Action wrench for savage and DIY barrel vise

[Stockrex]

Do they make action wrenches for savage actions? I saw one for a remmy 700, will that fit a savage? (to me it looks like it should work)

Did anyone make their own barrel vise? how thick do I cut the wooden blocks? any details pics will help this first timer greatly :-)

[TORCHRIDER]

The action vice for the Rem 700 will work. Instead of getting a barrel vice you may want to consider getting just a barrel nut wrench. I swap barrels all the time without a barrel vice.

[ellobo]

Back before I ever heard of an action wrench and having given up on a barrel vice I was at wits end (happens freqently). Necessity being the mother of invention I did this; I found out how to remove the magazine box from the action. I trimmed a pc of 2x4 to fit the hole in the bottom of the action and put that in a vice. I then repetedly pounded on the nut wrench with a 500 lb hammer (just kidding). It finaly came loose. The wood held the action nicely and I could discern no damage to the action. Used that method again on 2 more actions, all on stagger feed actions. Never had a problem with those actions.

El Lobo

[TORCHRIDER]

Wow, I would be afraid of twisting the action with that method, but I guess it is stronger than I thought. I put the action wrench in a vice and use the barrel nut wrench. Works like a charm even on stubborn factory installed barrels.

[Cycler]

Here is an article from Precision Shooting magazine that goes into great detail about building a barrel vise, etc.

http://www.precisionshooting.com/psm_2011_08_frame.html

[pdog06]

Wheeler action wrench from midwayUSA and a barrel nut wrench is all you need.

[ellobo]

Torchy,
I think the wood thing didnt warp the action is because it covered or supported a goodly span of the action plus the actions are hardened. Its the hardening process that warps the action to beginn with. Those action with one exception were older and who knows what corrosion may have set in to weld them tight. The barrel vise made of oak was tightened to the point of breaking and rosin added on the surfaces for grippage (is there such a word?) I mispoke in the first post, I only did two actions that way not three. The third I cut the nut off with a dremmel.

El Lobo

[Stockrex]

I cut the nut off with a dremmel.
El Lobo


Ouch, let's make sure my wife does not read this.... ;-)

Cycler, get article, exactly what I needed.

pdog, so I need to prevent the action from slipping while I turn the nut? no need to hold the barrel?

[drybean]

+1 to pdog6 works every time
drybean

[cooker900]

whelen #2

[pdog06]

pdog, so I need to prevent the action from slipping while I turn the nut? no need to hold the barrel?


You can do it either way, but if the nut is really tight the barrel could spin in the blocks(and scar the barrel), or the action could warp(cause nothing is supporting it), or it just spins on the threads. Dont get me wrong, I have done it this way for a long time with good results, but also had a few barrels that I had a heck of a time removing. Along with some that I couldnt get off. I bought an action wrench and never looked back. Now I can change barrels on the trunk of my car, or tailgate of my truck, or wherever i need to(dont laugh, members here have seen me do this).

Even though the nut is threaded onto the barrel, it still locks itself to the action and recoil lug. They are the two items that need broken loose so why not put wrenches on them. Plus you will not take the chance of warping an action on the tough jobs.

Just to see it a different way, look at it like a nut and bolt you are trying to break loose. You put one wrench on the nut. Now would you put wood blocks on the threaded part of the bolt to hold it or would you put a wrench on the hex head of the bolt. and unlock the two?

[teebirdhyzer]

I tried using a nut wrench and barrel vise to get my first barrel swap done. After much disgust, a lot of penetrating oil, a crow bar, dead blow hammer, four thousand and seventy-two profanitities, and the help of an old gun tinkerer, I finally broke down and bought an action wrench. Even though I had to eventually cut that first nut off with a dremel, the ones I have done since then have been a piece of cake. You will thank yourself if you get the action wrench! Oh....and also a 3lb dead blow hammer. It makes the job that much easier when you strike that nut wrench with it!

[AKShooter]

Action wrench + barrel nut wrench = best. Anyone who has ever turned wrenches soon learns that pulling square to the rotational centerline maximizes torque. With the action in an action wrench set it on the floor with a few 4x4 pieces under it and the barrel, jam action wrench into the floor, step on barrel nut wrench to apply pressure to it and whack the end of the nut wrench with a hammer.

[ellobo]

Just to clarify; I dont recommend the pc of 2x4 method, it was as we used to say, a "field expediant". And I forgot to mention, I removed the bolt before I inserted the pc. of wood. As I said, this was before I ever heard of an action wrench. If I were to do it today I would definately use the action wrench.

El Lobo

[DougMH]

Do they make action wrenches for savage actions? I saw one for a remmy 700, will that fit a savage? (to me it looks like it should work)

Did anyone make their own barrel vise? how thick do I cut the wooden blocks? any details pics will help this first timer greatly :-)


http://www.midwayusa.com/product/710783/wheeler-engineering-action-wrench-2-remington-700-savage-110

This is the action wrench that I use in the following video. In the video, I'm working on the action for a Savage 10 FP LE, and I know it also works on 110 based actions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPlFtskCwng

[243LPR]

When setting headspace with go/no go gauge,is extractor/ejector in bolt face? Or do you have to remove them to get a good setting?

[TORCHRIDER]

Yep, that is the way that I do it. In fact I think I learned about it from this video. Thanks!





Do they make action wrenches for savage actions? I saw one for a remmy 700, will that fit a savage? (to me it looks like it should work)

Did anyone make their own barrel vise? how thick do I cut the wooden blocks? any details pics will help this first timer greatly :-)


http://www.midwayusa.com/product/710783/wheeler-engineering-action-wrench-2-remington-700-savage-110

This is the action wrench that I use in the following video. In the video, I'm working on the action for a Savage 10 FP LE, and I know it also works on 110 based actions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPlFtskCwng

[teebirdhyzer]

you only have to remove the extracter, etc. if it makes you feel more comfortable. Some do and some dont. I have never on the few I have swapped out.

[243LPR]

Good to know,thanx.

[DougMH]

This is an old post, but there is a wheeler action wrench that will work with the Savage 10/110. If you have a Savage 12, I recommend two oak blocks with small amount of rosin.

This video is for something like a Remington and you will not need the barrel vise, but you can clamp the receiver between the oak blocks the same way he clamps the barrel. Then just loosen the barrel nut and screw out the barrel. Very simple.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjZws99ty8k

Make sure you have both go and nogo gauges for when your replace the barrel to get the correct headspace.

BTW, the video above http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPlFtskCwng, is my video. My voice and the music from the old radio show "Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police."

In the video I completely fail to mention applying some sort of anti-seize compound to the threads of the barrel, receiver and barrel nut.