Barrel vise help!!!!

[tbeasley]

Which barrel vise do u fellas use to break factory barrels off actions and were to find them, I see Brownells and Sinclair have them, but want some opinions and imput on this, thanks...

 

[Bobs243Ackley]

You cannot use the vises that we carry, here at Sinclair. They are only designed to help take off a barrel that is already set up as a switch barrel rig. You would have to go to someone like Brownells to get the kind of tools that you would use to take a factory barrel off.

Cordially,
Bob Blaine

 

[rstreich]

Probably better to go to a gunsmith to break a factory barrel. Some of them can be really stinkin' tough to break. A decent gunsmith will have a wide variety of tools for dealing with them. More importantly, they know how much force to use, and, they always have a few tricks up their sleeve.

 

[kaferhaus]

Both Brownells and Midway sell one that uses split oak blocks in the vice..... that's the one you want. But you also have to buy rosin.... without generous use of the rosin the barrel will slip. Upside, if it does slip just add more rosin and a little more pressure.... no damage to the finish...

I've removed hundreds of barrels with this vice.... the oak blocks wear out, but they're easily made....

I had one old Mauser that wouldn't come off with anything.... I had to cut it off in the lathe and then bore it out just shy of the reciever threads and then pick the threads out with a dental pick!!

I put the whole contraption,vice / blocks and barrel) in a 20 ton hydraulic press and pull the ram down over the center of the vice.... takes longer to tighten the action wrench down than to remove the barrel...

The other type that will remove factory tubes is the ones that use "inserts" that are tapered to fit most barrel contours.... the downside to them is that they often slip and a slip ruins the finish on the take off barrel.

The "BR" style vices that Sinclair sells are used for subsequent removals and installations of custom barrels that areen't torqued like the blade bolts on a bull dozer!

It doesn't require much torque to keep a barrel from loosening..... why some of the factories crank then well over 100ftlbs is beyond me....

When installing barrels I use the same vice/block system but I use either a port wrench or rear entry action wrench for installing the new barrel.... 40-60 ft lbs depending on the thread pitch.