Gunsmithing Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

Pat M

Pat M

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 28, 2005
1,879
18
Cashmere Washington
#1
Remington 700SA PSS, to the best of my knowledge a stock barrel.

Used a nice factory barrel vise and wrench,(? 6" from lug), had to use little sandpaper around barrel to keep it from spinning, big guy behind the wrench, + rubber headed hammer waks to boot. No luck

what next,, heat, soak with penetrating lube?

 
#2
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?


I've done this with old mauser's.....
penetrating oil and heat
(heat gun or propane torch, so it's not too hot)
then let it sit awhile or overnight...
Has worked so far on about three different occasions,
Andy
 
#5
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BOLTRIPPER</div><div class="ubbcode-body">cheater bar and a six pack of pabst blue ribbon......

skip the sandpaper and use drywall tape</div></div>

I agree with this one... though I prefer a different blue can. When I have to go to the cheater bar myself, I typically switch to an 'around the action' wrench as well, I love my Surgeon wrench, but I don't trust myself using it if I am all the way out with a cheater bar. I am sure it makes very little difference how close or far the barrel is mounted in the vise, but I always keep everything as tight together as I can, just so I can't put a sidward force on anything that shouldn't get it. I have a 4-bolt barrel vise, and have yet to find anything that it wouldn't remove with a two-bolt bushing. I would forego any sandpaper as well, as it could possibly mar the inside of your bushing or vise, and rather go for newspaper or rosin, and then torque the heck out of the vise bolts... then just get a good grip with a cheater bar... occassionally I have instead of putting a constant pressure, done a spurt of pressure kind of like trying to snap it off if that makes any sense? I use a hi-lift jack handle as my cheater bar, but any piece of pipe that will go over your wrench handle will work. I would just make sure the wrench is well in place when getting out on the end of the cheater bar, as it doesn't take much to tweak an action when you have that kind of leverage

Good luck, let us know how it goes

Dave
 
#6
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: chpprguy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I've done this with old mauser's.....
penetrating oil and heat
(heat gun or propane torch, so it's not too hot)
then let it sit awhile or overnight...
Has worked so far on about three different occasions,
Andy </div></div>

double check: ?let soak over night then cook it?

Thank you guys for the info.
 
#7
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

You use an in-line wrench to remove a factory barrel you are in danger of twisting the action or causing other damage. Use a wrench that surrounds the front receiver ring.
 
#9
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pat M</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: chpprguy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I've done this with old mauser's.....
penetrating oil and heat
(heat gun or propane torch, so it's not too hot)
then let it sit awhile or overnight...
Has worked so far on about three different occasions,
Andy </div></div>

double check: ?let soak over night then cook it?

Thank you guys for the info. </div></div>

I heat and add oil (carefully)
as the expansion helps the oil get in,
then let it soak till cool
2 I popped free in 20 minutes, one was still stubborn and i was tired, so I let it sit overnight....

 
#10
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

Are you screwing a new barrel on? If so, turn a relief into the barrel just in front of the action, it will take the pressure off the threads and should let it come out easily.
 
#11
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

Have a used Lija, theaded and chambered (and set of go-no-go's)
figure try it before sending to lathe guy (? need heavy recoil lug)

Lija bore looks good, figure it shoud shoot as good as the factory remington and 100X easier to clean.
 
#12
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pat M</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Used a nice factory barrel vise and wrench,(? 6" from lug), </div></div>

why so far from the lug? you are probably loosing a lot of your torque to deflection. all the barrels i have removed so far (only 5 or 6), i have had the barrel vise as close to the recoil lug as i could get it. the action wrench is just about to the recoil lug also. i soak the threads with pb blaster for half hour or so before i attempt it. my barrel vise uses only two 1/2-20 bolts and an aluminum bushing. i wrap the barrel with news paper and have not had it slip yet. the handle on my receiver wrench is 16" long if i remember correctly and it hasn't taken more than a good pop with the palm of my hand to break them loose.
 
