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View Full Version : Barrel & Action Wrenches???



MaxJon
08-21-2010, 08:34 PM
Hi all! I have got an Omark single shot .222 project in the making, and was wondering about what size relationship between the action/barrel diametre do the action/barrel wrenches have to be for the best fit and clamp??? I have noticed some use copper packing between the the action/barrel and tool so a substantial amount of clearance seems obvious. Is there a standard/universal size? Is the use of the copper for better grip and/or to avoid damage to the action/barrel?? I need to make these tools so i can remove the corroded .223 barrel and to fit a new .222 replacement. :castmine::castmine::mrgreen::mrgreen:
Any info appreciated!!
BB03

deltaenterprizes
08-21-2010, 10:03 PM
I use sheet lead in my barrel vise inside oak blocks bored to fit the barrel taper. The wrench fits the front of the action.

scb
08-22-2010, 10:11 AM
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1123/Product/ROSIN
You can probably find rosin elsewhere cheaper and in smaller quantities.

CENTEX BILL
08-25-2010, 06:12 PM
I read on the 24 hour campfire board about a gunsmith using powder sugar instead of roisin to hold barrel. Said it was cheap and just wash it off with hot water when you are finish. Have not had a chance to use it yet.

Bill

deltaenterprizes
08-25-2010, 07:31 PM
Thanks for that tip.

John Taylor
08-25-2010, 10:06 PM
I have more than a dozen aluminum blocks that I have machined out over the years for holding barrel. If I don't want to mar the blue I wrap a piece of paper around the barrel. My barrel vice has a 20 ton jack so I can get quite a bit of pressure on it.http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l132/johnptaylor/barrelvicewithVblock.jpg

Just1Mor
12-10-2010, 03:28 PM
2x4, multi sized whole saws, cut in half and glue in strips of leather and clamp in a vise.

Just1Mor
12-10-2010, 03:29 PM
leather holds very well.

S.R.Custom
12-10-2010, 06:04 PM
The barrel/vice insert size just has to be close, not necessarily perfect. Powdered sugar heaped in the interstices and then clamped does indeed work without marring the barrel. Old shoe or glove leather in the action wrench protects the action.

S.R.Custom
12-10-2010, 06:06 PM
...My barrel vice has a 20 ton jack so I can get quite a bit of pressure on it...

I currently use a screw jack/vice apparatus. How well does the hydraulic jack hold the pressure? Or is it necessary for someone to keep applying pressure on the handle?

deltaenterprizes
12-10-2010, 11:04 PM
I use my 20 ton press to put pressure on tight barrels and the hydraulic jack works great.

bandmiller2
06-13-2011, 05:32 PM
I've had good luck with oak blocks bored close and wrap the barrel with masking tape.I've always just used a large, good bench vice to clamp the blocks. Frank C.

MBTcustom
06-15-2011, 01:01 PM
Best thing you can do for the first time crack on old military threads, is to get some aluminum blocks that fit the barrel diameter very closely.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=534&pictureid=3720

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=534&pictureid=3719

I almost twisted the barrel getting the threads to crack loose the first time. After that it has been relativly easy to take the barrel on and off. Dont mess araound getting the barrel off the first time, go in loaded for bear and do it right. Its worth it.

Molly
06-16-2011, 12:15 AM
Like John Taylor said, I've always gotten excellent results by just wrapping the barrel with paper and clamping hard. Holds well, and doesn't mar the blueing. Never had much luck with aluminum, I think because it's so soft: barrels tend to just spin in Al blocks, smearing off on the barrel.

white eagle
06-22-2011, 09:38 AM
thats a great idea John Taylor
I have a conventional barrel vise although I do
have a extra jack or two here

John Taylor
06-22-2011, 09:45 AM
Like John Taylor said, I've always gotten excellent results by just wrapping the barrel with paper and clamping hard. Holds well, and doesn't mar the blueing. Never had much luck with aluminum, I think because it's so soft: barrels tend to just spin in Al blocks, smearing off on the barrel.

For round barrels I take two aluminum blocks and clamp them together with several layers of paper between, then bore the hole a few thousandth undersize. This gets a good grip all around the barrel and less chance of crushing the bore from to much pressure ( I have made a tight spot in a soft barrel before). "V" blocks work for all octagon barrels.

JIMinPHX
06-29-2011, 12:03 AM
Dont mess araound getting the barrel off the first time, go in loaded for bear and do it right. Its worth it.

You ain't just whistling Dixie. The picture below shows a barrel vice that I made. I figured that a pair of 1/2" fine thread bolts & an aluminum split clamp with less than .001" clearance on diameter would grab the barrel tight enough to get it off. I was wrong. 2 days of Kroil didn't make it work either. The sugar trick helped some, but not enough. I ended up putting the barreled action on a lathe & turning the flange off the barrel to get the threads to loosen up & come off. Once the flange was gone, the barrel came off easy. Those old military barrels can be TIGHT.

I think that John has the best idea, with the bottle jack.

JIMinPHX
07-30-2011, 08:31 PM
I recently found that adding a small undercut on the press blocks improves their grip substantially.

nanuk
07-31-2011, 01:34 AM
Jim, can you explain why that is so?

JIMinPHX
07-31-2011, 04:48 AM
I now know from experience that it does work. My theory as to why it would work goes like this - I think that when the pressure is placed on the outer edges of the blocks, it causes the blocks to bend a little & pinch in on the barrel from the sides as well as still having the original down force on the barrel that it always had. I think that this extra pressure on the sides adds some grip. That's my guess anyway. I'm open to hearing other opinions if anyone has them.

nanuk
07-31-2011, 05:35 AM
do you think that using saw cuts and make a few kerfs could accomplish the same thing?

JIMinPHX
07-31-2011, 04:09 PM
I don't know what a kerf is. I would expect that taking off a few thousandths with a file would be all that is really needed.

You could probably also get this to work by taking a couple of pieces of 1/8" x 1/4" metal stock or even thin pieces of shim stock & stacking them on the outer edges of the blocks.

This center relief idea worked well on my blocks that had a rather thin cross section at the top. My thin aluminum blocks can probably bend a little under heavy pressure. On a thicker block, this idea may not work at all.

MBTcustom
07-31-2011, 05:26 PM
Anything that get the pressure to the sides of the blocks and not on the middle will do the trick. You could also use a pusher block that has relief cut down the middle so as to provide pressure to the sides of the block.
This is a simple concept. if you are only exerting pressure along the flat top and bottom of the blocks, then when they start to deform, the sides will pull away from the barrel first, leaving you with about the same effect as vicing between two parallel surfaces. But if you exert pressure on the sides of the blocks, then you get a collet action that never loses full contact.
Excellent idea! I wish I had thought to use it on my setup.

nanuk
08-02-2011, 01:54 PM
Jim, and GS have explained it well.

I understand now.

Jim, a kerf is the slot removed after a blade has made a cut. at least that is what I call 'em