Just tried to remove a smooth barrel nut. Fresh/sharp 15" pipe wrench, after 2 days of drenching in Kroil. The only thing that turned was the barrel in the barrel vise. After tightening I tried again with my considerable body mass leaning on the wrench. I will continue soaking with Kroil and try again in 2 more days. Any suggestions. I have to be putting around 100 - 150 foot pounds on it.
What works for me is to take a mallet and smacking the wrench. And put the action in the vise instead of the barrel.
I use the side of the mallet instead of on of the heads, meaning the heads of the mallet are pointing sideways. I however have never used a pipe wrench, just a smooth barrel nut wrench made by wheeler.
This has been discussed many times on this site. What You are experiencing is exactly why I don't use a barrel vise on a new tear down. Barrel vise is fine after the initial. The first time, I support the action.
I'm willing to bet if You put some heat on that nut, it will come right loose.
A) Clean off the excess Kroil from around the barrel nut. B) Wrap the area between the barrel nut and barrel vise with a wet rag. C) Wrap the receiver with a wet rag. D) Heat the barrel nut with propane torch. E) Immediately after heating the nut, take your pipe wrench put it on the barrel nut and hit the pipe wrench with a mallet or piece of 2x4.
I use a barrel Vise, Heat, support the action, and I smack it with a 15 pound block that has no bounce. One was so stubborn, that I took a cut off wheel and cut the barrel nut in a couple of spots, but not all the way through to the barrel and obviously staying away from the action.
The pipe wrench can squeeze on the nut pretty good and that means crushing it against the barrel thread pretty good. You might be fighting the barrel vise. Loosen the pipe wrench until it grips the nut and then hits on the throat of the jaw without much pressure. Too little it slips, to much it crushes.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well.
I started with multiple Kroilings for 3 days. NSS action wrench secured in a wood jaw workbench vice, with handle in place. New Harbor Freight pipe wrench. One blow with a dead blow hammer, with knee bracing the action wrench handle. Plan B was to try a Vice-Grip type tool. Of course I was worried about the side effects of the wrench and mallet, but the new barrel threaded in easily.
Finally broke free!!! I was getting worried after my first try, but it budged this morning and the action spun off easily. The smooth nut is a write off but I have a regular grooved nut on the way. With the 14" wrench and my weight I would guess it took for more the 150 foot pounds. I wonder what the factory spec is on torque is? Or is it grit and/or blueing salts that make them so tight.
It's the grit. The only way I get them to brake free is to hit the pipe wrench with a heavy hammer. Steel on steel.
ever think of using a plasma cutter..?
^ Is this a serious suggestion? ^
Clean up the goo with brake cleaner, then heat the nut with a torch.
We are not talking about red hot here, 300 degrees will do it.
Get the pipe wrench on it, It should break loose.
If you have to go to the following DO NOT CUT DOWN TO THE THREADS, you are only relieving tension and a partial cut does that.
If not then its time for a dremeil tool and very carefully cut the nut along its axis . (pun too) and try again.
If not, then repeat at 180 degrees, then again at 90. It will come off with 4 in it (I would call that 100% but have not done it on one of these, other mechanical items yes)
This is a some and some. Some nuts come off pretty easily and some come off hard, segmented or smooth.
Smooth nut is always a write off me thinks.Originally Posted by strut64
One segmented nut came off hard, agrees, 150 ft lobs plus, I had a 14 inch breaker bar on as well as the NSS nut wrench of 7.5 inches.
I am well over 200 lbs and I had a great deal of my weight on it. More locked in than a smooth nut and pipe wrench, ergh.
Small die grinder, dremel tool and a cutoff wheel. Cut the nut but DON'T cut all the way thru to the threads on the barrel. Make several cuts around the nut. Cold chisel and hammer, tap, tap, tap. Will probably break off. If you have gentle hands you could turn the cutoff wheel sideways to the nut and work it back and forth slowly and lightly. If there is enough tension on the nut it might crack when it gets thin enough. Have never done this myself but have 25 years as a heavy equipment mechanic and welder under my belt and have dealt with some of the most miserable p.o.s you can imagine. Patience is the key, especially if you are trying to save the barrel.
Another user suggested heat. If you've never done anything like this all I can say is good luck. Have to remember the barrel is probably heat treated in some way from the steel mill depending on what type of steel it is. To much heat and you change the grain structure, harden it, make it brittle. I'm no metallurgist but to much heat, improper cooling can affect the barrel and not in good ways.
In one industry I worked in we had a routine job where the nut would never come off, with a wrench so we used an air hammer with a sharp flat chisel bit. Angled it just right and hammered a few times, then moved and did it again. The sharp impact from the air hammer broke the nut loose easily.
If it were me, I'd use the die grinder and cutoff wheel or a burr bit. Steady hands, patience and nibble away at it slowly.
Slow is right. Even going as slow as I did, I nicked the action just enough to knock off the finish. I don't think I would ever do it on someone else's action.
So, if you are going to cut into that barrel nut, it's at your own risk.
Exactly, know your limits. I have to do this type of stuff quite often. If you have shaky hands all the time probably not a good idea.
I had to remove a 20" barrel from a Savage PC 308 and I found the Wheeler smooth nut wrench did not clamp the nut, even on its minimum size setting. So I inserted a savage action wrench instead and the nut and barrel let go together with no problem. I replaced the barrel with a longer one and used a spare grooved barrel nut with the other , correct wrench to tighten. So my advice is to order an action wrench, and the other style of barrel nut.
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