#13
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

I don't know what Remington uses for thread locker but that stuff is tuff. I worked on one all night and decided to quit before I messed something up. I used heat, Kroil, cheater pipes, nothing would budge it. So I soaked with Kroil and heated it up and soaked her down one more time and let it set overnight. The next day I installed my action wrench and I heated the action wrench instead of the action and let the heat transfer to action. I don't believe that it took over 40 ft/lbs to break it loose. If you are using wrench that surrounds the action and you don't heat the wrench it will act as a heat sink and cool the action off pretty quick. I ain't no expert but it worked for me.

David
 
#14
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HateCA</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You use an in-line wrench to remove a factory barrel you are in danger of twisting the action or causing other damage. Use a wrench that surrounds the front receiver ring. </div></div>


You also want to try not to clamp the action right over the threads. It could squeeze the threads and make it tougher. I always soak them in kroil or a different penetrating oil for a day.
 
#15
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

The barrel vise being used was one of these:

Midway barrel vise

And the action wrench was one of these:

Midway action wrench

Same setup I use to break factory Savage barrels loose - although there I usually can brace the action wrench against the bench and bust the barrel nut loose. On this one, we were spinning the barrel in the wood blocks (glazing/polishing them in the process) no matter how tight we cranked 'em down.

Kroil and heat are available if need be...
 
#16
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

I think some rosin might help with the spinning. I have only tried to use wood on one factory barrel, and had the same experience, there was no way I was going to get it tight enough to remove the barrel. I went to a 4-bolt version of this barrel vise from this guy, and have not met a barrel I couldn't remove since. If I could go back, I would buy this vise instead of the 4-bolt one:

barrel vise

Bobby should post a picture of his vise again, that thing is a beast!!

Dave

 
#18
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NotAGuru</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
You also want to try not to clamp the action right over the threads. It could squeeze the threads and make it tougher. I always soak them in kroil or a different penetrating oil for a day. </div></div>

Nope, not if you have the correct wrench and know what you are doing it won't. You won't be able to generate enough clamping force to squeeze the action, and I have taken off thousands of barrels with the same wrench. I will also say heat was never needed to remove a factory Remington barrel.

If the barrel is slipping in the vise you're going to need some rosin. You want the barrel vise as close to the lug as possible for factory barrels. Aluminum barrel bushings are not always the best, they will crush or allow slipping, steel bushings will be better for factory barrel removal, and if done correctly with rosin the barrel won't have a mark on it. There are times I needed a four foot cheater bar, a large man, and a boy to get factory barrels off.

Pat M, if you can't get it off or find someone close by to help send it to me I'll take it off.



 
#20
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: memilanuk</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Any ideas on where *locally* to look for rosin? I don't deal with factory barrels (Remington or Savage) these days, so I don't have any on hand any more. </div></div>

Sporting goods store? Isn't rosin what they use on pitchers mounds and for tennis players grips?
 
#21
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DebosDave</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Bobby should post a picture of his vise again, that thing is a beast!!

Dave

</div></div>

HateCA i have taken a collet with a #5 screw and have put pressure against a barrel and measured it at the same time. It will change the ID of the barrel with a tiny little screw like that. It prob doesnt mean much of a difference when taking a action of but it still will affect it some.



Here ya go dd.

vise001.jpg

 
#22
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

My experience is that if I build vises and wrenches from 2x2 steel, like NotAGuru, the Rem700 slips, I tighten up the bolts, but the R700 receiver is so thin, that makes the thread to thread traction increase too.

Mausers have thick receivers and don't do that.
 
#24
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Clark</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My experience is that if I build vises and wrenches from 2x2 steel, like NotAGuru, the Rem700 slips, I tighten up the bolts, but the R700 receiver is so thin, that makes the thread to thread traction increase too.

Mausers have thick receivers and don't do that. </div></div>

The barrels do not have much surface area to clamp down on. I use some rosin and the centers out of TP or Paper towels and it work great. A breaker bar is usually need for the 700's though.
 
