Gunsmithing New barrel issues

[Islas82]

So I just received a new barrel a couple days ago, after removing the factory barrel from my Ruger American I decided to thread in the new pre -fit barrel and place the barreled action back in the chassis to make sure everything would fit just fine before setting headspace and torque.

Thats when the trouble began. The barrel did not thread all the way, it starts off fine and about half way in it starts getting pretty tight until it gets stuck. Before I attempted to thread it in I made sure my action threads were clean and free of any factory grease or debris, I inspected the action threads and I dont see any obvious damage that might have happened during barrel removal.

Once I was able to remove the new stuck barrel, I threaded my old barrel back in and it went in easily, I used the new barrel nut on my old barrel to see if it would thread and it did, the old barrel nut in the new barrel went in as well but with just a little bit of resistance. It seems like if I thread the new barrel in slowly it travels a lil further before it get stuck again.

Now I am by no means a gunsmith, this is a pre-fit barrel that I figured I can install myself with the right tools. Is the barrel defective? or am I doing something wrong? Could it be my action? Before I make the call to the manufacturer on monday I would like to try any possible options. I truly appreciate any advice.

Thanks.

 

[Bugholes]

Threads on your new barrel are probably too big
But, your action could be too small too. Check with whoever made the replacement barrel

 

[Kadams1563]

I wouldn’t trust a Ruger American for a pre fit barrel. I can’t imagine they have great tolerances in machining them.

 

[moosemeat]

I wouldn’t trust a Ruger American for a pre fit barrel. I can’t imagine they have great tolerances in machining them.

They use a barrel nut like a savage. Should be zero issues.

 

[moosemeat]

OP- if you have a machinest friend have him throw peedee wires on both barrels and see. If not call the maker of your prefit and ask them what the issue could be. Also, if you have mics or calipers you can measure the OD of both and see if either is oversized.

 

[Islas82]

OP- if you have a machinest friend have him throw peedee wires on both barrels and see. If not call the maker of your prefit and ask them what the issue could be. Also, if you have mics or calipers you can measure the OD of both and see if either is oversized.

Thank you, I do have a set of calipers and I will take some measurements for some reason that hadn’t occurred to me. I have already contacted the manufacturer and expect to her from them after this weekend.

 

[Steel head]

OP- if you have a machinest friend have him throw peedee wires on both barrels and see. If not call the maker of your prefit and ask them what the issue could be. Also, if you have mics or calipers you can measure the OD of both and see if either is oversized.

This.
Maybe the action was cut with a worn tool and the new barrel was cut with a proper thread but on the big side( many want a tight fit) and that factory barrel was cut with a safe minimum thread.

 

[Islas82]

This.
Maybe the action was cut with a worn tool and the new barrel was cut with a proper thread but on the big side( many want a tight fit) and that factory barrel was cut with a safe minimum thread.

Yea those are good points to consider too. Its just strange that the barrel nuts are interchangeable between old and new with no threading issues.

 

[Steel head]

Yea those are good points to consider too. Its just strange that the barrel nuts are interchangeable between old and new with no threading issues.

Not really.
The barrel nut threads are obviously cut separately and has a bigger major diameter or minor diameter or both.

 

[stompbox]

Thank you, I do have a set of calipers and I will take some measurements for some reason that hadn’t occurred to me. I have already contacted the manufacturer and expect to her from them after this weekend.

You can't just measure the OD to determine proper fit, the pitch diameter is whats important on thread fit. The OD could be correct, but if the pitch diameter is too big, it won't thread in. 1st, check the OD and if it is good, check to see how "sharp" the threads appear. If the OD is to the high side and the threads are sharp, you could possibly be contacting a scope base screw or a burr where the scope base threads come through the top of the action. I teach a barreling and chambering course at a Tech School and have seen this a few times.

 

[Islas82]

You can't just measure the OD to determine proper fit, the pitch diameter is whats important on thread fit. The OD could be correct, but if the pitch diameter is too big, it won't thread in. 1st, check the OD and if it is good, check to see how "sharp" the threads appear. If the OD is to the high side and the threads are sharp, you could possibly be contacting a scope base screw or a burr where the scope base threads come through the top of the action. I teach a barreling and chambering course at a Tech School and have seen this a few times.

Thank you for your advice, I thought that too but the barrel is not threading far enough in to reach the first scope base screw. It just threads in a bit under half way and then stops.

 

[stompbox]

Thank you for your advice, I thought that too but the barrel is not threading far enough in to reach the first scope base screw. It just threads in a bit under half way and then stops.

OK, it was just a thought, sometimes when you find the issue it ends up being something simple. Might want to measure the thread pitch, you can use the thee-wire method (pain in the butt) or use a thread pitch micrometer. If you have any machinist friends they can probably help you out. Good Luck, hope you get it.

 

[moosemeat]

OK, it was just a thought, sometimes when you find the issue it ends up being something simple. Might want to measure the thread pitch, you can use the thee-wire method (pain in the butt) or use a thread pitch micrometer. If you have any machinist friends they can probably help you out. Good Luck, hope you get it.

That's pretty much exactly what I said

 

[Mordamer]

I have re-barreled one Ruger American. The factory threads in the action had a lot of taper to them. This is probably the case here as well. The barrel either needs to have the threads cut deeper, or if the barrel is in spec I would want to have the action threads trued to remover the taper and make it fit the barrel. Either of these options requires a gunsmith who knows what they are doing.

For the non-gunsmith the best option is to send the barrel back and see if the original maker can check/fix it for you.

 

[Islas82]

Alright, just finished emailing with manufacturer and they have asked for me to send my action and barrel and they take a look at it and install it as well. They’re warranting it and calling it a error on their part said they’ll likely adjust the threads on the barrel.

 

[Wannashootit]

I have re-barreled one Ruger American. The factory threads in the action had a lot of taper to them. This is probably the case here as well. The barrel either needs to have the threads cut deeper, or if the barrel is in spec I would want to have the action threads trued to remover the taper and make it fit the barrel. Either of these options requires a gunsmith who knows what they are doing.

For the non-gunsmith the best option is to send the barrel back and see if the original maker can check/fix it for you.

What do you mean by "taper" in the threads?
The tenon is not a consistent OD?

 

[Steel head]

What do you mean by "taper" in the threads?
The tenon is not a consistent OD?

It’s like a mild pipe thread.
I’ve done it on the lathe accidentally with inside threads as I’m a pretty much a newb on a lathe.
There’s a few ways it can happen I’m told.

 

[Mordamer]

What do you mean by "taper" in the threads?
The tenon is not a consistent OD?

The pitch diameter of the action threads closer to the face of the action was larger than closer to the lugs.

 

[Dobbs02si]

The pitch diameter of the action threads closer to the face of the action was larger than closer to the lugs.

Be that the case, I'm curious how ruger machines the threads..with a tap or single point? I could easily see that with a tap wearing on the lead threads. It would take a bit of deflection single pointing with a lathe. Plus normally lathe deflection works the opposite of this, large threads further from the chuck and tapering small from less deflection.

In for results.

 

[Steel head]

Be that the case, I'm curious how ruger machines the threads..with a tap or single point? I could easily see that with a tap wearing on the lead threads. It would take a bit of deflection single pointing with a lathe. Plus normally lathe deflection works the opposite of this, large threads further from the chuck and tapering small from less deflection.

In for results.

I can tell you how.
As fast as possible!