Removing barrel with a barrel vice

D_Bell

D_Bell

Active member
I have removed barrels before, and have an action wrench. However, I had access to an hydraulic press, but do not any longer. I am looking at buying a barrel vice, and I see a lot of options. I am looking at an aluminum barrel vice, thoughts? Any thing I need to be aware of?

Thanks in advance.
 
A couple pieces of oak 2x2. Clamp them together and drill a hole the size of the barrel shank and then glue a couple pieces of leather belt. You can clamp the barrel to n the blocks in a good size vice. You can add more belt leather for smaller shanks.


Here's a barrel/action vice I made. I can double clamp the barrel for a tough one or clamp the action set the headspace and clamp the barrel before tightening the nut. I have a handful of different blocks for it. I just picked up some oak lumber to make a batch of new blocks. I've been using this for close.to 30 years now.

PXL_20260714_222055616.jpg


Sorry about the mess, and m in the middle of a major project and my shop has turned into a dumping grounds
 
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D_Bell said:
I have removed barrels before, and have an action wrench. However, I had access to an hydraulic press, but do not any longer. I am looking at buying a barrel vice, and I see a lot of options. I am looking at an aluminum barrel vice, thoughts? Any thing I need to be aware of?
Click to expand...
I've used one of these for years:

davidsonmfgco.com

Davidson Barrel Vise - Davidson Manufacturing Co.

The Davidson Barrel Vise is made of 2024-T3511 aluminum, hardened steel studs and Grade 8 nuts and washers. This barrel vise is designed for benchrest, silhouette, match and other competition rifles. Although it is very durable, it is not designed for factory tightened barrels that have never...
davidsonmfgco.com davidsonmfgco.com

You need to be aware of how large or small of a contour that a vise will accept.

As noted, the above will not do skinny sporter barrels.

Plenty of options out there in a Google search.
 
I use an old Midway vise. With wood blocks, similar to Eric. Except I bed them to particular barrel profiles. So I have a bunch of pairs of blocks for various types of barrels. Never had a factory barrel put up too much of a fight yet.

Before the bedding fully hardens I score the bedding lengthwise. Then use a little rosin on them.

IMG_5583.jpg


IMG_5586.jpg


- DAA
 
Whatever you get if you buy a commercial unit, get one with changeable bushings. I really like DAA's.
 
I have a Viper barrel vice, which I like. What action are you working with? If it's a Tikka, you better do some more research. They can be a bastard.

Here's my Tikka experience:
 
I bought the Brownells steel vise with the steel bushings for various contours. There are a couple tricks to getting a really tight barrel off:

1) Sporter barrels need full contact in the vise. This is best achieved with a bushing that fits the taper of the barrel near the shank.
2) Powdered rosin and ample bolt tension on the barrel vise are your friend. The tension needed to remove factory barrels can at times bend lighter aluminum barrel vises (e.g. grizzly vise). Hence why I went with steel.
3) Impact with a dead blow hammer to the action wrench is safer/better for the action than a cheater bar and leaning into it.

With the above said, this was what I needed to remove a factory Rem 700 barrel. It gave me all I wanted but was able to get it off without marring the action.
 
For the stubborn 700 barrels, drizzle Kroil down the action on the threads and in the very front screw hole that sits over the threads.

Heat the barrel & action with a heat gun till the thread goop starts to smolder & stink. More Kroil helps when you get 'er warmed up.

Never had one not relent doing it this way.
 
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