Fastening Methods

There are two fastening methods for receivers:

• Rivets
• Screws 

Which one should you select?  Good Question!  I've tried to summarize the points that were important to my considerations here.  Detailed assembly information can be found in the links to the left...

Hole location is of paramount importance when using a receiver shell that requires it.  The "tweezer" hole locator is easily fabricated from some thin steel, a hacksaw blade, or anything else that is suitable, and careful use of a drill.  It is actually based on a tool that is built just for this purpose.  More detailed info can be found here

Screw Build Pros

- Easier Process:
1. Drill out old rivets
2. Tap screw holes in trunions
3. Align holes in receiver & enlarge receiver holes if needed (like on a Hesse/Vulcan receiver)
4. Screw & loctite together

- Fewer tools needed (besides normal shop tools):
1. Tap(s)
2. Tapping fluid (aka cutting oil)
3. Drill/Drill Press
4. Vise (or some other way to clamp everything down... C-Clamps could work).

- Easy for disassembly/reassembly of new parts for model changes (barrel swapping, etc).

- Headspace is already set... using the parts kits as a foundation, the rifle should already be headspaced. If so, this saves the cost of headspace gauges & headspace process. If you need to headspace, you have to do most of what you would need if you riveted the rifle.

- Sturdy design. Many screw builds are out there & I have yet to hear of long-term problems. Even if there are problems, one can always go buy more screws & replace the old ones! 

- There is ample room for screw-ups. If/when you screw up a hole, you can enlarge it to a bigger screw size. 

Screw Build Cons

- Not as "true" to the original design.
- Visually, some people don't like screw heads.
- Assumes parts kit & pre-set headspace... definitely more work if headspace is needed.
- One-way decision... tapping the trunions alter them beyond usage for anything other than a screw build.
- Availability of parts kits on the market is hit-or-miss.

Screw Build *Potential* problems

- Tap alignment, making crooked holes.
- Broken taps >> this is the most common problem.
- Mis-matched holes bet. trunion & receiver, causing the need to enlarge/egg-shape/redrill the existing holes.
- Long-term usage *may* cause the need to replace the screws over time.

I hope this info helps, like I said it was how I convinced myself that it was worth at least trying out. Now that I did, I have zero problems recommending the screw build method to a novice, and probably would recommend it for most of those people that want to build but don't want to jump in to the deep end of the pool from the start.