aluminum or steel bushings for Brownell's barrel vise

Aluminum is softer and won't mark the barrel as much as steel, but you still have to be careful. I put masking tape on the barrel and make sure there's no debrie on the bushings.
 
Use w/Rosin

Pick up a small bag of Rosin at your Sporting Goods Store and this will also help with grip.
 
Rosin

I bought a bag of powder rosin for the hard to get off barrels but never had to use it yet. The aluminum bushings and tape on the barrel hasn't slipped yet.
 
I have used lead with very good results...Make shims or cast your bushings. Nowadays this is all I use.
Many years ago many of us used thick leather and it also worked very good unless the barrel was really stuck or needed many ft./lbs. of torque.

Regards,

azuaro
 
I prefer the aluminum ones, usually make my own. I do use rosin on the stiff ones. An alternative to the rosin is powdered sugar. Just as good and it cleans up faster.

Jim
 
I used heavy saddle leather, found out the hard way it would slip and "roll."

I used playing cards, card stock and paper........same

I was lining my barrel vise inserts with a dollar bill at a public venue and another gunsmith asked me "why are you lining an aluminum vise block against a stainless barrel?"

I said, "I dunno!!"

Since then I only line the blued ones and for them I pour an epoxy cast and use rosin. (Now I'll use SUGAR!!) And when I've managed to slip a SS bbl and leave an AL scuff it just wipes off.

:)

al
 
Gents,

I make mine out of aluminum and use a rosin bag that was meant for baseball pitchers. The only downside when using a pitchers rosin bag is a tendency to constantly be adjusting one's junk and spitting all over everything.

I've had a few stubborn barrels and the thing that has worked every time is degreasing the barrel and action with acetone, getting things bone-effing-dry prior to putting it in the vises and wrenches.

Justin
 
I'm w/eddief,
turning from 6061 aluminum round stock w/the exception of boring for 3X5/index card stock clearance instead of drywall paper.
 
If you are gonna line the blocks anyhow, it really doesn't matter whether they are steel or aluminum. I have some of each, but all the blocks that I make myself I have made from aluminum. I happen to have a 1 3/4" stick of aluminum to carve them out of.

Clemson
 
Aluminum for me, along with drywall tape. I'll dip the drywall tape in rosin if I think it will slip, but they typically won't, even with a factory Howa bbl'd action.
 
Lead

I had to remove a 1917 Enfield (Remington) for headspace problem. Tried wood and rosin, barrel slipped, even tried a little heat. Then I casted a lead bushing using copper pipe & wood for a form. I used 1 1/4" copper pipe split in two halves (fits hole size in barrel vice), drilled a hole in piece of plywood a diameter where I wanted the bushing to stop on barrel, I used two pieces 1/4" thick wood (contour to the barrel profile as spacers between copper pipe halves. I orientated the barrel vertically with muzzle up, slid plywood down barrel ( stopped about 1 1/2" from receiver), placed copper and wood spacers between copper halves, around barrel and wired them together. Melted some lead and poured the lead between barrel and copper pipe for my bushing, (clean the inside of cooper halves and put a little flux, the lead will stick to it like solder. This bushing gripped the barrel tight. after four good wackes with a 2 1/2 lb sledge, barrel UN-threaded. I've used this method on numerous barrels, the heat from the lead does not affect the bluing. This takes less time to do than explain it here, and a lot easier than making aluminum ones on a lathe, it fits the barrel perfectly.
 
I found that wide double sided carpet tape wrapped around the barrel most of the way, left an 1/8" gap, allowed me to take barrels off that I was having troubles with using most of the above methods. Cut off a piece of tape from the roll, stick to the barrel as you wrap it around, then pull the paper off the exposed side, stick the bushings to the taped barrel and put in the barrel vise, tighten and proceed. A little WD40 will clean up any adhesive left when you take the tape off.

Like most everything we do you need more than one trick in you bag. I use both steel and aluminum bushings.

Lowell
 
Butch Lambert said:
Powdered sugar is as good as rosin. My wife buys it!
Click to expand...

Thats humorous Butch...
Actually, I have found it especially useful in loosening a barrel that has been put on too tight. I probably wouldn't have it, but it was given to me as a friendly gesture. There must be a quart of it in that container from Brownells ( that I'll never use up.)
 
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