Muzzle brakes badly botched, what to do.

[el matador]

I'm putting together a few rifles for a buddy of mine and wanted brakes installed. I did some research and found a gunsmith not too far away that got good reviews, and specializes in long range precision rifles. So I brought him 4 barreled actions and 4 Muscle Brakes. 3 of the barrels were factory threaded.

His instructions were:
Set back shoulder .100" on factory threaded barrels to square them up.
Thread 1 barrel 5/8-24
Re-crown all 4 barrels
Taper brakes to barrel diameter
Time the brakes and bore out for 30 cal.
Finish each to match the gun (2 black cerakote, 1 bead blast, 1 bright SS)

Price quote was $500 which seemed fair.

When I went to pick them up he had not tapered the brakes. Said we never discussed that. He had not even filed the sharp edged down! At this point I should have taken my guns and left without paying, but I'm an idiot. I told him these were not usable since they would destroy my soft cases in no time, and were butt ugly to boot. Also the finish did not match at all. He had used some kind of brown patina or bluing on the stainless steel. So I told him to taper them down to barrel diameter and I'd be back (thinking I could get them cerakoted elsewhere).

Went to pick them up later on and they still looked like garbage. Each brake was around .120" larger than barrel diameter, leaving an ugly shoulder. The finish was horrific, like someone took a belt sander to them. One was badly galled. He now wanted $650 for the job because it took extra work to taper and refinish them. Well, I was ****ed. And foolishly I paid him the original $500 just so I could get out of there.

After getting home and taking a closer look I noticed a few other things. All 4 actions were scratched up (brand new guns), and all will need to be refinished. I'm talking scratches right through the cerakote. The brakes were bored out to .360" (more than .050" over .308"), much more than the .020-.030" we had discussed. None of the shoulders had been set back (still had that rounded shoulder from factory sanding of barrel). The thread tenon on the barrel he threaded sticks out into the brake .050".

So mostly I'm just venting here, but I wanted some advice on what to do with these brakes. I can fix the tapering and cosmetics, but what about the excessive bore diameter? Would you scrap these and buy new ones or go ahead and use them with .050" of clearance? He told me they were done with a drill bit, which makes sense because one is badly galled on the inside.

For anyone looking for a gunsmith to avoid this was Michael Gerulat of Utah Rifle in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Thats a pretty cruddy situation.

My biggest concern is that drilling brakes to set hole size could yeild a larger hole that still runs out because drills will just follow the bore.

To re do this work could yeild and even greater bore dia further hurting the effectiveness of the brake.

I personally prefer to cut threads and a shoulder to match the bore and usually the barrel only drops less than an inch. Then crown and bore the brake, and finish the od last.

Your best bet is to go with new brakes and a new smith, but your gonna pay to do all the work over again + new brakes.

Id be happy to do them for you but youll have to pay to ship to texas and im sure your not liking the idea of extra expenses at this point.

 

[el matador]

Thanks for the offer and input. I am not too concerned about how efficient these brakes are since 3 of them are 300 Win Mags and 1 is a .308. I'm more worried about accuracy issues from the large bore, and potentially the runout of the bore caused by using a drill bit. And the biggest dilemma here is cost. These guns are Remington 5R's and Senderos which were purchased with the intent of building some fairly accurate and inexpensive long range guns. I'm already $225 into each of these brakes and they are far from being finished.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

You could opt to have the bores trued to the barrel bore and then finish contoured so long as there is enough matl left on the brake.

I dont know if having too big of a bore in a muzzle brake will be a detriment to accuracy but i imagine if it were it wouldnt be much so long as the bore were true. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on that.

The other problems like setting back shoulders and crappy crowns are a pretty easy fix once the smith dials in the barrel.

Re cerakoting the actions and barrels wont be cheap. I personally would just tolerate the scratches and only re spray the ones that the muzzle break needs to match. I feel your pain. Its nice to enjoy something fresh and new for at least a little while.

 

[el matador]

A few photos for your viewing displeasure

Bore galling:

Damage from action wrench:

Sanding:

Thread tenon:

Notice rounded shoulder on barrel, and poor fitment of brake to barrel:

 

[el matador]

You could opt to have the bores trued to the barrel bore and then finish contoured so long as there is enough matl left on the brake.

I dont know if having too big of a bore in a muzzle brake will be a detriment to accuracy but i imagine if it were it wouldnt be much so long as the bore were true. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on that.

The other problems like setting back shoulders and crappy crowns are a pretty easy fix once the smith dials in the barrel.

Re cerakoting the actions and barrels wont be cheap. I personally would just tolerate the scratches and only re spray the ones that the muzzle break needs to match. I feel your pain. Its nice to enjoy something fresh and new for at least a little while.

