I've somehow managed to do several builds without the need for roll pin punches but this time around I seem to have gotten myself in trouble.  The roll pin that holds the bolt catch release in place refused to go in so I just beat the crap out of it until it listened to me.  Now the paddle won't move so I want to take the roll pin out but I can't seem to do it my normal way (with a hex key).

 

If anyone near Parsippany has a set of roll pin punches and a spare roll pin, I will be extremely grateful to borrow them. 

 

Please let me know what you have. Thanks in advance.

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Harbor freight.......cheaper than gas

Harbor freight.......cheaper than gas

 

I have really mixed feelings about harbor freight tools. I have plenty of their cheap electric tools to cut and shape things.  However, anything that requires precision, I tend to stay as far away from HF as possible.  I would never use their sockets as they could do more harm than good. While I have never personally used their punches, their chisels deformed on me so I can only imagine that their punches wouldn't fair much better.  Punches need to be precise not to enlarge the hole.  I really would rather borrow a set or bring it to someone local who has a set of punches to do the work than buy a set of cheap tools and risk making the problem even worse.

So to update the story: I am really an idiot.  The reason everything was so hard to put together was because I put the bolt catch buffer in backwards.  I bought a set of punches today and once I knocked my handiwork out, I noticed right away that the buffer was flipped.  I put it in the right way and reused the roll pin and everything is perfect!

 

Moral of the story: don't be an idiot.