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Ruger sr556 barrel ?

BigBlueandGoldie said:
This is why I'm not a fan of proprietary systems; you are at the mercy of the manufacturers or you pay an arm and a leg to reproduce what they won't sell you. I would clamp that thing in a barrel vise, warm it with a torch, and using a solid punch and hammer whack the nut loose. If you can't see the nut when the handguard is installed a little marring is no big deal.
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And I would really warm that nut, enough to get any oil or loc-tite or anything else they used bubbling and with that solid punch and a 24oz hammer rap it smartly. Make sure barrel vise is tight. I'm thinking you are unscrewing this nut off the action and not off the barrel.
 
Why are you replacing the barrel ? Wouldn't it be better to replace the upper and barrel as a unit , keeping or selling the Ruger upper/barrel ?
 
Ggmac said:
Why are you replacing the barrel ? Wouldn't it be better to replace the upper and barrel as a unit , keeping or selling the Ruger upper/barrel ?
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Barrel has 3800 rough use rounds through the rifle and the piston system has held up well. I have 3 new AR barrels in the cabinet from my service rifle comp days so I just wanted to use what I had.

When I started I didn't really think this was going to happen. Now I kinda just want to see it thru and figure it out. That's just my personality. Hey I can always buy an upper if it comes down to it. And that won't be a Ruger, just saying.

Nick
 
I understand completely .
Good luck
I would make sure the Ruger bolt fits ( correctly ) the mil spec barrel extension you plan on using . Bolt nose depth , headspace etc.
 
Most of those are going to have loc-tite on them, including a bunch of factory free float tubes. You can buy a heat gun at most hardware stores for about $30 that will soften loc-tite/glue without causing damage to anything else. You will need to make a wrench to fit it, not that difficult with the proper equipment.
 
It's been a while since I broke one down, but if memory serves me I removed the piston guide and used a strap wrench with rosin and a piece of paper. Make a slurry with rosin and denatured alcohol and you can brush a nice, thin, even coat of it around your part, let the alcohol evaporate, and go to work. Hold the upper in a set of blocks that trap both top and bottom securely, NOT one of those jinky contraptions that hold it by the pin lugs.
 
I understand you headspaced to the new barrel ,my point was maybe the Ruger barrel extension positions the extension in a different spot . You never know what a company will do to make it proprietary .
 
What if Rutgers barrel extension frt collar is +~ .030 . That's just a # I pulled out of the air but I think it makes sense .
 
I think your best bet is to turn a piece of heavy walled tubing to slip fit over the barrel nut, then use a dividing head to drill and tap several 1/4 allen screws into it to fit in the notches, then weld the assembly to a long handle.

Strangely that nut looks similar to the nut on the Bridgeport head I am rebuilding right now. I too did not like the look of using a spanner wrench so what I did was warm it up with a heat gun, then hit it with a punch and hammer on the notches till it busted free and then used the spanner. Worked great.
 
Hey guys just wanted to give an update on this barrel project. Here is what I came up with.
0516162255~2~2.jpg 0516162314b~2.jpg
It worked like a charm. It didn't need any heat but I soaked it with Kroil for 3 days and it did break loose with a 2 foot pipe wrench and a fair amount of force. There was deffinetly a good blob of red thread lock goop inside the barrel nut.


thanks for all of the comments and help.

I don't see many of these rifles but should anybody need this for a future project let me know I would be glad to send it out for use.

Thanks again
Nick
 
NickB1075 said:
Hey guys just wanted to give an update on this barrel project. Here is what I came up with.
View attachment 981687 View attachment 981688
It worked like a charm. It didn't need any heat but I soaked it with Kroil for 3 days and it did break loose with a 2 foot pipe wrench and a fair amount of force. There was deffinetly a good blob of red thread lock goop inside the barrel nut.


thanks for all of the comments and help.

I don't see many of these rifles but should anybody need this for a future project let me know I would be glad to send it out for use.

Thanks again
Nick
Click to expand...
AWESOME JOB! !
 
So far you're the first to document this process aside from sent it to a Smith. I imagine you'll get some requests to borrow that tool.

Awesome job!
 
Thanks for all the great and positive comments.

I am very happy the way that this came out.

I am new to machining and self taught. I really enjoy projects like this to learn. It is one thing to mill and turn material for practice but when you have to produce a working tool that is where it's at

I do know a dividing head/rotary table or super spacer are on the short list of items to buy now. There is always another tool to buy.

Thanks
Nick
 
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