Reattaching a Krieger barrel to a Rem 700 receiver - by hand?

[CT10ring]

Hello, I had a 6.5 X 284 Rem 700 receiver that needed work (the bolt, actually).

A local gunsmith removed the barrel from the receiver, so I could send only the receiver and bolt to another gunsmith (Chad Dixon) to do work my local gunsmith could not do.

I just received the receiver / bolt back, and my local gunsmith is out of town...

I decided to re-attach the barrel to the receiver myself, tightened by hand
I added grease and anti-seize to the cleaned barrel threads.
Looks to be sufficient, as the threads in receiver and barrel are "tight". All surfaces look to be square and tight.

* Rem 700 LA receiver + bolt accurized and blueprinted by Chad Dixon (prior purchase 10 years ago)
* Barrel is Krieger HV chambered and threaded by Bob Greene, PA
* recoil lug - after market double pinned, faced square by Chad Dixon w original receiver purchase
* no witness marks were used on disassembly
* this is the original barrel installed on this receiver (Bob Greene)

It seems to me that hand tightening is sufficient, given the level of machining on the receiver and bbl.

Thoughts, info, experiences appreciated.

 

[jepp2]

Safe, good to go?

Without knowing the headspace currently and the torque the barrel was tightened to, no way to know for sure. What work did you have Chad do this time?

 

[WSnyder]

It seems to me that hand tightening is sufficient

Not

 

[CT10ring]

Without knowing the headspace currently and the torque the barrel was tightened to, no way to know for sure. What work did you have Chad do this time?

Short story - new bolt handle, + time and TIG, finish + cerakote

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Nothing good can come of it, even if it seems fine. Tighten that sucker up or call Chad or Bob if that helps.

 

[CT10ring]

My local gunsmith - just back in, agreed to put my barrel back on ASAP, which was this afternoon. Nice!
He used a torque wrench set at 100 lbs.
Now I know.

 

[TaperPin]

Given the action has been trued up, putting 50 ft lbs of torque on it is a common amount.

If you aren’t going to wait, and we know you aren’t, 50 ft lbs is pretty easy to hold for. Take an 30” section of 2x6 Douglas fir board and use a hole saw to make a 1-1/4” cross hole 6” from one end for the barrel and a 7/16” hole on each side through the full 5-1/2” depth about 3/4” away from the big cross hole. Split length ways along the grain removing 1/4” of wood, use 3/8” allthread, long coupler nuts or grade 5 or 8 nuts, and big 1/4” thick washers from the electrical isle at Home Depot to clamp tight. Degrease and wrap barrel with drywall tape to protect the finish. Repeat for front of the action with a 1-3/8” hole. 50 ft lbs is the same as a downward pressure of 25 lbs on the 2’ lever you just made.

That will easily hold 50 ftlbs without slipping and scratching the finish, but only if it’s tightened securely and the hole is uniform. Having said that, 25% of people will get it right, 25% won’t tighten enough and it slips, 25% won’t take out the full 1/4” strip and it slips, and 25% will overtighten and strip the nuts.

With most things in life a 25% success rate is not great, so my ability to teach is greatly in doubt before you’ve even tried this, so it’s worth what you paid.

Avoid the temptation to use two strap wrenches from the plumbing isle - they may get you the torque, but they may leave marks because of the way a lot of rubbing pressure is placed on a small section of steel as it’s tightened and stretched. Having said that, many savage nuts have been torqued with those, but not by me.

 

[TaperPin]

We must have been writing at the same time. Disreguard. Lol

 

[Dave M.]

Hello, I had a 6.5 X 284 Rem 700 receiver that needed work (the bolt, actually).

A local gunsmith removed the barrel from the receiver, so I could send only the receiver and bolt to another gunsmith (Chad Dixon) to do work my local gunsmith could not do.

I just received the receiver / bolt back, and my local gunsmith is out of town...

I decided to re-attach the barrel to the receiver myself, tightened by hand
I added grease and anti-seize to the cleaned barrel threads.
Looks to be sufficient, as the threads in receiver and barrel are "tight". All surfaces look to be square and tight.

* Rem 700 LA receiver + bolt accurized and blueprinted by Chad Dixon (prior purchase 10 years ago)
* Barrel is Krieger HV chambered and threaded by Bob Greene, PA
* recoil lug - after market double pinned, faced square by Chad Dixon w original receiver purchase
* no witness marks were used on disassembly
* this is the original barrel installed on this receiver (Bob Greene)

It seems to me that hand tightening is sufficient, given the level of machining on the receiver and bbl.

Thoughts, info, experiences appreciated.

Do you not have a Remington 700 action wrench and a barrel vise? Even if you have these things you could get it way tighter than by hand. It is surprisingly how little torque you can create hand tightening the barrel. Someone around you must have an action wrench, barrel vise and torque wrench. I torque all of our barrels to 100 ft-lbs, which is much higher than most people have stated they use on this forum. This number comes from Speedy. Hell, if you lived closer than 2000 miles away from me, I’d say come over and I’ll do it for you.

