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A cheap solution to disassemble a Savage barrel.

We already have the SharpShooter tool that fits the Savage barrel nut, but a cheaper solution is to file 2 teeth out of 3 on a 12 tooth wrench in metric size 30. As a bonus you get a better grip than the awkward one you get from the flat SS tool.
I posted this on a frog firearm website and the only comment I got was so dumb and uncalled for that I won't disclose it on this site.
Needless to say, I just erased the thread.
It is obvious that you will have to heat the receiver and the barrel nut before attempting the disassembly.
A flat, 12" long piece of steel with the width and thickness of the locking lugs will have to be introduced in the receiver until it contacts the barrel face and will have to be fastened to a strong vise.
In any case, never let the rear bridge withstand the necessary torque.
Thanks for your attention.20250716_211023.jpg20250716_192607.jpg20250716_210911.jpg20250716_211216.jpg
 
The flat nut wrench from Sharp Shooter Supply has worked flawlessly for the last 10 or 15 + nuts I have removed and re installed, without issue. You can push or pull your guts out and gripe about how it DOESN'T work but a RAP with a "steel hammer on the flat steel wrench" WILL break most of the nuts loose.
Never had to deal with the smooth nut but, it's been suggested a pipe wrench (and maybe some heat) and replacement to the notches style is THE fix.
The RAP of "steel on steel" makes a BIG DIFFERENCE. Same going back on. Snug, RAP and you're done. Never had one come loose. Even swapped barrels and set headspace at the range without issues. ;)
 
A buddy of mine gave me an action that had a radical twist in
it . It was an early Savage with open top and large mag well.
Something he said about using too long of a bar....LOL
 
Well, here's the Wheeler wrench aside the modified wrench.
Which one has a thickness better suited for handling?
Which one will deliver and transfer more torque?
Which one is better suited to receive a good hammer blow?
I'll let you decide.
 

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A buddy of mine gave me an action that had a radical twist in
it . It was an early Savage with open top and large mag well.
Something he said about using too long of a bar....LOL
"In any case, never let the rear bridge withstand the necessary torque."
 
Well, here's the Wheeler wrench aside the modified wrench.
Which one has a thickness better suited for handling?
Which one will deliver and transfer more torque?
Which one is better suited to receive a good hammer blow?
I'll let you decide.

Do you see that square hole next to the openings on that wrench?

They are there so that you can use one of these: https://www.northerntool.com/products/klutch-30in-long-bar-1-2in-drive-flex-head-52262

Which, in turn will allow you to put way more torque on the nut than a wrench that barely engages the grooves of the nut. No heat required.
 
When I was at George Vais' shop in Boise one afternoon I watched him remove and later replace a Savage barrel. He took two 1" long rods the diameter of the grooves in the barrel nut. Put a wrap of freezer tape around the nut under them first. He put one in a slot, and the second rod 180* around, put a second wrap of tape over them and just used a wrench. Took him about 15 seconds.

Rich
 
I do not think that is dumb at all. Prior to attending University I was trained and worked as an Automotive Technician! It was common to take one tool and use it to make a custom tool for a diffacult to do job on one particular make or model. Back when Sears was still around you bought a Craftsman tool and would heat, bend, grind it shape. The tools where much cheaper in price than say a SnapOn tool and built well.

It would appear that the person that told you it was stupid is a very ignorant person with little understanding of the world and even less understanding of the world of machines and tools.

Given the low cost of many of the Savage barrel nut tools I can understand someone not wanting to re-invent the wheel but I also respect creatively solving a problem with what you have on hand.

When I was in Flight School I was shocked by some of the archaic tools and methods used in light civil aviation. Forinstance the tools to mount and dismount multipiece constant speed props where large wooden paddles cut from plywood with slots in them in accordance with the factory repair manual. Some early aircraft torque specifications told you what length of pole to use and how many feet of travel to walk to get the correct torque because torque wrenches had not been invented yet. I had to take Mechanics for Pilots which had both a class room portion and lab portion which was hands on.

I made a tool to better turn the manual locking hubs on my old Toyota 4x4 with gloved hands in the dead of Winter. Needed a special tool to remove a locking collar on front 1/2 shafts and a socket and die grinder to the rescue vs the $400 speciality tool I would only need to use 1 time! How many of us have replaced a front main crank seal using a large socket or a block of wood?


So do not stop thinking just because one knuckle head that your idea was stupid!
 
The flat nut wrench from Sharp Shooter Supply has worked flawlessly for the last 10 or 15 + nuts I have removed and re installed, without issue. You can push or pull your guts out and gripe about how it DOESN'T work but a RAP with a "steel hammer on the flat steel wrench" WILL break most of the nuts loose.
Never had to deal with the smooth nut but, it's been suggested a pipe wrench (and maybe some heat) and replacement to the notches style is THE fix.
The RAP of "steel on steel" makes a BIG DIFFERENCE. Same going back on. Snug, RAP and you're done. Never had one come loose. Even swapped barrels and set headspace at the range without issues. ;)
I wack mine with a rubber malet. I have not needed to use a breaker bar yet but I have only used my tool twice.
 
I do not think that is dumb at all. Prior to attending University I was trained and worked as an Automotive Technician! It was common to take one tool and use it to make a custom tool for a diffacult to do job on one particular make or model. Back when Sears was still around you bought a Craftsman tool and would heat, bend, grind it shape. The tools where much cheaper in price than say a SnapOn tool and built well.

It would appear that the person that told you it was stupid is a very ignorant person with little understanding of the world and even less understanding of the world of machines and tools.

Given the low cost of many of the Savage barrel nut tools I can understand someone not wanting to re-invent the wheel but I also respect creatively solving a problem with what you have on hand.

