[yosuthnmasa]

For my first build, I may end up screwing my rails to the receiver rather than welding. I don't have a welder and may just see how screws look. I think I'm going to go ahead and order some and see how they look. I wanted to get some opinions on what screws would do the trick for the rails (proper strength) and what type of screw looks the best if you have to use them in a build. I've been looking at some on microfasteners.com.

 

[sniper69]

For my first build, I may end up screwing my rails to the receiver rather than welding. I don't have a welder and may just see how screws look. I think I'm going to go ahead and order some and see how they look. I wanted to get some opinions on what screws would do the trick for the rails (proper strength) and what type of screw looks the best if you have to use them in a build. I've been looking at some on microfasteners.com.

I recommend grade 8 for doing the build (for the trunnions). As for the lower rails I would assume grade 5 would work but getting grade 8 screws would make for a consistent screw together build. As for size - I have seen some builds with screwed in lower rails using 4-40 screws. I did see one that had 8-32 screws for the lower rails but the screws that size looked like overkill, IMHO. As for type I would say button head screws - but others may think differently.

 

[Co7t]

I did some experimenting once with a scrapped blank and a left rail. I attached the rail using four 8-32 screws, cut the heads off and then peened the ends. I then spent a good week taking a hammer to the rail (about 100 times a day - yes, I counted). The rail stayed on and never even came close to loose. Has anyone done this as well? Now I never did build a rifle doing that, but I think it would definitely make it cosmetically nicer. One would just simply touch up where the heads were and sand it down flush. Perhaps peening the inside would help too.

I recommend grade 8 for doing the build (for the trunnions). As for the lower rails I would assume grade 5 would work but getting grade 8 screws would make for a consistent screw together build. As for size - I have seen some builds with screwed in lower rails using 4-40 screws. I did see one that had 8-32 screws for the lower rails but the screws that size looked like overkill, IMHO. As for type I would say button head screws - but others may think differently.