Gunsmithing gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

J

john_1182

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 11, 2009
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australia, victoria
#1
hi all, i have a tikka super varmint in .308
http://www.tikka.fi/t3models.php?supervarmint

it was a decent shooter, but i decided i wanted a muzzle break for the hell of it. i have sent it off to a gun smith here in Australia who i didn't know personally but who was recommended to me to get the job done.

all was well, all sounded great until i mentioned about cleaning the break and i said ah yeah cleaning the crown will be easy just take the break off and clean it as usual... um no he said, he had used locktite to secure it on and the barrel will need to be heated up to take it off..


have i just made a huge mistake, because im thinking i have and if the rifle doesn't shoot as well, now i will be just left with a usless break i cant take off
 
#2
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

it sounds as it is removeable, with application of heat to the locktite. it's done that way to keep the brake on, stopping it from loosening from recoil, and reducing vibration; more or less making the brake a piece of the barrel.

worse case scenario is that if it doesn't shoot as well as it did, send it back and have the smith make a blank for it which is basically a piece that goes over the threads to protect them and should look / act just like it did before.
 
#3
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

You better hope it shoots otherwise this will have been a very expensive experiment to end up right where you started, good luck.
 
#4
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

I agree with Top Preadator with the apply of heat (about 300 degrees) and the locktite will break free , then let it cool and put some Kroil on it . You can use a low strength grade of locktite to assemble the muzzel break back .
Howard
 
#5
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

that makes me feel better, i didn't think to think that the locktite was there just to stop it slowly coming loose after a few shots, the smith did say it needs some heat to get it off, but he did say i should never need to take it off...

he also did say that his work has a lifetime warranty and if there is any issues send it back and he will fix it up..

also i should mention that i have given the load i use in the rifle and he is going to load up some of those rounds to make sure its a shooter, same as or better then the 3/4 MOA that it was




but it still dosn't make it feel quite right


i guess i will know in a week or two when i get my hands on it
 
#6
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

I've had a few muzzle breaks and they were all set up so that you could clean the crown with something soft like a medical q-tip or a patch on your pinkie just wiping the end. You really shouldn't have to do more than that to clean your crown.

Anyways, I don't see pulling that off every time you clean your barrel.
 
#7
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

If you have to take it off use a hair dryer or heat gun, get it hot, wrap a strap wrench around it and it should spin off without too much trouble.

Don't stick a screwdriver or something through it to get more torque, that can twist it and screw it up.

If you need more torque you might have to have a special wrench made for it if there's no way to get a normal socket or box end wrench over it.


When you put it back on be sure to get ALL of the old locktite off and clean it really well with alcohol to get any oils or residue off the threads. Then apply at most 2-3 drops of the blue loctite (easier to take off the next time, the red is considered "permanent" and takes more heat to pop loose)

After it's set up for 15 mins or so you can spray gun oil over it like normal for storage.
 
#9
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TCA4570</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Red loctite is not permanent.
Is it coated?

Please fill out your profile. </div></div>

It's listed as "permanent" hence the quotes I used. The blue stuff works exceptionally well and it's easier to take off with a little heat.
 
#13
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

No not law, just the smiths perogative i'd say. What sort of brake is it? Is it and/or the barrel painted? If no then some heat will get it moving. If the barrels coated then apply the heat to the brake. Who was the smith? Pm me if you have any more questions.

cheers,

JJ
 
#14
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

If it's coated, you can apply heat to the inside with a cheap soldering iron.
Turn a custom tip to slip fit by a few thou.
Use alum, copper, or brass.
Heat it and see if it still slip fits.
If so, good to go!
Have water soaked rag handy, if it gets too hot.
Pull out, or unplug and cool.

Have you tried penetrant when shot hot?

Feel free to pm about this one.
I'll draw up the tip and send a file.
 
#17
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

Yeah, Loctite is not the right way to go with this. Rocksett has been used with some success but blue, red, or purple Loctite is a shortcut in my opinion.

If you want to remove it, use a heat gun and roast the muzzle break. It should be able to easily turn free after a good roast.

Also, did you mention what type of brake you had installed. Proper installation will obviously depend on which one it is....
 
#18
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

yeah guys sorry for not being around, i havent been online in a few days (working 12 hr shifts) i cant post pics as i still dont have the darn thing back, he is wanting to powder blast it to match the barrel (break is shiny stainless, barrel matt stainless)


he just locktited it on there because he said that is just what he has done to all the rifles he has worked on
frown.gif


the break that is on it is a custom one, he gave a good price $140 aussie for he lot, cheap for here so i thought why not, also i gave him a few pics of breaks of the style i was after and i trusted him to go from there (still havent seen the final product)

time will tell
 
#19
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

Sure would like to come "down" there and see it for myownself.
FWIW: The muzzle brake/flash hider on my M-4 and M1A are NOT meant to be removed and this has never been an issue at least for me. A Q-tip with bore cleaner has always worked for me.
You should be in your winter now, correct? What are your temps(degrees F)these days?
Respectfully,
LG
 
#20
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

yeah it is winter here atm, right now it is 10 am and at 10c (50f) and light winds for here 16kmph (10 mph)


now that i have heard that it can be ok to have the break perminantly on the barrel im not to worried. now its been 2 weeks and i just want to put some rounds through it (i currently have 3,000 + projectiles and 6 kg (13 lb) of "varget"
 
#22
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

maybe i missed it, what kind of brake is it? is it one that was installed, turned to match the barrel for a seamless look then a finish applied? if so, work around it to clean, don't remove it. i'd use a bit of loctite also if i were installing one of those such as a badger thruster.
 
#24
Re: gun smith permanently attached muzzle brake

@ 300sniper, the brake is custom, hand made from the ground up, he has made it to match the barrel so it just looks like one piece as far as i am aware.. (i still havent seen the thing, so i cant comment on how it looks, ive just trusted him to make the right deisions


@ jester308, he still has it and is in the process of gettting it powder blasted so everything matches, also i have sent you a pm with the name of that smith

**edit** could not send a pm to you jester308 it said you did not exist ..lol he is david keena i only know him over the phone and sounds like a decent bloke
 
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