Does anyone have any workaround for doing a barrel swap on an AR? I am wanting to pull a 224 Valkyrie barrel and put on a 400 legend barrel. Only issue is that I don’t have a vice, AR vice block, or a barrel nut wrench. I’d like to avoid spending a bunch of money to buy all that stuff and the wait time for the gunsmith to do it is insane and ntm expensive for something I could hopefully do in my own.

This isn't really the answer your looking for, but you need a armorer's
wrench, allen wrenches , and a torque wrench.
My wrench is set up for a 1/2 inch torque wrench. They are not very expensive like $25-$30 bucks. I got mine from midway I believe.
The barrel nut should be torqued 40-60 pounds.

You can make do with just a vice and some pieces of wood and rags to hold your upper.
Harbor freight would have a cheap vice and probably a cheap torque wrench.
I've bought several sets of allen wrenches there and they seem to last the same as my craftsman ones

You may need a small torch if red loctite was used on your set screws on the gas block. I've heard of people using heat guns also, but I don't have a heatgun lol

Good luck

Easiest way I can think of would be to buy a Pantheon Arms takedown kit with a spare barrel connector for your extra barrel.

Assuming your upper was put together correctly, there isn't a way I know of to swap barrels without at least a barrel wrench and a vise. As Ruckers said you can get both those things for <$100 (less than your prospective 400 legend range trip) and if you're going to do stuff like put a niche caliber barrel on your AR you'll probably get your money's worth out of them.

Alternate thoughts:

1) Maybe you can find someone local to you on here with a bench & the tools necessary that would let you knock out the swap in an hour using their stuff.

2) If you're looking for a truly "tool-less" range experience that's honestly the kind of thing I'd just build a second upper for. It would probably run you about the same as buying the right tools for the job though, more if you want a nice hand guard.

If you go to palmetto state armory they are having a Easter sale. I saw several armorer's wrenches for sale in the $25-$30 range.

Good points all around. I dont really know anyone on here well enough to hit em up and ask to use their bench/tools.

Perhaps just building a new upper may be the way to go. Besides, I want a side charging handle on it. The real challenge lies in finding a side charging upper and BCG that is in 6.8 spc.

Pro2a tactical out of Georgia has side charging 6.8 spc.
They have pretty decent quality stuff and pretty good prices.
I'm gonna do a 6mm arc build soon and I'm considering them for my upper. I read a review somewhere on them and it was real good. I think it was on the high road or ar15.com.
Sometimes they have a heck of a sale on gunbroker from time to time
You should check them out

I changed my barrel without a vice or armorer's wrench. I just sat on my rifle and used a wrench + pipe as a cheater bar. Depending on what barrel nut you have a specialized wrench may be necessary.

Followed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3028-STGvg

I have a wrench and vise block I’ll loan you, just pay the postage.