Watched YouTube on difficult barrel action separating and he used an outside clamped on wrench. The action was heated before the barrel the tenon area and then it was cooled with some type of can Freon. At the barrel in front of the action and inside the barrel not the tenon area. Then placed index cards for marring concerns on the v clamp with long bar and broke it free. The inside action wrench wouldn't break it free. The barrel vise wasn't torqued down enough and even with utilizing index cards it did slip and marred. The barrel vice I used I torged it down to about 40 foot pounds with a card board wrapped around the barrel to 80 foot pounds. And checked with a go/ no go. Search the YouTube channel for reference on barrel removal.
Weatherby Mark V action wrench
- Thread starter Petterbratt
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Lenny Foffa
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Thank You buddy. That was very nice of you to check!! Much appreciated.!!!
I would not heat and action...how hot did ya get it? Enough to change the heat treatment of the action at a critical place, containing the high pressures. I've removed lots of difficult barrels. You need the correct external action wrench with the Weatherby cutout. I use plastic tape to protect the action.
An internal action wrench is not for taking off factory actions...but can be to install or use on switch barreled rifles, as too much pressure is needed usually, and action damage is a result. And in a few instances they have to be machined off, cut the barrel below minor thread dia. Small carbide boring bar, under cut the barrel threads all the pressure is relieved, spray on a little penetrating oil, and take off the action with with an external wrench, as sometimes a rust has formed in the threads of barrel & action of blued steel, and thread locker type adhesives may also be present.
An internal action wrench is not for taking off factory actions...but can be to install or use on switch barreled rifles, as too much pressure is needed usually, and action damage is a result. And in a few instances they have to be machined off, cut the barrel below minor thread dia. Small carbide boring bar, under cut the barrel threads all the pressure is relieved, spray on a little penetrating oil, and take off the action with with an external wrench, as sometimes a rust has formed in the threads of barrel & action of blued steel, and thread locker type adhesives may also be present.
Thanks for the information the you tube video showed only slight heating to the action. I myself have not done this. I was only stating the torque I used on the barrel vice to spin on a shouldered barrel that didn't spin on me like the video mentioned. That's why my post earlier stated to contact several smiths and also Weatherby on the process of removing a barrel that probably has been on for 30 plus years. I have a few factory rifles that are deep blued and could possibly have the threads seized together from the bluing process? The comment you posted is why I try to read all the posts to gain information from people that have done it.
This is what you're up against in old blued factory actions. The correct action wrench, with 1 1/2" bolts , 240 ft/lbs of torque on lubed 1" hardened bolts and long cheater bar. You begin to damage the action wrench...stop and machine the barrel, to under the lug, smack it forward with a rubber mallet..add penetrating oil as it will still be rather hard to remove...this is a recent Remington. A Weatherby will have the recoil lug with the action, so a different wrench is needed.
But the point is this was a 1972 Remington blued action rusted together and deep bluing is a major contributer.
I just did a barrel yesterday...it was fairly easy compared to this one... and requires boring the blocks that hold the barrel to the exact dia in a milling machine with a boring head, I use aluminum for this, not oak wood, then mill off a 1/16 " so they have a gap to grip the barrel most of the 360 degrees, when you put so much force on the clamp bolts, it will crush oak blocks, making them useless on tough factory barrels. Most are not this difficult but some are, you just never know, and none are easy on old factory blued actions and barrels.
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Blackdirt Cowboy
Well-Known Member
I wonder if you could chill the barrel in liquid nitrogen to get it to shrink and break loose. I did this on pins on bulldozer tracks that I couldn't drive in with a 30 pound sledge hammer. After a soak in liquid nitrogen, they would fall through the track. I had to hold them in place while they warmed up and expanded.
That might work! I have seen it done with pistons and tight tolerances
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shortgrass
Well-Known Member
I have removed many Mk V barrels using the action wrench w/V on top and flat on the bottom, shop made, not Brownells,,,,, and using my barrel vise that uses bushings that fit the barrel closely. In 30+yrs I have not had to freeze/heat/or cut a relief groove on a MK V. The barrel vise and many of the bushings, and the wrench are professional quality tools, made while I attended GS school. Half azzed tools will do half azzed work.
Except that the barrel will be toast. The idea is to be able to save and switch the barrelsStick the action wrench in a vise and use a pipe wrench on the barrel with a 4 foot cheater...guaranteed not to slip...
Plenty of effective and simple methods if saving the barrel isn't a concern.
