sigh.
so, finally getting this thing finished. i did the online ghetto headspace test a few weeks ago. stripped bolt, barrel removed from receiver. a live round slid into the chamber and the bolt would turn by hand. then i slapped a layer of masking tape on the round and it still closed. 2 layers of tape and the lugs hit and the bolt wouldnt turn. by no means a real test, but i had it apart so why not. today i brought the assembled upper to a local shop who said they could headspace it assembled. the guy said it wouldnt close on the go gauge. he also said hes seen the rainier barrels be really tight. i know shes a tight beast right now and honestly wont even close all the way without a tap, but my old upper was like that too until i got a few hundred rounds down the pipe. it closes and locks if i let it slam a little. if i put a live round in there and let it slam a little (maybe a 1/2 to 1/4 drop) it looks like its closing all the way. finally got it all put together and torqued so im dreading tearing it apart again.
hindsight:
i should have asked what gauges they use but i didnt
i should have just brought them the stripped parts...but i didnt.
thoughts?
up sides....guys at the shop (black weapons armory, tucson AZ) were nice guys. they didnt charge me anything. they said bring it back if i think of something and they wont charge me again. they had tons of bad ass rifles on the walls and nice accessories under the glass.