension while you rotate the barrel nut or vice versa. No unnecessary pressure on the upper receiver. Following the Brownells video, I put my YHM forearm wrench into my vice and then lowered the barrel vertically through the wrench with the "torque tool" already inside the upper receiver. My torque wrench already has a 1/2" drive so this was a perfect setup with the torque applied directly to the axis of the barrel. I don't understand the other reviewers wanting flats on the tool itself. It is much more stable with the weight of the barrel below your forearm/armorers wrench and the upper with this tool above. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the fit was VERY tight in the receiver. Sanding the tool with 400 grit paper followed by 600 grit took off the finish but allowed the tool to barely fit. LOTS of CLP made it possible to use the tool. (LRB upper receiver for reference)
BROWNELLS BARREL EXTENSION TORQUE TOOL:
Agree w/ previous review and wish the tool had flats to grip in a vice. It extends about 2 1/2"-3" beyond the upper so it is easy to clamp onto or modify if you want to grind flats onto it. It does have 1/2" socket so you'll need to make a t-bar or use your socket wrench w/ a vice. This tool puts zero pressure on the upper and is better than the vice blocks. It should work easily w/ any AR caliber due to the way it locks into the barrel. It is stout and fits tight into the action so you'll want to lube it so you can extract it from the upper when you're done. I'd have given it 4 stars if it didn't require a 3rd hand to setup in the vice, but it is a great value compared to the standard plastic blocks.