#25
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NotAGuru</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
HateCA i have taken a collet with a #5 screw and have put pressure against a barrel and measured it at the same time. It will change the ID of the barrel with a tiny little screw like that. It prob doesnt mean much of a difference when taking a action of but it still will affect it some.
</div></div>

I understand there can be some movement but like I said if it's done correctly with the correct tools you won't need to generate the clamping force necessary to cause any issues with Remington factory rifles.

Also in your pic your barrel vise is generating most of its force at a single point and it's not distributing the force equally over a larger area, this in itself will lead to crush. The barrel vise and action wrench I use distributes the clamping force over the entire surface area equally meaning no crush. It all comes down to how and what you're using to accomplish the task at hand.
 
#26
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

The problem is that the Rem700 design skipped the inner C ring to save money, so they have to put some kind of loctite on the threads.

Not very maintainable.

The Russians did the same thing with the Mosin Nagant.
From 1891 to 1943 there was an inner stop ring.
Then in WWII things got tough, machining got very rough, and they dropped the inner C ring.
 
#27
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HateCA</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

I understand there can be some movement but like I said if it's done correctly with the correct tools you won't need to generate the clamping force necessary to cause any issues with Remington factory rifles.

Also in your pic your barrel vise is generating most of its force at a single point and it's not distributing the force equally over a larger area, this in itself will lead to crush. The barrel vise and action wrench I use distributes the clamping force over the entire surface area equally meaning no crush. It all comes down to how and what you're using to accomplish the task at hand.
</div></div>

I understand your point. I machine and use very accurate radius's on aluminum holders like that one in the vise to spread the force evenly over the whole barrel. But I take heed of your advise cause it is a good idea. I might have to make something like that up soon.
 
#28
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

I put the 2x2 blocks bolted together on the face plate of the lathe and bored a 1.5" hole in the crack.

I then milled clearance on the surfaced between the blocks.

I bore barrel diameter holes in 1.5" diameter Aluminum round stock.
I hack saw or mill one or two slits in the Aluminum bushing.
When I clamp the barrel in the bushing and the bushing between the 2x2 steel blocks, the barrel cannot turn with 1000 foot pounds.

The action wrench for a Rem700 is essentially another barrel vise.

Flat bottomed receivers get a real action wrench.
Sav99s get a big Crescent wrench.
 
#29
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

A question to everybody. As long as we are talking even pressure how do you all deal with the taper of the barrel. I know from machining tapers to fit one another you have trial and error fit to get it perfect. If the taper is off 1 degree you have a very small contact area and it will be even smaller with a straight bore block on a tapered barrel. I know most custom barrels are straight the first few inches but all the Remingtons barrels that I have seen don't have a parallel section on them anywhere. I use oak blocks and tighten them down until they crush fit around the barrel to try to get as even as pressure as I can get. So does any one use tapered blocks to fit the barrel?

David
 
#30
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

The bushings I use are aluminum, and they have a slit down them, I am not sure if they make 100% contact, but they have yet to fail me. They are tapered to a couple different contours, and I have two that are straight for those barrels that start out at 1.200 or 1.250

DD
 
#31
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

A trick my father in law showed me, when removing old Mauser barrels to scavenge actions, were to use two strips of an aluminum can, between your barrel blocks with rosin powder on both sides, have never had a slip.
 
#32
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

tossed an aluminum 1 1/4 x 4 x 4 in the lathe , 4 degree bored hole (about 1/4 up the heavy taper), will cut in half and will return to try again. Worst part was pulling it off the lathe every time i wanted to check for correct taper and centering again (small lathe, barrel will not fit through)
 
#33
Re: Remington barrel dosn't want to come off?

A correct sized collet insert in the barrel wrench and rosin would be a good start. Next comes a little heat on the action where the barrel tenon goes in, to loosen any sealant Remmy may have applied when indexing the barrel. Never heard of using sandpaper.
 
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