barrel nut torque value

[Bigeclipse]

Curious what everyone is torquing their barrel nuts to when swapping barrels. I have heard as low as 30 and as high as 90ft/lbs. Myself I have torqued to 45 on my last build but thinking about going higher on my wifes. Any reason not to go to say...60 or 70?

[Robinhood]

I am interested in what Sharpshooter has to say. I have always kept mine at 35ft/lb's. However I have never done the calculation to what effect the offset on the wrench has on the torque value. Is there a point where the torque begins to effect the chamber dimensions?

[earl39]

I torque mine to 2 or 3 good hammer blows. Never had one come loose yet.

[Bigeclipse]

I am interested in what Sharpshooter has to say. I have always kept mine at 35ft/lb's. However I have never done the calculation to what effect the offset on the wrench has on the torque value. Is there a point where the torque begins to effect the chamber dimensions?

I have heard the effect is not to much as long as you use the hole on the nut wrench closest to the barrel. Also,many nuts come from the factory as high as 90...I would guess if you stay under 60 on your wrench it would be under 90 with the offset included.

[olddav]

Just as a point of curiosity, why torque the barrel nut to a specific value?

[LoneWolf]

Just as a point of curiosity, why torque the barrel nut to a specific value?

Consistency is about all I can say. I set it to 30ft/lbs. Have since I started and have just never changed the torque wrench setting since that's all I use it for.

[Bigeclipse]

Just as a point of curiosity, why torque the barrel nut to a specific value?

Piece of mind...too loose and barrel potentially move (especially when cold) changing headspace....too tight and could hurt threads on lock nut.

[LoneWolf]

Piece of mind...too loose and barrel potentially move (especially when cold) changing headspace....too tight and could hurt threads on lock nut.

If that was an issue anything with a shouldered barrel would be in trouble every time it was cold.

[Bigeclipse]

If that was an issue anything with a shouldered barrel would be in trouble every time it was cold.

I didn't mean everything comes loose in cold but it is simple physics that metals will shrink at different rates in cold so in theory if the barrel nut is just tight enough at room temperature then it could possibly loosen up in extreme temp changes such as cold or heat. So I was speaking in theory and my face and the people around me deserve correct torque. Now I'm sure there is quite a bit of room for error...but I will say I used to torque everything by hand...including oil changes until I ruined a 300 dollar oil pan on my motorcycle. A decent torque wrench costs 100 bucks and I use it for everything so why not use it for the barrel nut.

Now I'm sure anything between 30 and 90 will work fine...just curious what everyone has been torquing too

[FW Conch]

40 ft/lbs has always worked well for me. Never has come loose in cold weather.

And, if you put the torque wrench at 90dgs to the barrel nut wrench, the offset difference is eliminated. What you are reading on the torque wrench is what you have. :-)

[Rivethead]

The wrench is calibrated from the handle to the socket lug for whatever length that is and torque applied will vary if you put a tool (such as a crow foot or a barrel wrench) on the end that extends out past the socket lug. Think of it this way, if you put a pipe cheater on the handle and made the wrench 2' longer, you'd expect the torque to be different than the scale right?

Here is a handy calculator to help figure the value...
http://www.belknaptools.com/support-library/extensions-calculator/

[LongRange]

25lbs is plenty.

[olddav]

Consistency is about all I can say. I set it to 30ft/lbs. Have since I started and have just never changed the torque wrench setting since that's all I use it for.

Seems reasonable.

[Steelhead]

I use 35-40 ft lbs on my savage and AR barrel nuts.

[foxx]

I torque mine to 2 or 3 good hammer blows. Never had one come loose yet.

Same here. Smack it and call it "good".

I doubt the factory nuts are measured for torque. I mean, the certainly could be, but they now come with crud in the threads (some say it is bluing salts, IDK) and they are crazy-stuck, but that isn't necessary.