Handguard question

[Slater]

Have there been any reported issues with the glue deteriorating over time?

[556Cliff]

Have there been any reported issues with the glue deteriorating over time?

Not that I've heard of... I do know that the newer manufactured A2 handguards with the white glue holds well enough that when you remove the heat shield you will break plastic off along with the glue as well as bend up the heat shield. I never attempted removing a heat shield that was glued in using the yellow glue though.

[556Cliff]

Appreciate your input / information.

So others can see what we are talking about better:



Those are all Colt rifle length hand guards with the difference being their age and the yellow glue as you described. The guards in the picture with the yellow glue were purchased a few years ago. No idea when they were manufactured and / or how long they may have sat before getting shipped out.

Bottom hand guard in picture is one reason I hate that glue. That adapter 'belongs' under the aluminum and against the plastic. It is made to fit in that tiny gap between the two... If you were to try and tighten that adapter down and secure it in place like it is in the picture (on top of the heat shield instead of under it) - That heat shield is going to get bent and distorted in a bad way long before things get tight with the adapter.

Other than the glue I can't spot any difference between the ones that I know for a fact are more than 20 yrs old and the ones I bought a few years ago. Those parts all mix and match perfectly as far as everything else is concerned.

Ah, I see how that's an issue... No real good way to get around that. I'd love it if they started making these without the glue like they seem to be with the M4 handguards. I imagine that if you were buddies with someone in the company that made these you could get them to pull you a couple of sets before they got the glue treatment. I have no idea who the manufacturer of these handguards is though???

[DG23]

Ah, I see how that's an issue... No real good way to get around that. I'd love it if they started making these without the glue like they seem to be with the M4 handguards. I imagine that if you were buddies with someone in the company that made these you could get them to pull you a couple of sets before they got the glue treatment. I have no idea who the manufacturer of these handguards is though???

So far I have been getting around it by mixing and matching the old / new guards if I just have to have one of those adapters on a particular rifle. Glued half on top and non-glued on bottom where the adapter goes. Pretty amazed that there is such a difference in age but for the life of me they appear to be exactly the same from the outside. Same color / texture / sheen...

Have never seen that sort of consistency in any other Colt parts before. If I were to pull the bolt carriers from every Colt I have bought over the years and lay them all side by side it would look like a Colt rainbow of colors! LOL! Same with receivers... You start lining up Colt receivers with many years difference in age between them and they are not likely to all be the same exact shade of black.

[556Cliff]

There's a lot of places Colt could be getting subcontract parts from, but I know they used to make a lot of the parts themselves (not any polymer parts as far as I know). So there's bound to be differences in how the end product looks even being made to Colt's specs. I don't think there's ever been too many places producing these A2 and M4 handguards though (at least for Colt). There are a lot of cheap junk versions of A2 handguards out there being sold by lower end commercial AR manufactures though... I see them usually selling for $19.99 or so and that's always a good indicator that they're likely commercial grade junk.

I know a lot of current Colt parts show manufacturing differences compared to my first Colt rifle I got in 2009. Even Colt parts I bought only a couple of years ago have differences comparing them to Colt parts I received yesterday from Brownells... Drives me a bit nuts.

I'm trying to remember if the A2 handguards that came on my Bushmaster rifle I bought in 2003 had the glued in heat shields or not... I don't think it did, but I don't have that rifle to look at to find out. Though what I do remember is that those handguards were of the same quality of the current Colt/Windham handguards. I imagine Windham Weaponry went back to the same manufacturer that they were getting their A2 handguards from back when they were Bushmaster.

By the way, LMT sells A2 handguards as well, but it's really hit or miss on what you are going to get from them. I bought one set just to find out around last September and they were new (likely older stock) with the yellow glue, exactly the same as a set of the Colt handguards that I bought from Brownells a few years ago. So after I received that nice example from LMT I took the chance and ordered 3 more sets, but what I received in that order was completely different... They were all used, and looked to be really old surplus take offs. They were dirty and beat to crap with chips and dings everywhere, and the heat shields were popped out and bent up on all of them (no glue, and definitely appeared to be from a different manufacturer). I paid "new condition" price for these and there's nothing in the product description that indicated they were used surplus, so I contacted LMT for a refund and they were willing to do that after I sent them pictures on their request. They were also willing to go cherry pick new ones to send me if I wanted, but I just went with the refund... So just avoid the LMT A2 handguards if you're looking for something new, because you really don't know what you'll get from them.

[Slater]

When it comes to standard A2 handguards, guess I never really paid much attention to their profile. Apparently there are some "fat" configurations that have an oval-ish cross section to them. I think these are on the below PSA rifle? I stand to be corrected on that, though:

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...-a2-rifle.html

[Slater]

I note that Cavalry Manufacturing also makes "fat" handguards. Not sure what (if any) advantage these have over the traditional style handguards?


https://www.cavmfg.com/C5-Fat-Rifle-Handguard-C5.htm

[556Cliff]

I note that Cavalry Manufacturing also makes "fat" handguards. Not sure what (if any) advantage these have over the traditional style handguards?


https://www.cavmfg.com/C5-Fat-Rifle-Handguard-C5.htm

I guess it depends on if you like the fatter M4 profile feel or not? I've heard that the PSA FAT A2s and the Cavalry Manufacturing FAT A2s are not the same (no experience with either of them myself). Though everything I've heard about the PSA version is that they're junk and usually warped to where the sides are bowed out and don't fit together right.

[Slater]

It does make you wonder how many companies are actually manufacturing these items for the commercial and military markets. Presumably some of the cheaper handguards may be coming from China, or wherever.

[DG23]

When it comes to standard A2 handguards, guess I never really paid much attention to their profile. Apparently there are some "fat" configurations that have an oval-ish cross section to them. I think these are on the below PSA rifle? I stand to be corrected on that, though:

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...-a2-rifle.html

Its not just the outside profile that is different. The way the shields are done is jacked up as well on the PSA garbage.

Colt parts on top - PSA crap on bottom:



The Colt aluminum shields actually fit together when the handguards are assembled and form a pretty much closed circle within the outer circle of the fiberglass. Notice also how they have fewer points of contact actually attaching them to the fiberglass outer shell... On the Colt handguards the air can flow around the entire aluminum assembly with no blockage / restrictions and vent out of whatever holes are closer to pointing upwards. Air can come in from the bottom, go around the entirety of the aluminum heat shielding (between the shielding and the fiberglass) and exit out the top vent holes pretty much unrestricted in any way.

With the PSA crap that is not happening. The way their aluminum shields are designed with the sides extending out like they do and actually contacting the fiberglass outer shell for their entire length - Air is not flowing in a circle around that... When stuff gets hot any heated air between the aluminum and the outer fiberglass that is trying to rise up and vent is going to hit that wall of aluminum that is in the way and transfer the heat to where that aluminum contacts the fiberglass on the sides.

If a company was trying to figure out how they could transfer more heat to the outer shell (where your hands go...) as inexpensively and efficiently as possible - PSA would be the winner hands down.

Apparently there are some "fat" configurations that have an oval-ish cross section to them. I think these are on the below PSA rifle?

Pretty much exactly as you described. PSA on top and Colt on bottom:




Aside of the differences in shape notice how the different parts from different places fit together in the above picture.

The PSA parts have a slight gap in the middle where they are supposed to fit together even when installed and being squeezed together on each end by the parts on the rifle that they attach to.

The Colt parts are touching in the middle and slightly open on each end when uninstalled. When they are installed and the ends squeezed a slight bit the fit between them in the middle gets tighter. There are no gaps like you see on the installed PSA parts...