Tore the teeth out of my barrel nut wrench!

Had a first, today. I tried to remove the barrel from a 1960s Savage, so that I can put a barrel on that I worked on a few years ago. I heated the barrel nut and receiver, then proceeded to pound, then pull on the wrench to break the nut loose. The teeth on the wrench gave way, but the nut didn't. Every tooth on the barrel nut wrench was torn out. May or may not give it a try tomorrow with the other side of the wrench. One of the other guys said he had one that way recently, and ended up using an action wrench and taking the receiver off, but leaving the nut on the barrel.

Using a wheeler wrench ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by drybean

Using a wheeler wrench ?

---

Yep. I have been putting Kroil down the threads off and on for months, too. Heated it until I was getting smoking liquid out, then gave it a try. I don't think Savage anticipated the barrel swapping market when this one was made in the '60s...

I tried a through-the-boltway wrench to take the action off, too. I gave it a tug and decided it wasn't worth damaging the action.

Cut the barrel nut, purchase a new one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by olddav

Cut the barrel nut, purchase a new one.

---

Very good advice. Take it.

I have used a dremel to do this in one case. Make 2 cuts 180deg apart. Use a chisel to crack the nut. Be careful not to cut too deep so as to not get into the threads. I used a mill vise to secure the mill vice during cutting and the barrel when using the chisel. if you end up marking the threads, then a sharp triangle file to dress the threads( or a thread file).

Did you use the wrong size on the wrench? There are two segmented nut sizes. They don't provide two for backup.

Also when you head, you do not want to heat the receiver any more than can be helped.

If you heat both then there is no difference in expansion and they stay the same.

While it can still work, the heat advice was predicated on the now fake news that Savage used a lock tite (Credit to Mr. Furious) and its remnants of polishing.

That said, heat sometimes can be effective but you have to know how to apply and it may not work.

If I had a tough nut I would do cuts with a dremel (not all the way through) in 3-4 locations and then try the wrench.

That could well relieve enough stress to allow it to come off (and make sure you have the right end of the wrench and mark it small shank and large.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by strut64

I have used a dremel to do this in one case. Make 2 cuts 180deg apart. Use a chisel to crack the nut. Be careful not to cut too deep so as to not get into the threads. I used a mill vise to secure the mill vice during cutting and the barrel when using the chisel. if you end up marking the threads, then a sharp triangle file to dress the threads( or a thread file).

---

I often use a sharp Cold Chisel without the Dremel. Make several cold chisel marks, holding chisel over main part of the nut and smacking hard enough to make a fairly deep groove. Sharp is better than dull. Do this at several points around the nut and then try and remove it with either the barrel nut wrench or a pipe wrench. The cold chisel cuts will expand the overall nut enough to release some grip on the threads. Replacing the nut is an obvious necessity after this extreme removal.

No cold chisel? Have a helper hold the barreled action on the edge of an anvil with the nut only on the anvil. Hold a piece of flat bar on top of the nut and strike it with a hammer. Have the helper rotate the barreled action about 45-90 degrees and repeat. This method "May" save the nut.

I finally won.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...602_094943.jpg

I hadn't planned to save the barrel nut or recoil lug, anyhow. I wasn't worried about giving the wrong end of the wrench a try on the second go around since I already lost the end I was most likely to need to re-use. The Dremel with a diamond cut-off wheel went right through it. I didn't touch the barrel threads on either cut, not that I'm going to re-use the barrel, either, unless I cut it off and make a barrel stub for truing barrel nuts in my lathe. Once I cut through the barrel nut, I gave the cut a few taps with a steel punch to turn it and it moved. The action came right off with no effort. I've never taken apart a bolt rifle (mostly 700s) with as pristine threading as I found in this receiver.

Threw on a barrel I threaded and had a buddy blend the brake on a few years ago and dropped it into an old Stockade fiberglass stock I got from SSS 11 years ago. Lots of bedding prep to do. I need a new barrel nut, probably new action screws, and maybe a new magazine box. This was originally a hinged floorplate Savage 110 from the late '60s and the magazine box has a latch on the side that interferes with the stock and I don't think I want to relieve the side of the magazine well enough to clear it. We'll see, but I'm a lot farther than I have been for the last 13 years!
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...604_154420.jpg

Looks like you recovered nicely.

I do like the NSS wrench. It seems totally solid. Some of the Wheeler stuff not so much.

Never hurts to save the barrel, usually you can get a bit of money out of it.