Barrel Vise for breaking Factory barrels???

[Jackson~in~GA]

What type of Vises are you guys using to break Factory barrels. I have a davidson style vise, but I can't get it to grip enough to break a factory 700 barrel in most cases. I have a friend who has a steel home made vise that seems to work pretty well, but before I built one like his I thought I would see what you guys are using. Thanks ~Jackson

 

[Don Nielson]

Pipe wrench. Don

 

[Dennis Sorensen]

Home made, 2 inch square stock machined so it is 1.5 inches deep... bolted to a big plate under the thick bench close to a corner wall where it all is well supported.

Home made from a Ford axle. I use about a 24 inch old barrel in that hole with my 200 pounds on it... Tight factory 700's break with a loud snap. Some times they require a little heat from a propane torch on the receiver... just enough so it feels quite hot but you can hang on to it for a couple of seconds... I have an external wrench for M98's, etc. that I hit with a large hammer.

 

[Gunner223]

I do just about the same as Dennis. My vice is bolted to a heavy steel table. Make my own bushings from steel unless the barrel is fluted then I use aluminum for the bushings.

Don

 

[JerrySharrett]

What type of Vises are you guys using to break Factory barrels. I have a davidson style vise, but I can't get it to grip enough to break a factory 700 barrel in most cases. I have a friend who has a steel home made vise that seems to work pretty well, but before I built one like his I thought I would see what you guys are using. Thanks ~Jackson

I used to cut a relief just off the shoulder on the really tight ones till I tried using my friends 300 Ft/lb air wrench. In both shops, we use the 4-bolt Davidson vises. There was one of the new ones (had the safety lock on the firing pin) that his 300 ft/lb wouldn't break, so we used his 900 ft/lb air wrench It doesn't take the full 900 ft/lb on the tight ones but it seems the "impact" vibration breaks the glue loose.

 

[Big Al]

Just add a three foot cheater bar to the end of the wrench and give a little more than gravity and then, your done. I like a cheater made out of 2" schedule 40 pipe. But even copper pipe works, or maybe even aluminium? It's all about leverage.


I made a vise like the one pictured above years ago, never needed more of a vise than the B-Square vise that I bought 30 years ago. The real secreat with the B-Square is that I mount it in a 6" bench vise made by Wilton on a bench top made of 2"X4" with 2"X6" legs bolted and glued together to the 3 1/2" top. No mater what this bench does not even groan when you place and gas V8 engine on it for work.

 

[mwezell]

If saving the old one isn't an issue, a pipe vise is great. I haven't seen one yet that wouldn't come off with it. If you don't want to mar the barrel, I have bushings that I put inside the jaws---Mike Ezell

 

[MColeman]

I have a pipe vise that I use on stubborn barrels but I have yet to break a Howa loose without cutting a relief groove just in front of the receiver.....and they don't use any thread locker. Must just have two sumo wrestlers put them together.

The newer Remingtons come apart pretty easily in just the Davidson barrel vise.

I've often thought of using an impact wrench but don't have an insert that goes into the action that I really trust. I have broken a feed rail on a Predator when I was not paying attention and didn't have the action wrench inserted fully into the action. That was a $350 mistake that I have not fully 'digested' yet.

 

[JerrySharrett]

Just add a three foot cheater bar to the end of the wrench and give a little more than gravity and then, your done. I like a cheater made out of 2" schedule 40 pipe. But even copper pipe works, or maybe even aluminium? It's all about leverage.

Sorry, but leverage alone has ruined some actions. A steady torque of, say, 300 ft/lb will twist an action even using a relieved rear-entry wrench. I have seen a few long actions 700's twisted 10 degrees or so. The shock of an impact air wrench will do far less damage at the same torque. Some factory assemblies, especially Remingtons almost seem to be welded.

 

[Rustystud]

Just My opinion..

I would never use a rear entry wrench to remove a factory barrel on its first trip off the action. I would recomend a barrel vice on the order of a Brownells 4 screw barrel vice w/ steel inserts and their action wrench made to fit Remingtons externally. I have used a piece of 10 foot pipe to get enough leverage. My barrel vice is on a 1,200 pound steel table. The top is 1" thick plate, The legs are 2" X 2" 1/4 inch thick square tubing.

Rustystud

 

[Big Al]

Sorry, but leverage alone has ruined some actions. A steady torque of, say, 300 ft/lb will twist an action even using a relieved rear-entry wrench. I have seen a few long actions 700's twisted 10 degrees or so. The shock of an impact air wrench will do far less damage at the same torque. Some factory assemblies, especially Remingtons almost seem to be welded.