 

[jelenko]

100lb is a bunch!

 

[CT10ring]

We must have been writing at the same time. Disreguard. Lol

Given the action has been trued up, putting 50 ft lbs of torque on it is a common amount.

If you aren’t going to wait, and we know you aren’t, 50 ft lbs is pretty easy to hold for. Take an 30” section of 2x6 Douglas fir board and use a hole saw to make a 1-1/4” cross hole 6” from one end for the barrel and a 7/16” hole on each side through the full 5-1/2” depth about 3/4” away from the big cross hole. Split length ways along the grain removing 1/4” of wood, use 3/8” allthread, long coupler nuts or grade 5 or 8 nuts, and big 1/4” thick washers from the electrical isle at Home Depot to clamp tight. Degrease and wrap barrel with drywall tape to protect the finish. Repeat for front of the action with a 1-3/8” hole. 50 ft lbs is the same as a downward pressure of 25 lbs on the 2’ lever you just made.

That will easily hold 50 ftlbs without slipping and scratching the finish, but only if it’s tightened securely and the hole is uniform. Having said that, 25% of people will get it right, 25% won’t tighten enough and it slips, 25% won’t take out the full 1/4” strip and it slips, and 25% will overtighten and strip the nuts.

With most things in life a 25% success rate is not great, so my ability to teach is greatly in doubt before you’ve even tried this, so it’s worth what you paid.

Avoid the temptation to use two strap wrenches from the plumbing isle - they may get you the torque, but they may leave marks because of the way a lot of rubbing pressure is placed on a small section of steel as it’s tightened and stretched. Having said that, many savage nuts have been torqued with those, but not by me.

Great info. I post to learn + appreciated. the correct 25%, that is the question.

 

[CT10ring]

Do you not have a Remington 700 action wrench and a barrel vise? Even if you have these things you could get it way tighter than by hand. It is surprisingly how little torque you can create hand tightening the barrel. Someone around you must have an action wrench, barrel vise and torque wrench. I torque all of our barrels to 100 ft-lbs, which is much higher than most people have stated they use on this forum. This number comes from Speedy. Hell, if you lived closer than 2000 miles away from me, I’d say come over and I’ll do it for you.

No barrel vise, or action wrench, and yes, I know what they are. I do have a pro grade torque wrench.
Fortunately, gunsmith called today and I drove out and he did the work. 10 minutes.
Thanks for the reply. If I move east, I'll be in touch

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Sorry - did I miss the part where you mentioned headspace gauges?

 

[DShortt]

Sorry - did I miss the part where you mentioned headspace gauges?

If it was previously fitted to a trued action it would be highly unusual for the headspace to change at all. Especially after being torqued.

A prefit on an untrued action might show a change but even then probably not if it was set on a previous installation and torqued.

 

[Jayplace]

My local gunsmith - just back in, agreed to put my barrel back on ASAP, which was this afternoon. Nice!
He used a torque wrench set at 100 lbs.
Now I know.

You did the right thing.

 

[Jayplace]

100lb is a bunch!

Actually it isn't. Look up the torque spec for the thread diameter and pitch for a common bolt that size.

 

[CT10ring]

If it was previously fitted to a trued action it would be highly unusual for the headspace to change at all. Especially after being torqued.

A prefit on an untrued action might show a change but even then probably not if it was set on a previous installation and torqued.

If it was previously fitted to a trued action it would be highly unusual for the headspace to change at all. Especially after being torqued.

A prefit on an untrued action might show a change but even then probably not if it was set on a previous installation and torqued.

Sorry - did I miss the part where you mentioned headspace gauges?

I chambered my non-primered, no powder, headspaced, shoulder set back .002 dummy round - with a Lapua Scenar 139g bullet - in the barreled action and it all felt right. My motto : "Ignorance is bliss-up to a point". I feel safe shooting this rifle and I appreciate the information and comments from those who know.

 

[TaperPin]

Great info. I post to learn + appreciated. the correct 25%, that is the question.

In the future if you want to go to 100 ft lbs, I wouldn’t use the makeshift vice I described, but there are many inexpensive barrel vices that are much more robust.
Glad to hear you had a chance to watch your gunsmith torque it on - takes a lot of the mystery out of it.

 

[Evan]

In a pinch, say at a match with a loose barrel, you might be surprised how tight you can get a barrel by “snapping” it tight. Run it up hand tight, back off a quarter turn or so, then snap it tight as quickly and firmly as you can. Taking it apart is not possible without a wrench if done correctly.

 

[Fast14riot]

With an action wrench and a set up like this you can get 100ft/lb pretty easily. Powdered sugar makes an excellent substitute for rosin creating grip. Thats only a 4" vise, removing the old barrel nut I had to beat this thing with a BFH like it owed me money.