I'm fixing to remove a factory 700 barrel from the action. Everything I've read has shown that acetone and atf fluid in a 50/50 mix provide better results than marketed penetrating oil. With that said, what am I risking by using this over say Free All? What I'm asking is will it remove the "finish" on the rough 700 ADL action? What have been your results with this homebrew solution?
Homebrew Penetrating Oil - Removing Factory Barrel
- Thread starter vonb
- Start date
Doug Beach
Silver $$ Contributor
Put it in a good barrel vise. Attach an outside action wrench. Use rosin in both.
Bop the wrench with your big hammer.
Done.
Bop the wrench with your big hammer.
Done.
It’s scary that first time.For a factory remington.... free all works well... put it in a bench vice, muzzle towards the floor. Spray some freeall on breech around the threads. Let it soak overnight.
Then be prepared to use a lot of torque and a big bang when it lets go!
urbanrifleman
Site $$ Sponsor
I did get them in.
Larry Scott said the trick is you have to hold the recoil lug.
Just hit the barrel with heat until the loctite burns off. That usually makes it much easier.
butchlambert
Site $$ Sponsor
I don't think he asked about how to take the barrel off. He wanted to know if his homebrew may harm the finish of his metal work. His home brew works pretty damn good.
swd
Silver $$ Contributor
That sentence says all you need to do. They come off every time that way.
I have tried to make that homemade brew and never could get the two to mix properly.
{It’s why I bought Kanokroil that works better than anything else that I have tried.}
As to wether or not it will kill the finish I would suggest that a dab on a place at the bottom of the action that is never seen would be the best way to see if it will remove the finish.
My suggestion is to follow Urbanrifleman’s advice.
Do what a professional suggests if you are an amateur and attempting to do something for which you have no experience.
I've never separated and action from a barrel. But I did try the 50 acetone/ 50 transmission fluid on some very old and corroded reloading dies. For me, it is some kind of internet myth - the acetone evaporated in less than one day and nothing broke loose.
The BEST thing I ever tried as a farmer working on old stuff on a coastal island was this. I used it when I was at the last step before a torch or grinder and it worked. So good that the parts store had to hide it in the back so their regular customers could have some available. If you ever see it, buy a can. It out performed every other product available to me.
As a side note, I see people using torches, heat til red, then poor oil on something rusty. A very old welder tole me 30 years ago to heat til red, the drench it with water until the steam stops. I had taken him some parts of my fertilizer truck to get a nut loose. He did what I described and to drive the point home he brought the nut off with some water pump pliers.
The BEST thing I ever tried as a farmer working on old stuff on a coastal island was this. I used it when I was at the last step before a torch or grinder and it worked. So good that the parts store had to hide it in the back so their regular customers could have some available. If you ever see it, buy a can. It out performed every other product available to me.
As a side note, I see people using torches, heat til red, then poor oil on something rusty. A very old welder tole me 30 years ago to heat til red, the drench it with water until the steam stops. I had taken him some parts of my fertilizer truck to get a nut loose. He did what I described and to drive the point home he brought the nut off with some water pump pliers.
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
You got to it before me
Yes you MUST heat the barrel tenon and outside of action threads with a propane torch to get a Factory 700 barrel off.
Once it breaks loose, Heat it back up AGAIN because the Loctite will start to harden back up immediately as soon as you remove the heat.
I dislocated my shoulder last year removing one when I did not reheat the barrel once it broke loose and was going to put all my weight into the wrench
You dont want that to happen to you thinking "Ahhh its moving now, all I gotta do it just give it a good ooomph and......" dislocate your shoulder
From Last October I'm just starting to be able to do push ups again lol, So 9 months of healing for that one dumb mistake thinking I am stronger than the loctite
---------------------
I use ATF all the time in my proffesional shop for loosening bolts and things with heat
ATF with acetone or heck just use regular gasoline as a thinning solvent is as good as Kroil to me.
I dont dillute it because if using heat, it thins out on its own, but that's up to you.
Thinning it works fine if youre letting it soak for hours
But thinning will not do any good to penetrate into sealed loctited threads until heat is applied.
The ATF don't have to be premium Amsoil Synthetic, it can be Dollar Store bargain quarts
When you heat the tenon area, watch from inside the action and the loctite or ATF will start to bubble out
Thats when you know its hot enough to start to loosen it
If it doesn't bubble out, it may not budge yet or will spin in the vise
----------------------
Added tip - for a stubborn barrel, put your barrel vise between a press and press it tighter than you can with a wrench on the bolts
I have not had a barrel spin while the barrel vise has been in a 12 ton shop press.
I have also cut Oak wooden blocks and shape them to the barrel and press on those to help prevent galling to the barrel or action
Last edited:
jelenko
Gold $$ Contributor
I guess not!
How about a heat gun instead of the torch?
Sounds a little safer.
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
Not enough heat, needs to be somewhere around 500F, not on the surface but the actual goop itself which means the surface temp has to be hotter than that to then penetrate down into the threads.
The kind of heat you actually begin to think you are going to damage/discolor the action
But it doesnt do so, steel wool and a good oiling afterward brings the finish back to normal.
----------------
I dont believe a heat gun has the ability to localize that much heat on something that would also act as a heat sink pulling it away in the process.
Ever try to solder thick 1/8" plumbing solder with a 20 watt pencil iron?
It gets hot but just never melts the solder
Similar deal here
----------------
Just avoid using an Oxy/Acetylene torch, in some effort to speed things up
The added oxygen can oxidize the surface and form mill scale which WILL damage the action
propane is safe and wont damage the action
I've even used the same Propane process on Stainless actions
Last edited:
Ours has got hot enough to break whatever Ruger put on some muzzle brakes on ar-15’s, it got the rok-set or whatever moving on it and I was curious if it was enough for barrel threads.
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
it's a good thought, I mean someone could try it, but I don't see a heat gun melting the type of Loctite Rem uses at the thickness of the area where the tenon is screwed into the action
it is some terribly strong loctite Rem uses
I think they do not want amateurs removing their brrels for fear of people simply swapping used Ebay barrels and headspace issues etc
Similar to their whole trigger debacle of years ago
They now use a Timney set non adjustable just to avoid the whole user adjustable deal
------------------
Down at the end of the barrel, I would believe a heat gun works because it is much thinner and less mass to have to heat up plus it is at the end of the mass you are heating which is a termination point for the heat to travel.
Whereas at the tenon, the heat transfers both directions
as I mentioned in my earlier post, as soon as you remove the torch flame, it tries to harden back up again
it needs to stay damn hot to remove if you dont wanna hurt yourself in the process.
----------------
it sucks Rem even loctites, Ruger lubricates their threads which in my opinion is kinder to the user knowing someone is going to experiment with removing the barrel and trying a different or new one.
Lube the threads when done and re-installing
I torque my barrels on to about 30 ft/lbs for easy removal and have never had a barrel come loose so I don't get Remingtons thought process. Of course nice, full contact quality threads helps in this.
Last edited:
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.