So I’m sure you’ve all done the center punch method of staking a castle nut, and that’s been the main go to for builders for a while. It’s old reliable and I have no real issues with it. I’ve also seen the “Echo Zulu” tool that lines it up for you but is effectively the same as the punch method.

I recently watched the CEO of “Q” give his opinion on why he doesn’t stake castle nuts. I largely disagree with him, however his comment about ‘effectively not having an efficient way of controlling staking to be the same every time’ is something I’ve also not liked. I know that Colt had nice neat “square” stakes and I often wondered if they had a dedicated tool that depthed it properly, or if it was done in a press, or if it was just somebody with a square punch and a lot of practice.

If a tool were to be made for us plebes to do it consistently, what would that tool look like? Perhaps a bushing that clamps around the castle nut with a pointed screw that you torque to a specific torque value? Or maybe a press jig and a press that gives a readout of the applied pressure? Is consistency in material displaced what we want to see, or perhaps consistency in the breaking torque of the castle nut?

I’m a machinist/gunsmith so I have no problem making my own tool for myself. But I’d be curious if someone already has something for sale, or if anyone working for the large manufacturers has seen any clever tools.