Filling Gas Block Pin Groove In Barrel?

[Chief351]

I decided to add a scope and a free float handguard to an AR15 that I own that was originally equipped with a flat top upper, A2 handguards, and a gas block with the old-fashioned A2 triangle front sight. I used a clamp-on low profile gas block which covers the rearmost of the pin Groove from the old pinned-on gas block, but the forward Groove is left exposed. It looks as ugly as a mud fence. I'd like to fill that groove. Right now I have one of the original pins inserted into the groove, but it is longer than it needs to be, of course, and I'm thinking about just trimming it back some. I also considered just filling it with J B Weld.

Is there an easy solution to this problem?

[Herr Walther]

I was thinking JB Weld before I even finished your post. It's rather on the permanent side though if you wanted to make changes down the road.

[Chief351]

Thanks, Herr Walther. JB Weld will probably get the nod. I think I'LL probably take it to the range first, just to see if there are any more adjustments that need to be made, then I'll work on that little cosmetic issue.

[Chief351]

Well, Herr Walther, my wife and daughter showed up with the two youngest granddaughters, ages 1 and 3, and with them fighting over toys and watching the same episodes of DVR'd cartoons for the 17,943rd time (I may have lost count somewhere there, though.) I retreated to the man cave and decided to take this pin-groove problem by the horns.

Here is a cell-phone picture of the results:



What I did was insert one of the original sight block pins in the exposed slot, then mark the excess length with a Sharpie. I then took the pin back out to the garage and clamped it tightly in my bench vise, and cut the marked lengths off with a cut-off wheel in my Dremel tool. After dressing up the ends a little with a mill file, I tapped what was left in the barrel slot, cleaned it up, then hit it with some Birchwood Casey Super Blue. I think I can live with this.

By the way, I took some shots of the finished project, and posted them in a new thread:

MK12 (Sorta) AR15 Rifle Build On A Budget

[Herr Walther]

Looks good and it works.

[Vulcan]

Paint a face on it! It looks angry!