Help. Can’t budge barrel nut

[Cmgoff]

Wrap barrel with duct tape to stop slipping in blocks. Be careful with a action wrench, it is easy to bend the action rails. But, Cmgoff has it right, you are working against yourself with just a barrel block. Soak the nut and heat just the nut with a propane torch......not barrel too. Hit the backed up nut several times with hammer. Hit the barrel nut wrench a sharp blow with 2# steel hammer....not dead blow hammer! You want a SHOCK! If that fails, cut nut several places, just be careful not to cut threads. Since the nut is a loss....you could grind a cold chisel to fit the slots in nut and drive it off.

BillI have heard of people bending actions but have never actually seen it done. Savage barrel nuts are pretty easy compared to the Remington barrels and even those, so long as you are paying attention and only apply torque to the wrench weather than bending the action.

Also I really do not recommend using a hammer or a dead blow for any action removal. This is a good way to do unnecessary damage when a breaker bar could have been used.

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[Robinhood]

Cmgoff, Many times the actions are bent is when a hack puts something through the ejection port through the mag port to get leverage.

[Newtosavage]

Ive seen that used but don’t have any. We have a Dick’s Sporting Goods here. I could check there tomorrow

I couldn't find any in my small town so I used table sugar. It worked great. I wiped the blocks with a damp towel then sprinkled sugar on the blocks. The moisture held the sugar in place. That was the trick I needed to get mine off. I couldn't believe what a difference it made. The sugar just washes right off the barrel afterwards.

[Newtosavage]

Thats a a great idea. I used to have my clubs regripped twice a year.

I regrip my own clubs and always have golf grip tape on hand. That was the first thing I tried. It didn't work. Sugar worked much better.

[Newtosavage]

VICTORY IS MINE! I got it! Thanks for all of the help and great ideas. The secret ingredient turned out to be powdered cane sugar on the block. Hard to believe that’s all it took. Threads on the nut look bad. Need to replace it.

That's a pretty great feeling ain't it. ;)

[tobnpr]

Without a precisely fit bushing in a barrel vise, you may not get enough surface area contact to grip with the torque needed...which is why I always use an action wrench held by a vise.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the tool of choice for this, and it ain't a dremel....a pipe wrench will never slip on a barrel nut.
If the customer has a smooth nut, I tell them up front it's going to be trashed. Slotted, I'll give it a limited amount of effort with the nut wrench to "save" it. But they're so cheap, I regard them as one notch above "disposable" and it's not worth expending much labor trying to get one off without buggering it up.

[RustyShackle]

I bought the wheeler eng. action wrench from midway. It’s “OK”. The bolt used to secure the action to the wrench is rather soft, and should be replaced, although to a certain extent a soft bolt will protect damage to the threads in the action. I bent the “soft” bolt supplied on the initial barrel removal. I folded duct tape back on itself and used that to prevent any marring on the receiver, possibly that was the cause, however I really cranked down on the clamp bolts. Guess I should run some numbers and see if it’s possibly to “extrude” and damage a receiver by applying too high of a torque to the clamp.

[foxx]

I wrap electrical tape around the factory barrel to protect it, then put between the blocks in the wheeler vise. If dead blow hammer doesn't work, I retighten the vise and hit the nut wrench with a 5 pound hammer. The steel on steel shock usually breaks them loose. If it still wants to spin, I will put a small, thin piece of plywood through the action rails, and hit the wrench again with the 5 pound hammer, holding the plywood a bit as I smack it. As long as the barrel is held securely, and the wood is thin and weak, held up against the very front of the action slots, putting a little counter-resistance on the action won't hurt anything.

In the last few years, I have removed several hundred new Savage factory barrels from their actions this way. Never damaged a barrel or an action doing so. Actually freed a dozen 12fv barrels earlier this afternoon. If that makes me a "hack", so be it. :)

[RustyShackle]

In the last few years, I have removed several hundred new Savage factory barrels from their actions this way. Never damaged a barrel or an action doing so. Actually freed a dozen 12fv barrels earlier this afternoon. If that makes me a "hack", so be it. :)


:o Dang...

[Haiku_Rodney]

I could not get the nut to budge with a barrel wrench and also went to an action wrench.

[big honkin jeep]

Just a tip I picked up a while back, A bicycle innertube is a great thing to have on hand when swapping barrels. It can be a slip cover for the barrel to prevent marring, provide a grip surface, and will also let you remove a smooth barrel nut without marring when using a pipe wrench if you're careful. It's now part of my bench tool kit.

[OLEJOE]

I line my action wrench with a business card and it prevents damage to the finish and reduces slipping. I use the rosin in my barrel blocks and have had zero issues. Removed the barrel from a Howa action easily and most people have to cut the barrel just ahead of the action to get them off. I did not know about the sugar but I'll give it a try.

[tobnpr]

I'll pass along a trade trick, that I got from another smith when I was cussing a Tikka T3x barrel that I couldn't stop from spinning, despite a custom split bushing I machined to match the taper...

Take a tiny bit of medium grit AlOx out of your blast cabinet (if ya got one), mix with a few drops of machine oil to make a slurry- light coat evenly spread in lieu of rosin. Took about 600 ft. lbs. but that Tikka (and others since) lost the battle ;).

[Newtosavage]

Just a tip I picked up a while back, A bicycle innertube is a great thing to have on hand when swapping barrels. It can be a slip cover for the barrel to prevent marring, provide a grip surface, and will also let you remove a smooth barrel nut without marring when using a pipe wrench if you're careful. It's now part of my bench tool kit.

Bicycle innertube is one of the first things I tried, after the two-sided golf grip tape. Didn't work either. I figured it would.

[Wayne Nixon]

On a couple sporter barrels I used one of my wife's old rubber gloves she uses to wash dishes. Cut the finger off and slipped it on the barrel, gave a good gripping surface and left no mar on surface of barrel. Now when she gets new ones I grab the old ones for shop.