When I was in Flight School I was shocked by some of the archaic tools and methods used in light civil aviation. Forinstance the tools to mount and dismount multipiece constant speed props where large wooden paddles cut from plywood with slots in them in accordance with the factory repair manual. Some early aircraft torque specifications told you what length of pole to use and how many feet of travel to walk to get the correct torque because torque wrenches had not been invented yet. I had to take Mechanics for Pilots which had both a class room portion and lab portion which was hands on.

I made a tool to better turn the manual locking hubs on my old Toyota 4x4 with gloved hands in the dead of Winter. Needed a special tool to remove a locking collar on front 1/2 shafts and a socket and die grinder to the rescue vs the $400 speciality tool I would only need to use 1 time! How many of us have replaced a front main crank seal using a large socket or a block of wood?


So do not stop thinking just because one knuckle head that your idea was stupid!
Thanks for your kind words. I was wondering why you didn't choose the .325 WSM chambering for your Mauser project? I see you're a pilot; decades ago I attended two flight schools in South Carolina and had the privilege to get my CFI rating with Mr. Helicopter himself (Lester Hembel from Saluda, SC) who also was the ultimate gentleman.
Have a nice day.
 

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Well, here's the Wheeler wrench aside the modified wrench.
Which one has a thickness better suited for handling?
Which one will deliver and transfer more torque?
Which one is better suited to receive a good hammer blow?
I'll let you decide.

Still have my 17 year old Wheeler wrench and 18" break over bar. They have likely done a couple dozen barrel changes and are good for quite a few more. The Wheeler has different profiles to match both square and round slots. While it's thinner, it engages all the slots and has a profile that closely matches the slots. Think I paid $20 for it in 2008.

How much was your box end wrench and how long did it take to modify that box end wrench?
 
I do not think that is dumb at all. Prior to attending University I was trained and worked as an Automotive Technician! It was common to take one tool and use it to make a custom tool for a diffacult to do job on one particular make or model. Back when Sears was still around you bought a Craftsman tool and would heat, bend, grind it shape. The tools where much cheaper in price than say a SnapOn tool and built well.

It would appear that the person that told you it was stupid is a very ignorant person with little understanding of the world and even less understanding of the world of machines and tools.

Given the low cost of many of the Savage barrel nut tools I can understand someone not wanting to re-invent the wheel but I also respect creatively solving a problem with what you have on hand.

When I was in Flight School I was shocked by some of the archaic tools and methods used in light civil aviation. Forinstance the tools to mount and dismount multipiece constant speed props where large wooden paddles cut from plywood with slots in them in accordance with the factory repair manual. Some early aircraft torque specifications told you what length of pole to use and how many feet of travel to walk to get the correct torque because torque wrenches had not been invented yet. I had to take Mechanics for Pilots which had both a class room portion and lab portion which was hands on.

I made a tool to better turn the manual locking hubs on my old Toyota 4x4 with gloved hands in the dead of Winter. Needed a special tool to remove a locking collar on front 1/2 shafts and a socket and die grinder to the rescue vs the $400 speciality tool I would only need to use 1 time! How many of us have replaced a front main crank seal using a large socket or a block of wood?


So do not stop thinking just because one knuckle head that your idea was stupid!
Thanks for your kind words. I was wondering why you didn't choose the .325 WSM chambering for your Mauser project? I see you're a pilot; decades ago I attended two flight schools in South Carolina and had the privilege to get my CFI rating with Mr. Helicopter himself (Lester Hembel from Saluda, SC) who also was the ultimate gentleman.
Have a nice day
Still have my 17 year old Wheeler wrench and 18" break over bar. They have likely done a couple dozen barrel changes and are good for quite a few more. The Wheeler has different profiles to match both square and round slots. While it's thinner, it engages all the slots and has a profile that closely matches the slots. Think I paid $20 for it in 2008.

How much was your box end wrench and how long did it take to modify that box end wrench?
It was very cheap, part of a full 8 wrench set that was for sale for 19.99 € (euro) at our local Leclerc (the Frog walmart) and it took me two 30 minutes filing sessions to achieve the final result. My late Dad was an old school engineer who taught me filing and lathe machining but his teaching was a long time ago.
 
It was very cheap, part of a full 8 wrench set that was for sale for 19.99 € (euro) at our local Leclerc (the Frog walmart) and it took me two 30 minutes filing sessions to achieve the final result. My late Dad was an old school engineer who taught me filing and lathe machining but his teaching was a long time ago.

That's a little over $23 USD plus an hour of labor. Midway has the Wheeler on sale for $33.99.

I really hope your tool lasts as long as my Wheeler has. But if it fails, it will be painful.
 
I wack mine with a rubber malet. I have not needed to use a breaker bar yet but I have only used my tool twice.
It's the RAP from "steel on steel" that breaks the nuts loose. Rubber mallet just lets you waste time looking for a better idea, but what ever blows YOUR hair back is best. ;)
 
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You know the nut won't come loose when going to a 5 foot long
bar, and you wished you lagged the work table down......LOL I never
had one that bad but the one that fought me the most got a little
heat then a good smack with a brass mallet. Some will say that Savage
does not use any type of compound, but I will call BS on occasion. I
have had two. One had a grey looking color to it (flat back) and
the latest one was an Axis. The Axis looked a bit clear like someone
used a shellac. Both had never been worked on before.
 
That's a little over $23 USD plus an hour of labor. Midway has the Wheeler on sale for $33.99.

I really hope your tool lasts as long as my Wheeler has. But if it fails, it will be painful.
Not everyone lives in the Lower 48, with free, fast shipping.
That $34 at Midway would be doubled before it got to me.... oh wait, Midway won't ship outside the US.
Not to mention having to wait several weeks before it arrives.
 

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