AR armguard issue

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peterk123

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My fault for letting my wife go with the fancy lightweight AR a few years ago. Christensen CA5five6 AR15. Carbon fiber barrel. Want to get the armguard off so I can look at the gas block. No go. Guard is getting caught on the gas block after about a half an inch. Reach out to Christensen. Took five attempts before they finally responded.

Told them the dilemma. Was wondering if it was the stupid little screws that hold the pretty carbon plates in place were the problem. According to the customer service person I need to remove the gas block first because the gas tube won't allow the armguard to rotate. That makes zero sense to me. Then he also tells me to be careful trying to remove those little screws because they strip. Those thing are on so tight that I would break the Allen wrench before they will budge. Must have loktite on them.

Anyway, does any of this make sense to anybody? Remove gas block first? How the f$%k am I supposed to line the thing back up if I could actually remove it? At this point I'm ready to make this a safe queen and just get her a real AR.

20250221_153548.jpg

Oh, and get this. Wanted to put an mlok arca rail on it. The bolts dig into the barrel because the arm guard is thin and the barrel is thick. Why put an mlok on it then?

Just an overall dumb design.
 
WTF is an armguard?? It's a HANDguard for the AR platform. ;)

As for removing the gas block in order to remove the handguard, that's BS. Never needed to do that with any of the ARs I own.

I also wouldn't use CF mlok slots to hold anything that's going to have tension applied to it. Like an arca rail. IMO, better to remove the original handguard and install something that will work for what you're talking about. Midwest Industries makes solid handguards that are easy to install and have zero clearance issues when connecting mlok items. That's what's on most of my AR's at this point. The ones without are just because I haven't gotten around to them yet.
 
Golddiggie said:
WTF is an armguard?? It's a HANDguard for the AR platform. ;)

As for removing the gas block in order to remove the handguard, that's BS. Never needed to do that with any of the ARs I own.

I also wouldn't use CF mlok slots to hold anything that's going to have tension applied to it. Like an arca rail. IMO, better to remove the original handguard and install something that will work for what you're talking about. Midwest Industries makes solid handguards that are easy to install and have zero clearance issues when connecting mlok items. That's what's on most of my AR's at this point. The ones without are just because I haven't gotten around to them yet.
Click to expand...
The handguard is aluminum. But the carbon wrapped barrel is thick so there is hardly any space between the two. Just poorly thought out. And there is no possible way to get the guard off unless I remove all this stupid screws, which is on so tight they will strip.

I have to call them and have an actual conversation with a human being that actually knows something. I need to know how the flash hider is on there as well before I try to remove it. Guarantee they used loktite.
 
Sounds like piss poor design choices were made with that upper. If you need to remove the inserts between the barrel nut and gas block in order to remove the gas block, that's beyond ghey. For the flash hider, if there's no crush washer, who knows what they used to secure it. Could just be torqued down and left alone. If it's a 16" barrel, chances are good. If less than 16" it's either pinned and welded, or they used something strong (Rockset) to keep it on. You have options for removing it even then, it's just more of a PITA.

I've had great results using Midwest Industries receiver rods for working on AR uppers. They lock into both the barrel extension and where the gas key rides. Keeps things from turning when you're wrenching on either the barrel nut or muzzle device. IME, better than the other options out there.

You might just be better off selling the upper (as already mentioned) and getting something that's not made with parts like this one is. There's plenty of light handguards out now that are NOT using CF inserts and such. Plus they have plenty of clearance so that you can install the barrel, gas block, and everything else, then easily put the handguard on.

Are those different colored panels on the handguard aluminum or CF? They don't look aluminum from what I see.
 
Golddiggie said:
Sounds like piss poor design choices were made with that upper. If you need to remove the inserts between the barrel nut and gas block in order to remove the gas block, that's beyond ghey. For the flash hider, if there's no crush washer, who knows what they used to secure it. Could just be torqued down and left alone. If it's a 16" barrel, chances are good. If less than 16" it's either pinned and welded, or they used something strong (Rockset) to keep it on. You have options for removing it even then, it's just more of a PITA.

I've had great results using Midwest Industries receiver rods for working on AR uppers. They lock into both the barrel extension and where the gas key rides. Keeps things from turning when you're wrenching on either the barrel nut or muzzle device. IME, better than the other options out there.

You might just be better off selling the upper (as already mentioned) and getting something that's not made with parts like this one is. There's plenty of light handguards out now that are NOT using CF inserts and such. Plus they have plenty of clearance so that you can install the barrel, gas block, and everything else, then easily put the handguard on.

Are those different colored panels on the handguard aluminum or CF? They don't look aluminum from what I see.
Click to expand...
The panels are carbon fiber.

Shame on me for being a newbie when it comes to ARs and not realizing that I should stay away from proprietary crap.
 
As I said in another thread wrt to AGB on this rifle:

GlockBy said:
I would try the can without AGB first to see how it feels and ejects, you probably will want to step up to a heavier buffer though. Only downside is you will have to install the muzzle brake twice if you decide you want AGB after all.
Click to expand...

