Barrel Swap Equipment Checklist

[stanley_white]

I am gathering the equipment I will eventually need to do a barrel swap on my Howa 1500, and other rifles in the future.

Yes, I know the Howa 1500s are a sumbitch to change, and believe me, if I have doubts, off to the gunsmith it goes immediately.

I am posting to verify the equipment I will need as I have never done this before and thus I am ignorant.

1. Barrel Vise (I am looking at the Viper)

2. Action Wrench (I am looking at the Northland Shooters Supply version)

3. Savage-like barrel nut from Patriot Valley Arms (I would likely get the barrel from them too)

4. Go and No-Go Gauge (Clymer brand seems to keep coming up in my search -- is there better?)

5. Torque Wrench (Does anyone have a brand to recommend?)

6. Crow's Foot attachment for torque wrench to fit barrel nut.

I welcome your thoughts.

Thank you.

-Stan

 

[anon]

- nickel anti-seize
- something to measure base to shoulder, if you're curious about the actual length of the go, no-go gauges that you get, also useful to match your sizing die to the chamber after the barrel is threaded on

I have and use the Viper barrel vise and a NSS action wrench on my Remington and Savage Target actions. I also have an 8" long 2" diameter steel rod section that I use to whack the action wrench when breaking loose a factory fitted Remington barrel. I pre-load the wrench, then give it a whack, not my fingers. The sharp impulse has seemed to work, luck helps too.

Best of luck.

 

[anon]

Oh yeah, Dave Manson of Manson Reamers, has this list of base to shoulder dimensions for various cartridges posted. It has the diameter of the tool to use and the length for the shoulder. You could also just go to the SAMMI website to find the info.

https://mansonreamers.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/cartridge-comparator-instructions2.pdf

 

[ShtrRdy]

I think your list looks good. I went with the PMA Tools vice and action wrench.

Once you have the original barrel removed you don't have to torque on your other barrels so tight. I'm using 50 ft-lb and it seems to work. Then when you change barrels it's easy to break it free.

 

[stanley_white]

I think your list looks good. I went with the PMA Tools vice and action wrench.

Once you have the original barrel removed you don't have to torque on your other barrels so tight. I'm using 50 ft-lb and it seems to work. Then when you change barrels it's easy to break it free.

I will check out PMA Tools.

Thank you.

Correspondence with Northland Shooters Supply indicates that while they advertise their action wrench as being Howa compatible, it really isn’t, as the screws that come with it aren’t long enough, thus requiring an additional purchase once it arrives, which displeases me and seems like misleading advertising.

-Stan

 

[King_beardsly]

Every thing looks good, I’d just add a 24” breaker bar to the list for busting loss those factory barrels.

I’ve been running the 21st century vice which is pretty much the same as the viper and it’s been awesome.

 

[JGR1953]

I will check out PMA Tools.

Thank you.

Correspondence with Northland Shooters Supply indicates that while they advertise their action wrench as being Howa compatible, it really isn’t, as the screws that come with it aren’t long enough, thus requiring an additional purchase once it arrives, which displeases me and seems like misleading advertising.

-Stan

Well at least you found out before you spent your money on it.
He had Tikka as compatible on that list last month and I guess he removed it after a discussion in another forum.

Snippet from that posting

 

[Digetydog]

Every thing looks good, I’d just add a 24” breaker bar to the list for busting loss those factory barrels.

I’ve been running the 21st century vice which is pretty much the same as the viper and it’s been awesome.

If it is really tight, I think a longer, cheater bar would be nice to have around.

 

[Lightning8]

Big hammer. My gunsmith removed the factory barrel of my Tikka recently. First try the barrel spun in the vice (barrel wrapped in tape to protect finish). Second attempt no tape - raw barrel clamped in vise and one big hit with sledge hammer on action wrench and Tikka action free.

 

[MDof2]

If it's a Howa, then a cheater bar.
Also add some rossin and drywall tape (paper) to your list.

 

[TheOE800]

If it's a Howa, then a cheater bar.
Also add some rossin and drywall tape (paper) to your list.

SAC Bravo vise probably, too. They have a 1500 head for their action wrench as well, right hand only.

 

[celltech]

I personally don't own a no-go gauge. I bought a cheap feeler gauge and cut little circles that fit in the bolt face to act as shims. I set my headspace down to minimum specs based on the go-gauge+shim. A cheap Harbor Freight torque wrench is good enough...the nut torque is not that critical of a spec.

The crow foot adapter might surprise you on how loose the fit is. Take your barrel nut to a hardware store and see if you can find one that is tight, otherwise it can mar the edges of the nut. I end up using the same feeler gauge to take up the slack in the adapter set I had bought.

 

[stanley_white]

If it is really tight, I think a longer, cheater bar would be nice to have around.

I understand a "Breaker Bar" to be a legitimate tool that I can buy while a "Cheater Bar" is a piece of pipe that I slip over an existing handle to add leverage.

I also think a "Breaker Bar" would be more apt for an internal action wrench while a "Cheater Bar" is more apt for an external action wrench.

In my case, I think I would go with an external action wrench and "Cheater Bar" due to the Howa reputation.

Does this make sense?

-Stan

 

[stanley_white]

One other thing I noticed yesterday, is that I don't know if my MDT ACC chassis has enough clearance on it for my current Howa barrel to someday be replaced with a barrel nut barrel.

I emailed PVA to find out their thoughts.

This may be one of those scenarios where, if I am planning on sticking with a Howa, it would be better to just buy a backup barreled action.

Hmm...

-Stan

 

[spife7980]

Breaker vs cheater doesn’t matter. Get something that adds feet of leverage whatever you call it. Then smack it with a sledge. It will come loose.

Buying a backup action? Just buy one good one instead in the first place.