700 Barrel Removal at Standstill

[LanceS4803]

- my neighbour had some u-bolts on a farm sprayer that would not budge with a 1500 lbft air gun. He torched them off last night. After he torched them he discovered that replacement bolts were $80 each (4 needed) so he asked me to make some new ones for him instead.

Wow, expensive. That has to hurt.

 

[jarnold37]

Maybe I am way off but when threads are seized or gauled it usually does little or no good to soak with penetrating solvent. The threads are air tight and even Kroil, which is the only penetrating oil that actually creeps. Solvents may work if threads can be worked a little back and forth and work solvents in. Had fastener frozen and it had actually been soaked in the leading penetrating solvent for a week. When finally last try, used pipe wrench and 4ft extension to break loose and the entire threads were dry. They were definitely sealed against anything penetrating. Heat is almost a sure effect on releasing sized threads only usually ruined finish due to the required temp to expand the metal

 

[atblis]

My suspicion is that while he did apply heat and measure the surface temperature the actual amount of heat that made it to the thread locker was not sufficient. that's why I was getting at about putting the whole thing in an oven to bring it up to a uniform temp. I've done that before and it worked great.

 

[Will Gray]

My major concern was that I would damage or distort the action. I have only had one really tight barrels on an old Model 700. I had an action wrench and I did not like the fit but I put it on tight. The force needed to turn it was HIGH. I I thought it may have been caused by distortion of the action which made it so difficult to turn.

 

[ntsqd]

I've had PB Blaster, CRC's "Knock-R-Loose", and the old GM Heat Valve Lube all work their way thru seized or rusted threads. I don't think that it can be said that Kroil is the only penetrating oil that creeps. For that matter, the J.P. Wieggle rust protectant oil's claim to fame is that it creeps thru the whole internal surface of what ever it is sprayed into.

 

[Will Gray]

I have read that the best penetrating fluid is a 50/50 mix of acetone and transmission fluid.

 

[George Dean]

Two cans of Loktite Freeze are on the way. One review said it works great on small fasteners but didn't touch large ones. Not sure the reviewer understood the underlying principles to use it correctly. Anyway, I want it for both, so it will be interesting to see how well it works. Too bad I didn't get it sooner - my neighbour had some u-bolts on a farm sprayer that would not budge with a 1500 lbft air gun. He torched them off last night. After he torched them he discovered that replacement bolts were $80 each (4 needed) so he asked me to make some new ones for him instead.

I'll add to this post whenever I get to use the stuff.

I used Kroil to remove the gas block from a long neglected ceremonial Garand. Soaked it for two days and it came right off. There is also an aerosol version available now.

 

[jarnold37]

I used Kroil to remove the gas block from a long neglected ceremonial Garand. Soaked it for two days and it came right off. There is also an aerosol version available now.

The power plants and other plants most all use kroil. Watched a test with pop bottles turned upside down with several different penetrating oils with caps tight. Kroil was the only one that seeped through. Granted it was plastic but none of the others seeped out

 

[ntsqd]

NRG's Mandalay Power Station is where I was introduced to Knock-R-Loose. It was the only penetrating oil option on the plant that had the Pacific Ocean for it's western property boundary. It was sometimes impressive and sometimes not. I have Kroil in the cabinet next to the PB Blaster and a few others. Blaster is what I reach for as it has done the best job for me. I have some aerosol cans that are re-usable and I've been thinking to mix up some of the acetone & ATF blend and try it in one of those.

I don't get the impression that the Lock-tite product is a traditional penetrating oil. I'm eager to see how it works. I have some in my Pegasus cart, but I don't order from them very often.

 

[LanceS4803]

Project Farm does some really good comparison studies:

 

[scheme]

Well, I guess I'm a little late on this, but, since I finally joined the forum (after just stalking for a long time) because of this thread, I'm going to post anyway.
I'm far from a pro (gunsmith, but could be applied pretty well to anything!), but I've taken off a few barrels. A recent one was quite stubborn. A good vise is key, as has been discussed, and penetrating oils always help. A sharp impact to break things loose is also important, especially with thread lock. What we stumbled on was to use BOTH action wrench types. Tried the Brownell's wrench first, as it has always worked before. Couldn't break it loose, even with hammer blows. Went over to a neighbor that also smiths a little and tried his that slides into the action, with no luck, and I was getting nervous about messing up the action. Put the wrench on the outside with hard steady torque, and put the other wrench on a battery powered impact (has a 1/2" square for a break over bar). Took about 5 blows from the impact wrench to break it loose! Luckily, not a mark anywhere.

Enjoyed the thread, and thanks for getting me off the fence about joining.

 

[Tommytrees]

Welcome to the forum. As you have seen in this thread and other, there are a lot of people here who are helpful. Enjoy.
Be safe, be well. Tommy

 

[Muddyboots]

I think one of the lessons I took from this ordeal was "thread locker" can become "thread sealer" which then "prevents" penetrating oils/products from seeping down the threads. When a renowned gunsmith has to "chirp" his vise a second time to secure the barrel, that is telling me "HOLY COW" that bugger was "locked" in place really bad. In 99.99% of cases without thread locker, I bet the penetrating products will help just to facilitate the release of the barrel.

What I would like to see is someone to take that penetrating oil/product test and use thread locker on the testing material and then see the effectiveness of the penetrating oil/products. Whole different scenario.

 

[Muddyboots]

Well, I guess I'm a little late on this, but, since I finally joined the forum (after just stalking for a long time) because of this thread, I'm going to post anyway.
I'm far from a pro (gunsmith, but could be applied pretty well to anything!), but I've taken off a few barrels. A recent one was quite stubborn. A good vise is key, as has been discussed, and penetrating oils always help. A sharp impact to break things loose is also important, especially with thread lock. What we stumbled on was to use BOTH action wrench types. Tried the Brownell's wrench first, as it has always worked before. Couldn't break it loose, even with hammer blows. Went over to a neighbor that also smiths a little and tried his that slides into the action, with no luck, and I was getting nervous about messing up the action. Put the wrench on the outside with hard steady torque, and put the other wrench on a battery powered impact (has a 1/2" square for a break over bar). Took about 5 blows from the impact wrench to break it loose! Luckily, not a mark anywhere.

Enjoyed the thread, and thanks for getting me off the fence about joining.

Welcome aboard Scheme! Picked a heck of a post to "trigger" you to become "alive" on LRH!
Muddy!