How To Install A Free Floating Countertop
We will continue our series of gunsmithing lessons today with a step by step guide on how to install free float tubes. For all beginner gunsmiths among our readers, and for the more experienced gunsmiths as well, if they’d like to double check their technique or compare methods, here is our preferred way to install a free float tube. As long as you follow these steps carefully and prepare all the tools you need in advance, the process of installing these tubes is safe and pretty much user friendly.
Source: VARMINTS DEN
While quartz countertops can be placed directly on top of cabinets, their weight shouldn't be underestimated. Take a look at your countertop design and look for areas that have the least amount of cabinet support. Now, install 1 to 2 inch (2.5 to 5.1 cm) ledgers into the walls on the sides of the cabinets to add support. If the free-floated handguard is carbine length, you can reuse the A2 style front sight and gas block if you like. Or, you can install a longer handguard and replace the A2 gas block with a low profile model. Here, we're installing a long handguard, so I installed a VTAC low-profile gas block that will fit inside of the new handguard.
Free float tubes are an essential part of any hand guard of rifles belonging to the AR series. While the rifles don’t usually come with a tube already installed, the wide majority of users (especially if they have a little gunsmithing skills themselves) like to install a free float handguard in order to make the rifle safer and shooting it smoother.
The process is also just as much about precision, beyond the improved safety: any fluctuations and inconsistencies in the external pressure placed on the rifle’s barrel results in imprecise shootings and a decreased accuracy. In an effort to stabilize that external pressure on the barrel, gunsmiths start any planned AR 15 modifications with installing an AR 15 free float handguard as the first priority.
In order to install free float tubes to AR rifles, you don’t need to be an expert and not even a certified beginner gunsmith. Any amateur gun enthusiast or simple gun owner is qualified enough to complete this easy installation process, as long as they take their time and follow the instructions carefully. Our following steps are made with the example of a AR 15 free float installation in mind, but most other types of AR rifles can be modified in exactly the same manner as well.
- First of all, gather everything you need on your work table (bench). Besides the rifle you intend to modify and the AR 15 free float tube you’ll install, you will also need the following: an AR upper receiver block, a bench block, and a barrel nut wrench (for screwing and unscrewing the barrel nut).
- To start the AR 15 free float installation, use the upper receiver block to keep all rifle components in place while you work (and while still in the vice). Carefully remove the handguards, and then the flash hider. Carefully drive out the tapered pins which hold the rifle’s Gas Block in place, and then remove the gas block itself (you may need to grease it and slide it off).
- Use the barrel nut wrench to remove the delta ring, in order to allow the barrel to now slide in and out of the upper easily.
- Take the tube and put the barrel nut over the barrel. Then, screw it onto the rifle’s upper and then index the gas tube hole on it in order to be a good match for the gas tube hole on the receiver.
- Time to actually screw your free float tube Don’t forget to also torque it down. Then put the gas block back in place and make sure you don’t tighten it too much (you don’t want it to bind). It’s best if you test this ideal tightness of the screw beforehand.
- Drive the tapered pins (which you removed in the beginning) back in, from the correct position in order to assembly your AR 15 rifle back. That’s it, it’s done, enjoy your improved free float handguard!
What to Watch Out For:
- Don’t be tempted to replace the installation of the tube with attaching a sling or bipod to the barrel of your AR rifle (or to the handguard), as that will only affect the accuracy even further.
- If it is your first time installing free float tubes, make sure you read the instructions carefully and also gather all the necessary equipment and tools on your work table before you actually start.
As a final note, rest assured that the process is easier than it may seem at a first glance if you haven’t done it before. If you need to familiarize yourself with the components of the rifle, feel free to read the manual here before you begin the actual work on the AR 15 modifications you have in mind (including the work to install free float tubes).
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Subject to wear and tear day in and day out, kitchen countertops must be updated eventually. With DIY countertops, homeowners enjoy not only savings, but one-of-a-kind results.
No matter where you live, a Chicago apartment or a rural Montana ranch, kitchen counters see a great deal of wear and tear. It’s only a matter of time before they must be refurbished or replaced. While even experienced remodelers have been known to shy away from countertop installation, we can think of at least two reasons to try turning this into a do-it-yourself project: money savings and one-of-a-kind results. Scroll down to see five affordable and creative ways in which homeowners like you have handled DIY countertops successfully, and with flair.
