I'd found a thread on Reddit about using O-1 tool steel rods to make your own suppressor alignment gauges. I have the Geissele .22 and .308 rods, but needed one for 6.5 barrels. I'd been making do with using my .22 rod and rotating the rifle 90 degrees four times to check alignment.
The rods are available from McMaster-Carr and quite reasonable: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/126/3946/
The Geissele rods look like they may well be made from the same material, and are 17" long. A friend is diving into precision shooting and planning to get a suppressor. McMaster sells these in 3' and 6' lengths, so I figured I would try the 36" rods and if it worked, I could give him a set of gauges.
When you order these, be sure to consider the barrel's bore diameter, not the groove-to-groove diameter! For a .22 centerfire, that would be 0.219". For my 6.5 barrels, 0.256" (so the 0.257" rod would lead to impolite language). For our .308 Win, .30-06, .300 BO, .300 WSM, and such, 0.300".
I ordered four rods: (Tight-Tolerance Oil-Hardening O1 Tool Steel Rod)
1 8893K204 0.250" Diameter, 3 Feet Long $4.53
2 8893K191 0.2120" Diameter, 3 Feet Long $5.66 (figured this for .22 centerfires and most rimfire)
3 8893K187 0.2031" Diameter, 3 Feet Long $5.13 (figured this for .22 rimfire with a tight "match" barrel)
4 8893K217 0.2950" Diameter, 3 Feet Long $7.00
Merchandise 22.32
Sales Tax 1.34
Shipping 9.72
Total $33.38
They showed up today. Now, someone like with skills, pride, and a good shop would neatly and precisely cut these for a perfect cylindrical shape, like the Geissele rods. But that's not me. So I marked 18" with a Sharpie, clamped the rod in the vice, and went to work with the SawZall and a metal blade. Then I fired up the bench grinder and cleaned up and chamfered the ends. No, you wouldn't pay $70 each for these rods, but that was kind of the point.
I have a 6"x18" granite plate with "flatness certificate" I got on a deal from Woodcraft for sharpening chisels and planes. I put each rod on the plate, rolled it, and backlit with a handy tactical flashlight. They appear quite straight; certainly straight enough for my intended purpose!
I washed each rod and then coated them with Boeshield T9. More importantly, I put a 6.5 CM rifle in my vice, screwed on the suppressor, and slipped in the 0.250" rod. Happily, the rod inserted into the barrel snugly but cleanly and unsurprisingly, the suppressor appears to be nearly perfectly aligned. Which is probably why I haven't shot it to pieces already.
I'm planning to get some PVC end caps and will make a couple 18+" tubes to hold each set of four rods. But at $17 for a set of four, they are marvelously cheaper than commercial rods and even a hack like me can turn one out.
The rods are available from McMaster-Carr and quite reasonable: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/126/3946/
The Geissele rods look like they may well be made from the same material, and are 17" long. A friend is diving into precision shooting and planning to get a suppressor. McMaster sells these in 3' and 6' lengths, so I figured I would try the 36" rods and if it worked, I could give him a set of gauges.
When you order these, be sure to consider the barrel's bore diameter, not the groove-to-groove diameter! For a .22 centerfire, that would be 0.219". For my 6.5 barrels, 0.256" (so the 0.257" rod would lead to impolite language). For our .308 Win, .30-06, .300 BO, .300 WSM, and such, 0.300".
I ordered four rods: (Tight-Tolerance Oil-Hardening O1 Tool Steel Rod)
1 8893K204 0.250" Diameter, 3 Feet Long $4.53
2 8893K191 0.2120" Diameter, 3 Feet Long $5.66 (figured this for .22 centerfires and most rimfire)
3 8893K187 0.2031" Diameter, 3 Feet Long $5.13 (figured this for .22 rimfire with a tight "match" barrel)
4 8893K217 0.2950" Diameter, 3 Feet Long $7.00
Merchandise 22.32
Sales Tax 1.34
Shipping 9.72
Total $33.38
They showed up today. Now, someone like with skills, pride, and a good shop would neatly and precisely cut these for a perfect cylindrical shape, like the Geissele rods. But that's not me. So I marked 18" with a Sharpie, clamped the rod in the vice, and went to work with the SawZall and a metal blade. Then I fired up the bench grinder and cleaned up and chamfered the ends. No, you wouldn't pay $70 each for these rods, but that was kind of the point.
I have a 6"x18" granite plate with "flatness certificate" I got on a deal from Woodcraft for sharpening chisels and planes. I put each rod on the plate, rolled it, and backlit with a handy tactical flashlight. They appear quite straight; certainly straight enough for my intended purpose!
I washed each rod and then coated them with Boeshield T9. More importantly, I put a 6.5 CM rifle in my vice, screwed on the suppressor, and slipped in the 0.250" rod. Happily, the rod inserted into the barrel snugly but cleanly and unsurprisingly, the suppressor appears to be nearly perfectly aligned. Which is probably why I haven't shot it to pieces already.
I'm planning to get some PVC end caps and will make a couple 18+" tubes to hold each set of four rods. But at $17 for a set of four, they are marvelously cheaper than commercial rods and even a hack like me can turn one out.