Right now I'm thinking I'll throw each brake on a mandrel and taper them down for a decent looking fit. Then sandblast and do a DIY cerakote (spray can + oven). Since these guns will probably see a lot of use I might just deal with the cosmetic imperfections until it's time for new barrels. The Sendero needs the thread tenon cut back though so I'll need a gunsmith for that.

Regarding the crown: They are angled (probably 11*) but there's zero chamfer on the inside. Basically a razor sharp edge where the rifling ends. I've always seen a light chamfer there, do you see any issues?

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Yeah i see. Not as bad as i initially thought, but i see what youre talking about.

The only major concern i have is in the last picture. It looks like the brake may not be contacting the shoulder all the way around. Ive seen this with cheap brakes and bad installs and is usally a sign of poor alignment. That one may need to be straightened out and re timed.

Everything else is an easy fix, mostly cosmetic. Id say contact the smith and give him the oppurtunity to rectify it, but im not sure he has the proper tools, and he has done a lack luster job with the two chances he was given thus far.

I think you should find a new smith and see if he will correct the work for you. Its unfortunate but it may be your best solution.

There is nothing wrong with a sharp bore/crown junction, some leave it sharp some put a tiny 45* there. I like em sharp, i think it shoots better but i cant proove it.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I cant tell if the brakes still have burrs or if its just crud in there. Its a pain to get all the burrs out of some brakes but it needs to be done or crap will build up on them and could contact a bullet. Round edges and smooth surfaces dont collect as much junk and clean up easier.

Its a common issue but a good smith will fix it.

 

[J E Custom]

All I can say is WOW.

I looked at all of the pictures and saw nothing that was done right.

1 = The barrel threads should be cut on a lathe, and the shoulder that the brake seats on so it will be square so the brake will make up solid.

2 = The finished bore should be cut with a boring bar so it will be concentric to the bore. (You can drill a pilot hole, as long as it is no larger than it needs to be to get the boring bar in it. Bore diameter should not be more than .025 larger than the bullet diameter and not less than .020 larger than the bullet diameter to be effective.

3 = the back of the brake should be tapered down to the barrel size or at least chamfered if the owner likes it that way.

4 = The finish is very poor and should be polished to remove the file marks. (I am sure the brakes did not come like that).

5 = the barrel tenon is two long for the brake and protrudes inside to far. (The crown should be at least one caliber away from the face of the first baffle or at least flush with the back of the rear port
for best performance.

6 = The finish is very bad and should be bead blasted and the barrel and brake should be coated with the same system in order to match.

If the bore of the muzzle brake is more than .025 larger than the bullet diameter the brake should be replaced with new brakes and given to a competent smith for a proper installation.

The rejected brakes can be salvaged by using them on a larger caliber and bored correctly so you wont loose everything you have spent.

Sorry about your troubles.

J E CUSTOM

 

[el matador]

I cant tell if the brakes still have burrs or if its just crud in there. Its a pain to get all the burrs out of some brakes but it needs to be done or crap will build up on them and could contact a bullet. Round edges and smooth surfaces dont collect as much junk and clean up easier.

Its a common issue but a good smith will fix it.

He did not remove the burrs from the inside. Heck, he didn't even remove them from the outside until I complained, haha!

Do you think he used a butter knife to make some of these cuts?

I'm trying to be optimistic here. The good news is that these are long range rifles and from 800 yards away the imperfections are not as visible

Thanks for the replies, I'm still trying to decide whether to chuck these brakes or clean them up and use them.

 

[Longrang3r]

Odd that he had such good reviews, yet did such horrible work for you. Sorry for your bad luck, that's terrible.

 

[shortgrass]

That guy might be a heck of a 'repair' gunsmith or do a good job as a metal finisher, but his work making custom alterations/gunsmith machining leave much to be desired. The term/description "gunsmith" seems to get applied much to easily these days.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

He did not remove the burrs from the inside. Heck, he didn't even remove them from the outside until I complained, haha!

Do you think he used a butter knife to make some of these cuts?

I'm trying to be optimistic here. The good news is that these are long range rifles and from 800 yards away the imperfections are not as visible

Thanks for the replies, I'm still trying to decide whether to chuck these brakes or clean them up and use them.

He rushed it on the compound. Physically doesnt hurt anything, but easy to do right so if he wasnt willing to take care of the simple little things, what about the important big things?

 

[el matador]

Supposedly he specializes in custom rifles: Home Page

You're right though, just about every single step was messed up on these things. 3 of these are fluted barrels and I just noticed that they are not timed correctly. Either he didn't torque them down enough or he screwed up the brake timing and just unscrewed the barrel a bit to compensate. The actions and brakes line up well but the barrels are out by 3-4 degrees.