Help. Can’t budge barrel nut

[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. :)

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.