Jerry I don't doubt what you say at all. I have never done any damage to the several hundred that I have done over the last 30 years. With the cheater bar, you vary seldom feel even the slightest resistance. It went from jumping off the stool on to the end of the wrench, to just the slightest amount of pressure on the cheater bar for me. By far the worst I have ever encountered have been the late WWII production bfy (or byf?) 44 Mauser 98's made by slave labor.

They nor any other action has presented the slightest problem using a cheater bar on the action wrench.

Just my 0.02 cents, Jerry.

 

[jackie schmidt]

Action Vice

I have one of those big items that Brownell sells, it has a 1 3/4 hole that you custom fit aluminum bushings too.

If you fit the bushings correctly, it will hold anything.

Of course, loosening the barrel without doing damage to the action is another thing. The Brownell Vice comes with a big slugging wrench that clamps around the action in conjunction with the front screw, I have taken many Remingtons apart with it. There is little danger of twisting anything as well.

The wrench also has the cut-away that encapsulates the recoil lug.This also aids in re-assembling the barrel as it locates the lug accurately.

My opinion is, if this monster will not get it loose, it is time to chuck it up and relieve the shoulder.

 

[Jackson~in~GA]

Thanks for the input. I have made a wrench like the brownells that grabs the outside of the action. I have heard the Brownells vise will hold anything. I may have to turn a relief cut on the shoulder to get this one apart as it slips before it breaks in my davidson style vise.

 

[RoyB]

I would never use a rear entry wrench to remove a factory barrel on its first trip off the action.

Agreed! Too much stress on the rails or locking lugs. Fine for an aftermarket barrel or once the factory barrel has been removed.

I use a homemade hydraulic barrel vise

And a Brownells action wrench that encases the thread area of the action and the recoil lug

 

[Dennis Sorensen]

Excessive stress is one of the reasons I use a 24 inch tapered bar for my leverage. It is an old barrel turned down to less than .600. With all my weight on it it flexes quite a bit. The rear entry wrench is only working on the meaty part of the receiver and the rear of the wrench is supported to the floor by a board I slip in so the action does not bend. I have not had a 700 action that would not break loose, some requiring that little bit of heat I described earlier. None of them were damaged in any way. I don't think my method is capable of twisting an action... possible with a cheater bar it could...

 

[Jim S]

I removed two remy barrels this week off of relativley new guns. I noticed as was stated earlier. The barrels are not near as tight.

I just put my body weight on the wrench handle and probably only 40 -50 pounds of press and they spun off. None of that crap on the threads either.

Whats up with this?

 

[Dennis Sorensen]

I removed two remy barrels this week off of relativley new guns. I noticed as was stated earlier. The barrels are not near as tight.

I just put my body weight on the wrench handle and probably only 40 -50 pounds of press and they spun off. None of that crap on the threads either.

Whats up with this?

I have had old ones and new ones with and without Loctite. You don't know until you pull them apart.

 

[jackie schmidt]

Jim

I have had the darned things take a hit with a 12 lb sledge in order to break loose using the big Brownells wrench, and others that seemed not much more than hand tight.

A few years ago, a friend had a long action 700 that he could not get loose, so he brought it over to my shop. It was so tight that just before it finally broke loose, I was just about ready to chuck it up and relieve the shoulder'

A while later, another friend brought a brand new short action ADL that he wanted to get the barrel off of. He bought it at Wal Mart soley for the action. (remember those days).

Anyway, I placed it in the barrel vice, clamped on that big wrench, got ready to hit it, and it just turned with a light pressure on the wrench handle.

Both action threads had that white loc-tite stuff on the threads.........jackie

 

[chris k]

removing barrels

I have machined action wrenches that fit the external dimensions of different actions .(similiar to what Brownells sells)My vise is a bottle jack press , my blocks I cast lead blocks individual for each barrel .A top half and a bottom half .The blocks are cast and held by steel .
If I have an action that is tight I will put the action wrench on the action and heat it until warm to touch.It has enough mass to hold and transfer heat to the action and barrel.I also may glue the barrel to the blocks with 5 minute epoxy.
I have not had an action that will not come apart with this system.
The heat neutralizes the hold the glue Remington uses in their actions.

Chris

 

[J. Valentine]

This is my old home made vice it has a large diameter capacity if required and with thinner collets it can clamp on the thickest part off a blank.
It has internal pins to stop any tendency for a collet to spin in the vice under heavy usage. These pins can be removed or their engagement reduced if a very thin collet is required. I use bronze collets mostly but alluminium would work fine also and even soft steel in a thinner collet.
I have never bothered to machine up the external surfaces so it looks a bit rough. However it has not let me down so far.
For the first unlock of a factory barrel I always like to use an external wrench on the front action ring if possible. I think this type of removal is less prone to any potential twisting or bending.
I also support any overhang from the vice at the barrel reinforce with a stout 2x4 all the way to the concrete floor for first removals . Especially if hammer blows are required and with light barrel contours.