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Ok, one thing I have noticed is that aftermarket quad rails, regardless of price point, seem to omit the one step that allows the original rail cover panels from working. Yeah, they slide on just fine, but refuse to lock in place like they do on RIS/RAS handguards.
The problem is the failure to machine the cuts in the Picatinny Rail slots at the ends of each rail segment. Whether it is a BCM Gunfighter or a eBay China knock-off... they skip this step. But, it is easy to fix.
The original Knight's rail covers (and the P&S Products issued clones) have a spring steel latch at one end of the panel. When you slide the cover onto a rail segment, the ends of the spring latch ride the dovetail in the sides of the Picatinny rail until it finds the squared off slot. The ends of the spring relax and engage the slot, locking the panel in place. To remove the panel, you press down on the spring and it releases the slot so you can slide it off the rail. The issued RIS/RAS handguards have the last slot at each end of the rail segment squared off, so you can put the panels on in either direction and have them lock in place.
To square up the slots, I'm using a milling machine, but you can accomplish the same thing with careful use of a jewelers file. 16 extra cuts in all.
In the attached photo, I'm doing the cuts to a 2-piece carbine length drop-in handguard, UTG Pro ( pn: MTU001 ) After doing all the cuts, break the new sharp edges with a file, and round it out with a coat of paint.
The problem is the failure to machine the cuts in the Picatinny Rail slots at the ends of each rail segment. Whether it is a BCM Gunfighter or a eBay China knock-off... they skip this step. But, it is easy to fix.
The original Knight's rail covers (and the P&S Products issued clones) have a spring steel latch at one end of the panel. When you slide the cover onto a rail segment, the ends of the spring latch ride the dovetail in the sides of the Picatinny rail until it finds the squared off slot. The ends of the spring relax and engage the slot, locking the panel in place. To remove the panel, you press down on the spring and it releases the slot so you can slide it off the rail. The issued RIS/RAS handguards have the last slot at each end of the rail segment squared off, so you can put the panels on in either direction and have them lock in place.
To square up the slots, I'm using a milling machine, but you can accomplish the same thing with careful use of a jewelers file. 16 extra cuts in all.
In the attached photo, I'm doing the cuts to a 2-piece carbine length drop-in handguard, UTG Pro ( pn: MTU001 ) After doing all the cuts, break the new sharp edges with a file, and round it out with a coat of paint.