Second the Golddiggie's suggestion above about the Midwest URR. You can also get the FH toasty first with a heat gun, give it a couple of love taps with 2x4, and see if it spins off with reasonable amount of force, before investigating further.

On the ARCA mlok thing - is there clearance for mlok t-nuts to engage and not touch the barrel? If there is, you should be able to source shorter bolts to make it work.
 
I've never needed anything other than either my 18" breaker bar, or one of my 1/2" drive torque wrenches to remove muzzle devices. Then again, all of those were using crush washers or just torqued down to normal numbers. Worst case, a piece of pipe on a breaker bar to make it longer should go a long way.
 
Golddiggie said:
I've never needed anything other than either my 18" breaker bar, or one of my 1/2" drive torque wrenches to remove muzzle devices. Then again, all of those were using crush washers or just torqued down to normal numbers. Worst case, a piece of pipe on a breaker bar to make it longer should go a long way.
Click to expand...

I think the plan here is not to mess up the threads or expensive barrel if they used something harder than a mild thread locker.
 
peterk123 said:
I can't get at it. Well I can I guess if I do what the cs rep suggested but it just doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...
There is no "doesn't make sense to me". You just do what needs to be done.
MANY gas blocks/handguards are like that. You just need to take it off. Who cares?
Apparently you've never worked on an old A2 rifle.
 
If those tiny screws have thread locker and need to come off, heat them up with a soldering iron and try to remove them. Be patient, let each one fully warm up. We used to use a lighter (recommend by manufacturer) on the spoke nipples when truing Mavic wheel sets. Pain in the ass but made a night and day difference. Get the best quality set of Allen wrenches you can get your hands on in SAE and metric and use whichever fits the tightest while being able to fully bottom out in the tool surface.
 
dingbat said:
If those tiny screws have thread locker and need to come off, heat them up with a soldering iron and try to remove them. Be patient, let each one fully warm up. We used to use a lighter (recommend by manufacturer) on the spoke nipples when truing Mavic wheel sets. Pain in the ass but made a night and day difference. Get the best quality set of Allen wrenches you can get your hands on in SAE and metric and use whichever fits the tightest while being able to fully bottom out in the tool surface.
Click to expand...
Thank you.
 
peterk123 said:
I think you just need to soak it in water for a couple hours. It's supposed to be water soluble.
Click to expand...
Yup, water not heat. Might take a while depending on how it’s applied and what it is applied to. Also, it breaks free with impact force. If you have a muzzle device that you can put a long wrench on and tap it with a hammer, that usually works nicely. Probably not a good solution for screws. But heat is something it is designed to withstand. And heat is not the solution for rocksett.
 
peterk123 said:
should stay away from proprietary crap
Click to expand...
yep.
all i see on your picture is one huge PITA. undo all those bolts, or drill them out if needed, and i would swap out that handguard with something else afterwards.
or like was already suggested - whole upper, if barrel is not up to your liking. it depends.
 
chris_1001 said:
No!

Yes

Yup.
Click to expand...
I know that is what everyone says but I have always used heat and never had an issue. Plus, easier to start with heat and in many cases Rocksett isn’t used and instead 271 or other strong thread locker has been used. So before you put the brake in water, hit it with a torch because most of the time that will work.
 
LittleCalm said:
I know that is what everyone says but I have always used heat and never had an issue. Plus, easier to start with heat and in many cases Rocksett isn’t used and instead 271 or other strong thread locker has been used. So before you put the brake in water, hit it with a torch because most of the time that will work.
Click to expand...

I've been told to use heat to set Rocksett, So here we are...
 
@peterk123

Are you at least going to try to take the FH off with a regular length wrench (by hand) or do you want us to keep sh*tposting for a while about it? 😂
Post a close up of the barrel/FH too, to see what kind of shim or washer is there.

Attempt 1: Wrench only
Attempt 2: Heat + Wrench
Attempt 3: Soak + Wrench

Also, how does that rifle shoot right now? As in groups?
 
GlockBy said:
@peterk123

Are you at least going to try to take the FH off with a regular length wrench (by hand) or do you want us to keep sh*tposting for a while about it? 😂
Post a close up of the barrel/FH too, to see what kind of shim or washer is there.

Attempt 1: Wrench only
Attempt 2: Heat + Wrench
Attempt 3: Soak + Wrench

Also, how does that rifle shoot right now? As in groups?
Click to expand...
The gun is a shooter. That's why I want to suppress it, so she can use it for yotes (not that she couldn't without it).

I'm going to call the company and attempt to talk to a human being before I pull things apart. I will also ask them how that FH is secured while I'm at it. It's not that I'm afraid to pull things apart. Just don't want to sit there and guess at it and do more than I have to.

This is the current spring and weight. Can't see any markings. I suppose I can weigh the buffer.

20250223_113917.jpg
 
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