Aero Solus stock barrel change is absolute war

[faylix]

I got my tools ready.

1. Aero Solus action wrench

2. Barrel vise

3. 7/8th socket

4. Very large Torque Wrench with breaker bar


I'm honestly to tired to make this a long thread, but holy hell what does Aero do to their stock barrels? Do they weld them in?

- I tried it normal. The barrel slipped and ruined my finish
- I tried wrapping painters tape around the barrel. The barrel rotated and ripped up the tape and now the barrel needs goo gone.
- I tried heat, lots of heat. Eventually I burned my finger but the barrel still slipped in the vise.
- I tried wrapping the barrel in sand paper. I went out and got actual fucking sand to put between the barrel and the barrel vise.

Thankfully there is a machine shop downstairs from my friends shop. Now it was their turn.

- They tried a barrel vise block in a massive vise. It still slipped.
- They tried putting the vise block 90 degrees (vertical) in the largest vise i've ever seen with a 26'' breaker bar. It still slipped.

Enter the machine shop guys wife

Question: How much do you care about the stock barrel? Answer: I'd like it to shoot, but it already looks like hell I can't sell it.

- She takes it over to a belt sander, and I shit you not, sands two flat spots in the barrel.
- The barrel goes back in the giant vise block, this time raw, at 90 degrees, with the 26'' breaker bar.

IT FINALLY FUCKING GIVES WAY!!!!!



In the end the stock barrel looked like this.

Putting the new barrel in was shockingly easy. Swab some antiseize, put barrel in barrel vise, hand tighten action, use action wrench + torque wrench set at 75 ft/lbs, add chassis and optic and poof!




But my dark lady looked ready for the range tomorrow.

24'' Bartlien barrel + muzzle break.


If anyone asks you to help them change your aero solus barrel, and it came from the factory as a barreled action? Laugh at them.

- Local

 

[jbell]

Did you or anyone try a quick snap of pressure (with the action wrench already having a little torque applied to it) vs slow steady pressure? Normally that is the trick. If that fails a brass hammer tapping on the action. Shock / vibration is very helpful to break tight parting surfaces free.

 

[Char'ed Cuterie]

Barrel Vise: Experiences May Vary

Joking aside, there is an ocean of difference in performance in those things. I've taken an expensive tour of the cheapest options, modified the wooden blocks of the Wheeler to accept SAC bushings, all kinds of dumb shit.

One of the dumbest, cheapest, fastest, actually-effective things I did was to super glue the barrel to the vise, in this case I still had the wooden inserts for the Wheeler. That worked fantastic, immediate success with a reasonable amount of force on a rear-access action wrench and breaker bar. Absolutely trashed the finish when I hammered the blocks off the barrel when finished, but I was pretty hot by that point and it's a match gun, so the barrel will be a tomato stake in less than a year.

After you sleep that one off, if you still want to sling barrels at home, I do recommend the purchase of a high quality vise (something like the SAC setup, those bushings are great, I've had zero issues since adapting my shitty vise to use those bushings), some non-adhesive drywall tape for finish protection, and a longer breaker bar (usually have to order them, the ones in stock local tend to be little short shrimpy things). That, plus a "snap" instead of a "pull", and you should be all set for round 2.

 

[supercorndogs]

Rosin. Heat. Whack. repeat. Mt viper vice looks like it's been through a war after a couple of tough factory remington barrel removals. I bent the top cap getting it to hold a barrel that kept slipping.

 

[faylix]

I woke up this morning with what felt like a fucking hangover!

I totally forgot the whacking steps. I attached a regular ratchet to the 7/8th driver on the back of the action wrench and beat the snot out of that thing with a brass hammer. I think it actually bent.

Thankfully I brought all my own tools to my buddies shop. Except the barrel vise, that was his.

I was being cheap trying to get away without spending the $300 on a barrel vise I wasn't sure how many times more I would use.

The super glue is a great idea, I would have totally tried something like that.

The painters tape didn't protect that barrel at all, when it slipped it ripped through the tape and the finish under it.

Im about to head to the range though, so it's all worth it.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Take off a few Lee Enfield barrels and get back to me

 

[Rob01]

I woke up this morning with what felt like a fucking hangover!

