ZEV 14 5/8" Wedge Lock Handguard
The US patent for the wedge lock mechanism employed in the ZEV Wedge Lock Handguard states that it was invented by Michael Miller and James Reid. The patent was originally granted to Mega Arms and has more recently been transferred to ZEV Technologies.
The wedge lock mechanism that secures the ZEV M-LOK handguard to the ZEV barrel nut is a simple, yet elegant approach to fastening a handguard to an upper receiver. Speaking of the barrel nut, the ZEV barrel nut is a hefty 3.6 ounces of finely machined stainless steel. The ZEV handguard comes with a custom barrel nut wrench.
The ZEV wedge lock assembly sits in a bottom lip of the ZEV handguard. The slim design of the wedge lock assembly allows for a sleek, streamlined handguard profile when compared to some of the more bulbous designs on the market.
The wedge lock assembly consists of a top wedge and a bottom wedge with a Torx bolt sandwiched in between them.
The top of the top wedge has a concave shape that perfectly matches the curvature of the barrel nut. The top wedge and the bottom wedge are mated at an angle such that when the Torx bolt is tightened, the top wedge is pulled rearward and upward wedging itself between the barrel nut and the bottom wedge and handguard forming an extremely solid lock-up.
The top wedge prior to being tightened . . .
. . . and after being tightened . . .
The ZEV Wedge Lock handguard used for this build is the 14 5/8” version and it’s manufactured from 6061 aluminum. The handguard, barrel nut and mounting hardware have a combined weight of 15.5 ounces.
The ZEV handguard has an indexing/anti-rotation pin at the 12 o’clock position. The hole in the ZEV handguard has an interference fit with the anti-rotation pin and mates precisely with the anti-rotation hole in an SOLGW upper receiver. The ZEV handguard also employs two anti-movement set screws at approximately the 04:00 and 07:00 positions.
The installed ZEV Wedge Lock handguard had zero degrees of rotation referenced to the picatinny rail of the upper receiver.
When selecting a gas-block to use with an M-LOK hand-guard, you’ll want to pay particular attention to the inside diameter of the hand-guard and the outside dimensions of the gas block. You don’t want to make the amateur mistake of installing a MK12 gas block under an M-LOK hand-guard that doesn’t have appropriate clearance for that gas-block. I used a V Seven Weapons Systems 17-4 PH stainless steel, set-screw, low-profile gas-block with an IonBond finish with the ZEV wedge lock handguard.
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The US patent for the wedge lock mechanism employed in the ZEV Wedge Lock Handguard states that it was invented by Michael Miller and James Reid. The patent was originally granted to Mega Arms and has more recently been transferred to ZEV Technologies.
The wedge lock mechanism that secures the ZEV M-LOK handguard to the ZEV barrel nut is a simple, yet elegant approach to fastening a handguard to an upper receiver. Speaking of the barrel nut, the ZEV barrel nut is a hefty 3.6 ounces of finely machined stainless steel. The ZEV handguard comes with a custom barrel nut wrench.
The ZEV wedge lock assembly sits in a bottom lip of the ZEV handguard. The slim design of the wedge lock assembly allows for a sleek, streamlined handguard profile when compared to some of the more bulbous designs on the market.
The wedge lock assembly consists of a top wedge and a bottom wedge with a Torx bolt sandwiched in between them.
The top of the top wedge has a concave shape that perfectly matches the curvature of the barrel nut. The top wedge and the bottom wedge are mated at an angle such that when the Torx bolt is tightened, the top wedge is pulled rearward and upward wedging itself between the barrel nut and the bottom wedge and handguard forming an extremely solid lock-up.
The top wedge prior to being tightened . . .
. . . and after being tightened . . .
The ZEV Wedge Lock handguard used for this build is the 14 5/8” version and it’s manufactured from 6061 aluminum. The handguard, barrel nut and mounting hardware have a combined weight of 15.5 ounces.
The ZEV handguard has an indexing/anti-rotation pin at the 12 o’clock position. The hole in the ZEV handguard has an interference fit with the anti-rotation pin and mates precisely with the anti-rotation hole in an SOLGW upper receiver. The ZEV handguard also employs two anti-movement set screws at approximately the 04:00 and 07:00 positions.
The installed ZEV Wedge Lock handguard had zero degrees of rotation referenced to the picatinny rail of the upper receiver.
When selecting a gas-block to use with an M-LOK hand-guard, you’ll want to pay particular attention to the inside diameter of the hand-guard and the outside dimensions of the gas block. You don’t want to make the amateur mistake of installing a MK12 gas block under an M-LOK hand-guard that doesn’t have appropriate clearance for that gas-block. I used a V Seven Weapons Systems 17-4 PH stainless steel, set-screw, low-profile gas-block with an IonBond finish with the ZEV wedge lock handguard.
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