Photo: loveandrenovations.com
1. GO FAUX GRANITE
Prefer the look of natural stone to your dour and dingy laminate countertops? You certainly don’t need to tear them down to fulfill your design dream. As seen in this project from Love and Renovations, the key to a convincing fake granite is in choosing three shades of paint (from black to gray, here) and dabbing with a sea sponge. Even after sealing the deal with a clear protective top coat, the luxurious look costs less than $50 to recreate! And even a year later, this DIYer says she’d do it all again.
Photo: imperfectlypolished.com
2. CHOOSE CONCRETE
For good reason—it’s affordable, durable, and pretty darn cool-looking—concrete is becoming ever more popular in DIY countertops. Thank goodness that Imperfectly Polished makes it oh-so-simple with a trio of step-by-step tutorials: prep and planning, pouring and curing, and sand, seal, wax and enjoy.
Photo: domesticimperfection.com
3. PINCH PENNIES
In the past, we’ve seen pennies used to surface backsplashes and flooring. Now Domestic Imperfection demonstrates how they can look like a million bucks in DIY countertops. The cost? Literally pennies! Other unlikely countertop materials include pebbles, vase gems, coasters and license plates.
Photo: abeautifulmess.com
4. RIDE THE SUBWAY TREND
A perfect complement to a subway tile backsplash, this sub-one-hundred-dollar subway tile countertop concept from A Beautiful Mess makes once dark and confined kitchens look bright and spacious. Recreate it by mounting a cement backer board to a wooden board the size of your countertop, adhering subway tiles and tile grout to the backer board, then mounting the entire tiled board on your existing countertop with screws. While that may sound intense, their detailed instructions promise no saws required to make these DIY countertops!
Photo: katedecorates.co
5. CHALK IT UP TO CREATIVITY
While you may typically associate chalkboard with scrawled notes and kids’ doodles, the resourceful DIYer behind Kate Decorates looked at the medium and saw how its matte appearance closely resembled that of a high-end stone countertop material: slate. With just $50 and two coats—chalkboard paint and a clear protective finish—she boosts style in the laundry room.
Photo: makedoanddiy.com
6. MAKE CONTACT
Genuine marble slab countertops can put a dent in your wallet—or even in your pricey work surface, if the installation goes awry. Not so with this rock-bottom-priced replica from Make Do and DIY. The mastermind behind the blog recreated the elegant, striated look of marble in her kitchen for $30 simply by adhering marble-patterned contact paper to her countertops with the help of a credit card to smooth out imperfections.
Photo: designingdawn.com via remodelaholic.com
7. DO YOUR KITCHEN A SOLID
For counters so slick you can see your mug in them, ditch your cleaning rag and grab a paintbrush instead! Refacing a hum-drum cooking prep station with a glamorous and glossy monochromatic paint finish runs only about $120. Just follow the lead of Designing Dawn, whose instructions outlined on Remodelaholic will guide you safely from sanding for the paint to stick all the way to sealing for that extra high-gloss look.
Photo: buckhouseblog.wordpress.com
8. REHAB RIGHT
No time? No energy? No money? Rather than replace them, make the very best of your existing countertops. If yours are laminate, a low-cost yet high-impact option is resurfacing. For wood, either apply a new stain or experiment with a distressed finish, following in the footsteps of the Buckhouse blog.
Photo: christonium.com
9. GO STAINLESS
Opinions are divided over stainless steel. Some say it’s chic and easy to clean; others insist that it scratches too easily and is appropriate only for utility spaces like the laundry room. One thing is for certain: it’s not cheap. That said, The Home Project managed to install their DIY countertops for under $500!
Photo: themustardceilingblog.com
How To Install Laminate Countertops Yourself
10. OPT FOR AN OLD DOOR
How To Install Floating Countertop
Have you heard the one about The Mustard Ceiling turning three oak doors into a gorgeous countertop for $100? There’s no punchline—they actually did it. Using the preexisting laminate as a template, the couple cut the doors to shape, before sanding and staining them for a rough-hewn yet refined look. While the original blog is no longer in operation, you can still follow along with the tutorial at Remodelaholic.