Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles List of necessary tools

Here's a quick visual on using the Brownells action rod:

Breaker bar in the vise. I made my own breaker bar to fit the vise, but an ordinary breaker bar or even a 1/2" drive ratchet can be used the same way.


Action rod on the breaker bar. The bottom of the rod fits the 1/2" square drive, top of the rod fits the hardened locking lugs in the barrel extension. Note I've pressed and machined a large nut on mine so I can also use it to lap receivers square; they don't come that way from Brownells.


Receiver and barrel on the action rod. The torque on the barrel nut is transmitted through the barrel and barrel extension to the action rod, and not through the upper receiver. You can use this tool with optics still in place on the receiver if desired, like for muzzle device installation, and will never break or shear a barrel extension pin with this method.