FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers at Compass Lake Engineering LLC.
Compasslake.com does not export outside of the United States of America. You may contact an exporter within the United States and request that we ship your order to them. Any orders placed with shipping designated for a country other than the United States will have their order refunded.
The pictures below are an example of why we DO NOT recommend using non-MIL spec bolts and carriers. This customer did not have any
malfunctions to cause this damage but this is what happened to his carrier. We have also witnessed the locking lugs of bolts sheered off
of non-MIL spec bolts.
These are Not surface cracks. They go all the way through the carrier. We have never seen this type of damage on a MIL spec carrier even
on a gun that has been blown up from bad hand loads.
These may be easier to clean but they cost more and they are not more durable. This is not a fault of just one specific manufacturer. This
can happen regardless of the manufacturer. We recommend using only MIL Spec bolts and carriers.
]It has come to our attention that Lapua brass has a smaller powder capacity than Lake City. Please be advised that this may cause pressure problems with our loads that specify Lake City brass.
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Match competitors usually choose the CLE chamber.
The CLE match chamber is basically the same as a .223 SAAMI spec chamber with a modified lead angle in the throat. The CLE chamber has
a 1.5 degree lead angle per side where the .223 is over 3 degrees. This allows for less bullet jump with out of the magazine ammo yet
still providing an advantageous lead angle for modern high ballistic coefficient bullets. The Wylde chamber is .002 bigger in the
cartridge case area and has a longer throat. On the average the CLE chamber will shoot 23% smaller groups with out of the magazine
ammo. The CLE match chamber will give better barrel life due to the shorter throat and gives slightly higher pressure.
There has been no problem shooting PMC, Lake City and IMI .556 Rounds out of the CLE chamber.
It is ultimately up to the shooter to determine the suitability of the ammo in a particular firearm.
Here is a chamber ream comparison chart.
Compass Lake Engineering Service Rifle Float Tube
The float tube is THE most important change you can make to your AR-15 based rifle to increase its accuracy. THE MOST IMPORTANT thing! There are many float tubes available on the market. Some cost more than the CLE unit, and some cost less. They all do the same thing, isolate the barrel from the random flexure and dampening induced by the sling and handguard system. All about the same except
-Ours doesn’t break. Its a simple concept with complex results. One of our customers is the USMC Service Rifle Team. A very dedicated group of gentlemen who have managed to cause ‘premature failure’ in almost every float tube system they tried. They turned to CLE. We designed the tube shown in this shot to be “Marine Proof”. They are still using them as are many of the best smiths in the Service
Rifle field.
We start with a heavy wall section of Chrome Moly Steel tubing cut to the correct length. We then machine a short slot in the muzzle end for our gas tube. This is an important difference! Most tubes use a much longer slot to allow for the use of the ‘mil spec’ gas tube. Our research indicated that much of the ‘premature failure’ was caused by flexure of the cylindrical section of the tube due to the long slot. We instead ‘re-bend’ a mil spec gas tubes to fit in the short slot. We now have a much more ridged tube. As shown in the next photo, we silver solder a re-machined mil spec handguard cap and a sling swivel clevis that we manufacture to the front of the tube. This process along with our short slot in the heavy wall tube makes an excellent front end for a service rifle float tube.
The job is only half done. We next developed a unique way to attach the float tube to the upper receiver while maintaining the ‘free floating’ characteristics of the gas tube. Its all got to float or we effect the accuracy of the barrel. We designed a new barrel nut, that maintained the mil spec star configuration, so our mil spec handguards would still fit with no rotation. Our solution was to machine a new nut with a swivel collar that will allow the installer to get the torque on the nut just right as well as to precisely align the star nut with the cruciform hole in the upper.
This shot shows what we are after, a tube that firmly supports the handguard, holds the handguards tight so they don’t twist and has just a little space between it and the front sight base so the barrel ‘floats’. When you have a floating CLE barrel… well you’ve got something!
If you order a Service Rifle Upper from CLE, this is the float tube hidden under the mil spec hand guards. Our intent is that it will stay hidden, and that you will never give it another thought…. just concentrate on that front sight post!