"properly staked carrier key"

[dan45]

I hear this phrase often. What does it mean and why is it important?
(I know what a carrier key is, just don't know what properly staked means)

 

[Wormydog1724]

Do you know how to use google?

 

[dan45]

Are you familiar with "Bite ME"?

 

[Wormydog1724]

Lol. Has nothing to with post counts. It has everything to do with asking a question that google can return 1,000's of results and days worth of reading materials. You'll learn more by researching yourself than asking on a forum.

Sorry I hurt your feelings.

 

[dan45]

It's all good

 

[gritlife]

"The gas key on top of the bolt carrier is the part that the gases (which have been re-directed through the gas port, then the gas block or front sight base, and into the gas tube) pass through in order to expand within the carrier, push back on the carrier against the bolt, unlock the bolt and cycle the firearm. As such it is under tremendous pressure and is critical to the continued operation of the firearm, and must remain sealed in order to allow all of the gas pressure into the carrier to do it's job. The key is held on to the top of the carrier by two screws, typically allen but sometimes torx, that are tightened to a specified torque. After tightening the metal of the key should be "staked" in such a way as to prevent the screws from loosening. In order for the staking to perform it's job properly it must deform the metal of the key sufficiently to make contact with, and perhaps even deform a bit, the attachment screws. Use of Locktite is not sufficient, as virtually all versions of Locktite are weakened by heat."

This, and other VERY useful information may be found in this http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pwswheghNQsEuEhjFwPrgTA&gid=5 (M4 Comparison Chart). It was created by someone at the AR15 forum, and has helped me greatly. 'Hope this helps.

gritlife

 

[dan45]

thanks

 

[ez bake]

This one is properly staked:

This one is not:

Neither is this one:

This is what Sabre Defense used to do (also not correct):

Here's the famed officer forums explanation on everything from "the chart" explained and an excellent guide for all the differences in various AR-15s:

http://forums.officer.com/showthread.php?81462-So-you-want-to-buy-an-AR-15-huh


Wormy's just moody I'd answer these questions all day rather than the "which is better" ones.

 

[dan45]

thanks ezbake! thats what i was looking for. so if mine looked similar to the sabre defense key, could a fella stake it properly himself, maybe a hammer and a punch?

 

[ez bake]

thanks ezbake! thats what i was looking for. so if mine looked similar to the sabre defense key, could a fella stake it properly himself, maybe a hammer and a punch?

Honestly, if its not loose, and you're not shooting thousands of rounds through it in a month, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if you just have to get it done, I'm not sure who in the Tulsa area does that (Josh-L is setup to do it in OKC, as is Steve Baldwin, and I think OlYeller can do it despite his refusal to work on rifles for the longest time).

Mike the gunsmith at OPS might be a good start.