First AR Build, No Roadmap

Verbotten here in the gun-free-dreamer state.

Now the Grendel always sounded good on paper.
How much will it punish the gun though?

Not at all. 20 inch rifle length gas, with a fixed stock, rifle buffer, tube and spring. Maybe...... an adjustable gas block. Its a nice mild shooting round. With my family expansion over the last year, ive not got to really buckle down and spend time with mine, to do proper load develpment, and learn the characteristics. Im using a popular load, thats proven to be accurate by other shooters using the same barrel I went with. Oli700 an i discussed it more in depth in some previous threads.

It feels nothing, but it can still suffer damage.

BTW, I need to buy an armorer's wrench or an armorer's kit for the AR build, and I'm not sure what to get yet because I'm not sure exactly which AR I'm going to build. Maybe there's a good master kit?

Also I've got no clue as to which are the best brands and which are a rip off.

Magpul offers a real good armorers wrench, and their BEV block is sweet. Add a set of roll pin punches, and a bench block. You should be golden. The rest is common hand tools.

They give you a choice of 4 wrenches, but I don't know which to get.
I'll end up buying all 4 ... LOL

I HIGHLY recomend the Magpul BEV block. It locks into the barrel extension when installing the barrel nut, taking the torque load off of the upper receiver. My first vice block, and upper receiver/ barrel clamp blocks were home made, I chewed them out of 1" thick Tyvar with a circular saw, and a dremel. Im a mechanic by trade, so i didnt really need an armors wrench, i already had pin, and hook, type spanners. That worked well for my first build. After that i just got an armorers wrench so i wouldnt have to remember to bring work tools home. It wasnt until the third build that i splurged for roll pin starter punches. Theyre a convenience, but not a necessity. , A scribe, or straight pick can be handy. A set of t-handle allen wrenches is nice but a multi bit ratcheting screwdriver set works also. The float tubes I used came with a proprietary barrel nut, and barrel nut wrench. so that was one tool I didnt have to source. My bench block is a Wheeler i believe, its handy to hold components flat, and steady when installing pins.

I have a set of assorted brass, steel and plastic punches, and the appropriate Mini-mallet for whacking them. Wheeler brand as I recall.

I have no shortage of ordinary hand tools. Just nothing specific to the AR.

I'm pretty sure I don't have an appropriate hook spanner in that size. I haven't taken my AR apart far enough to know what you need for the barrel wrench & clamp, or to remove the trigger group parts

OK, Barrel nut wrench then. None of those wrenches have a good description of what bits they fit.
I'll dope it out as I go along.

I may be putting the AR build off a while. I made some promises that I need to deliver on soon.

I'm going to pay off the mortgage and surprise my wife on her birthday.

What do you use for a barrel vise?