Gunsmithing Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

bm11

bm11

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 18, 2010
2,562
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41
Maine
#1
Tried like hell tonight, but I couldn't get my AW barrel off the rifle. I was using my Al Story vise, which is setup with a 1.25" aluminum bushing. I tried shimming it with leather, no luck. I shimmed it with leather and powdered sugar, no luck. I tried paper, toilet paper rolls, tape around the barrel, etc, I had no luck budging this barrel.

I guess I need to either get wood bushings and rosin or get lead shims for my aluminum bushings.

Advise?

-Bob
 
#3
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

Turning in the vise. The shims don't generate enough purchase on the barrel, even using the sugar as a substitute for rosin.
 
#4
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

Just to clarify for you BM, the barrel is .84" diameter, and the only bushing has a 1.25" bore. This is creating roughly a 1/4" gap all the way around to overcome. IMHO leather, rubber or wood aren't going to overcome this. Lead may be a good answer, but I think the best idea for a long term solution is to produce another bushing with the proper bore.

DD
 
#8
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

If you have a mill, you can use that as a double vise setup. Just throw some blocks of wood in there and clamp down, then clamp the barrel vise on the barrel also, and secure it to the mill table. Idea courtesy of Short Action Customs.
Justin
 
#10
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

^^^Thanks. I was trying to avoid sending the rifle off, I would really like to get this done myself.

Anyone have any idea where I might find the right size bushings? I've done a fair bit of searching but have only found them in wood.
 
#11
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

Victory!

A little ghetto engineering, but I was getting frustrated and didn't feel like waiting a week, so I had a great idea- I used vice grips attached to the muzzle and wedged against my bench. It probably took 300 ft/lbs, but it finally popped.

Just wanted to share.

-Bob
 
#12
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

I can make any bushing you like.

I make my own Vise. Bushings are from HT4140. Vise is 7075AL

DSC_0006-1.jpg


DSC_0017-4.jpg


DSC_0018-5.jpg
 
#13
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

Looks very nice! I would need a 2"x2"x2" aluminum block with a .84 hole in it and split in half. PM me a price if you would like.
 
#16
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

I'm and AI Armorer and had a stubborn barrel last week. I find that the right wood bushings make all the difference. Additionally we used a heat gun to heat things up to ~150f on the receiver and then added penetrating oil and let it soak overnight. the next day I used a breaker bar with a hi-lift jack handle attached to get it loose. YMMV
 
#17
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

One thing that some people forget to do is , degrease the bushing and the barrel. the slightest bit of gun oil or hand grease will help a barrel to spin.
Use Naptha , shellite to degrease and after it dries then use powdered rosin. If the bushing fits neat and the vice has some rigidity then a strong grip will be produced .
Vices for breaking factory barrels loose and Military barrels need to be heavy and rigid for those hard barrels that come along now and then .
Wooden bushing blocks have never had any appeal to me as they tend to crush and split under real pressure.
 
#18
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

BM I hope you did not scrape you barrel finish all to hell.

I use a tubb barrel vice I got from brownells and a small piece of leather. I didnt have to use a bushing and popped it right off using a ft long breaker bar.

im glad you got yourbarrel off finally, but it sounds like it was an ordeal.
 
#19
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

Yes , Getting them off without any damage is the thing.
I have a special vice I built with the bushing having a shoulder that shows easily outside of the vice casing. This allows the barrel to be monitored for any slip at all. A witness mark can be put inplace if you wish with white out pen ( typing correction pen).
Similar to the bushings in the alloy BR vice above . When the bushing is flush inside the housing it is difficult to see if any slip is starting. Also my bushings are thicker so a top and bottom anchor pin engauges with the bushing so it can not slip in the housing.
The disadvantage is the thicker bushings have to fit more precisely than thinner ones and are more expensive to make .
Once a barrel is out from it's factory fit it does not need a big heavy vice anymore to lock and unlock it .
 
#20
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dtarget</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How do those bushings compress to hold the barrel?

Sorry for the rookie question, but they look pretty solid. </div></div>

I would like to know this too..
 
#21
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

I don't think the bushings have been split yet. I can't see them working very well without some compression splits.
Also the leverage strength of that alloy vice will be limited by what they use to hold the body as it has no bolt mounting flange to lock it down. Even big bench vices suffer from bench movement and jaw sliding . A milling vice would be more rigid to hold it but I would not like putting that kind of stress on a precision milling vice . Also alloy galls easy. I would say this is a BR type vice for target switch barrels and it does not need to be over strong. Lightweight and compact is the main features.
This is my workshop vice . It is bolted to a 900 kilogram steel machine that is bolted to a concrete floor. It can take large diameter barrels if required.
100_0484.jpg
 
#22
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: beenjammin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">BM I hope you did not scrape you barrel finish all to hell.

I use a tubb barrel vice I got from brownells and a small piece of leather. I didnt have to use a bushing and popped it right off using a ft long breaker bar.

im glad you got yourbarrel off finally, but it sounds like it was an ordeal. </div></div>It's incredible how durable the factory finish is, I put it through hell! It doesn't have any scratches BUT it did pull off underneath a bit. No worries, as half the purpose of removing the barrel is to send it out to get chopped and refinished.

The vice grips DID mess up the finish.
 
#25
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

C. Dixon - can you explain how the vise works since those bushings dont appear to come apart? How is the pressure from the vice able to trap the barrel?

They are amazing looking, your machining skills are top notch.
 
#26
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: KYS338</div><div class="ubbcode-body">C. Dixon - can you explain how the vise works since those bushings dont appear to come apart? How is the pressure from the vice able to trap the barrel?

They are amazing looking, your machining skills are top notch. </div></div>
The vice bushings are unfinnished . It is very well made but only designed for light duty work. Also I cant see how the vice will anchor rigidly to a range bench with no base flange to clamp onto .
 
#27
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

base flange? probably chucks up in a Kurt or similar..When removing barrels from actions, if clamping on action and removing barrel cheat up as close to the action as you can get. If clamping on barrel, wrench as close to the front of the action as you can get.. Naughty barrels, heat the front of the action...use scotchbrite pad between jaws, torque up, and remove..barrels you won't use in the future, take a small bandsaw cut just in front of the recoil lug and remove. Just a few kinks learned over the years..
 
#28
Re: Can't get my darn AW barrel off!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: __JR__</div><div class="ubbcode-body">base flange? probably chucks up in a Kurt or similar..When removing barrels from actions, if clamping on action and removing barrel cheat up as close to the action as you can get. If clamping on barrel, wrench as close to the front of the action as you can get.. Naughty barrels, heat the front of the action...use scotchbrite pad between jaws, torque up, and remove..barrels you won't use in the future, take a small bandsaw cut just in front of the recoil lug and remove. Just a few kinks learned over the years.. </div></div>
Base flange , base plate whatever , something to bolt it down . It's a very nice vice for specialized use . I don't think you want to cut just infront of the recoil lug on a Mauser style action or it's close derivatives . If you cut just infront of a recoil lug on a Rem 700 type action it would leave nothing to get a good hold of to remove the bit that's left in the action if it is grouted or loctited in. I have seen barrels with such tight threads that they were tight all the way to the last few turns. What I do is chuck the barrel and turn the shoulder section off by parting a slot just short of the action front ring face or the recoil lug whichever it has . Getting around the Rem recoil lug is a bit difficult . That helps release a tight barrel.
 
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