I totally forgot the whacking steps. I attached a regular ratchet to the 7/8th driver on the back of the action wrench and beat the snot out of that thing with a brass hammer. I think it actually bent.

Thankfully I brought all my own tools to my buddies shop. Except the barrel vise, that was his.

I was being cheap trying to get away without spending the $300 on a barrel vise I wasn't sure how many times more I would use.

The super glue is a great idea, I would have totally tried something like that.

The painters tape didn't protect that barrel at all, when it slipped it ripped through the tape and the finish under it.

Im about to head to the range though, so it's all worth it.

$300 for a barrel vise? That’s carazy. They are under $100 and you should get one. Below is one but a bunch of others out there.

Viper Barrel Vise — Viper Bench Rest

Our barrel vise will handle barrels from .775” to 1.375“in diameter. The powder coat finish is so durable it grips barrels like a gorilla. The powder coat finish will also NOT harm the barrel in any way and will not leave any marks whether blued or stainless. With our barrel vise there is no need fo

www.viperbenchrest.com

And painters tape is a horrible idea. Use cardboard or a piece of leather or an old toilet paper roll cut lengthwise and tight around barrel.

 

[Leshil 52]

Drywall tape.

 

[memilanuk]

I'm with Rob on this one... I've removed god-only-knows-how-many factory Savage (and before that, Remington) barrels using an old vise that looks very much like the Viper but without the fancy finish. You don't need more than that if you do it right. The 'bling' vises might make it easier, or faster, but be honest with yourself - how often are you really going to be dicking around changing barrels? For some people it might make sense / be worth it. For most people, it's more of a status symbol.

 

[Rob01]

Also I forgot to say tighten the vise TIGHT. If it spins then it’s not tight. Tighten it down.

 

[1911Shootist]

I popped my factory barrel off without leaving any marks fairly easily. Viper vise with the clamp nuts tightened to an estimated 50 ft-lbs, sheet of non-corrugated cardboard from some Chinese packaging for a friction aid, and it came right off with a 17" breaker bar.

Not all of them are difficult to remove.

 

[TheJeanyus]

Interesting that it was so hard to get apart. I remember reading on here a couple months ago where someone had a Solus barreled action that was barely torqued at all. I might try to take mine apart now just out of curiosity.

 

[slodsm]

I’ve only had 1 of their BA’s but mine was NOT like that at all. Slapped her in the vice and it broke free with expected pressure.

Sucks because I’ve definitely had some in the past I think they used rockset on when they torqued it lol. Definitely no fun.

 

[FuhQ]

Take off a few Lee Enfield barrels and get back to me

Or a factory Browning A-Bolt barrel…

 

[faylix]

I guess people have a range of experiences with these but this was my first time working on a bolt gun and she gave me hell. I understand what people are saying about snap vs twist but we seriously tried that. All 4 people (who are all gun builders, most with more experience than me) tried variations of all the tricks espoused here (except the super glue, gotta remember that one) and nothing wanted to work.

It was lightly raining today but I loaded up and hit the local range to sight her back in. I admit I was a little lazy with it because I have a Element Theos 6-36 coming in later today that I'm super looking forward to. No shade to the DNT - this thing has been a tank and is def amazing. I'll probably move it to my Mars-h and sell the viper that's on that.

I got all setup in my normal position



And right after my first shot what looks like a fucking pterodactyl shows up in the scope flying right for me!



Then the bastard (turkey? Hawk? I'm a city boy) just hangs out on the range for four or five shots and then flies off. Surprised the hell out of me.

I wasn't shooting my best but she had some flashes of brilliance.



4 inch target 1/8th inch bull, 4 rounds to zero and then she started stacking up.

I put ~80 rounds of 140 gr smk through her then brought her home and cleaned her out (bristle, clp patches, dry patches till clean, then 2 oil patches)

I thought she still needed something, so I grabbed a section of automotive suede (alcantara?) and applied it to the cheek rest.



Im just waiting for my Theos and then she should be done. My birthday is next month and I'm looking into either a long range class at Sig Academy or maybe somewhere out west. I hear there are some fun places in Utah?

See you on the range!