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AR Upper Builder in the Bay Area

SfGiants_fan1

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CAguns Supporter
2026 2 25+ 2 Top
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Hey everyone, I’m looking for a gunsmith in the Bay Area that can assemble my upper for me. Do you guys have any recommendations and what people typically charge? I was looking at accurate arms in Livermore and they had good reviews but wondering if there’s anyone else you guys recommend. TIA
 
If you are near livermore i'm willing to help you out for at most a 6 pack. Not a gunsmith but I have a vise and tools.
 
This is something that isn't difficult to do yourself or with help from a friend who has done it. It only needs a handful of basic tools, which you could probably buy for the cost of what you'd pay the gunsmith.

Sorry, I can't actually recommend someone but wanted to suggest you consider doing it yourself. It's good to know how all this stuff works.
 
If you're buying the parts individually then my vote would be to also buy the tools to build it yourself. With the proper setup and a good video to follow along with, it's really very easy. You'll save money and learn a great deal about the platform in the process. And if you're worried about nicking up the finish on something, get a couple bottles of Birchwood Casey aluminum black and super blue. Great for touchups.

If you actually want any kind of gunsmithing or cerakoting done, then I do still recommend Accurate Arms. For particular specialty jobs you might still want to send off somewhere, but for most standard gunsmithing work, Bob is the most consistently reliable smith that I've found within the entire Bay Area. I'll personally vouch for him. Fair prices, quick turnaround, and an overall great guy that will go the extra mile to make sure his work is right and the customer is satisfied.
 
If you're buying the parts individually then my vote would be to also buy the tools to build it yourself. With the proper setup and a good video to follow along with, it's really very easy. You'll save money and learn a great deal about the platform in the process. And if you're worried about nicking up the finish on something, get a couple bottles of Birchwood Casey aluminum black and super blue. Great for touchups.

If you actually want any kind of gunsmithing or cerakoting done, then I do still recommend Accurate Arms. For particular specialty jobs you might still want to send off somewhere, but for most standard gunsmithing work, Bob is the most consistently reliable smith that I've found within the entire Bay Area. I'll personally vouch for him. Fair prices, quick turnaround, and an overall great guy that will go the extra mile to make sure his work is right and the customer is satisfied.
Thanks for the feedback. I want a cerakote done and I need someone to pin and weld a muzzle device for me so I’m looking for a do it all option and accurate arms looked like a great option.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I want a cerakote done and I need someone to pin and weld a muzzle device for me so I’m looking for a do it all option and accurate arms looked like a great option.
Mixing perm a perm attach with cerakote can be tricky depending on what parts you want cerakoted.
For example, if you want to cerakote over the muzzle device, you probably want the perm attach done before the cerakote.
This causes a cerakote problem in that the barrel nut and the gas block need to be on the barrel during the cerakote.
Normally, parts are all cerakoted individually and then assembled afterwards.
It's very difficult to hang the barrel nut and gas block for cerakote application while they are on the barrel.
If you spray all the parts and then do the assembly and perm attach at the end, then you have a burn mark in the carekote around the weld.

Most of the time, the muzzle device is not being cerakoted so then it's easy to cerakote all the parts and do the perm attach after final assembly.
 
Mixing perm a perm attach with cerakote can be tricky depending on what parts you want cerakoted.
For example, if you want to cerakote over the muzzle device, you probably want the perm attach done before the cerakote.
This causes a cerakote problem in that the barrel nut and the gas block need to be on the barrel during the cerakote.
Normally, parts are all cerakoted individually and then assembled afterwards.
It's very difficult to hang the barrel nut and gas block for cerakote application while they are on the barrel.
If you spray all the parts and then do the assembly and perm attach at the end, then you have a burn mark in the carekote around the weld.

Most of the time, the muzzle device is not being cerakoted so then it's easy to cerakote all the parts and do the perm attach after final assembly.
I won’t be Cerakoting the muzzle device. Just want the upper receiver and hand guard cerakoted.
 
This is something that isn't difficult to do yourself or with help from a friend who has done it. It only needs a handful of basic tools, which you could probably buy for the cost of what you'd pay the gunsmith.

Sorry, I can't actually recommend someone but wanted to suggest you consider doing it yourself. It's good to know how all this stuff works.
I completely agree with this. Just be careful because it will open up a whole new world and next thing you know you’ll be drowning in parts and uppers
 
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