Hey guys, I finally got a new barrel from LRI yesterday. So I've been trying to get this barrel nut off to swap them out. But this thing is flipping on there good! I've even taken it to 2 local gunsmith's and they couldn't get it, one eve heated the nut up! Aside from sending the fun to ruger and not getting it back for months, does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

No but I can tell you do not heat it, (that makes barrel nuts tighter) and Ruger definitely won't change it for you. Their policy is only to replace with factory barrels.

One solution would be what gunsmiths did to P14's and 1917's. Cut the barrel back to a stub and then mill the last 1/8th of an inch at the receiver ring down about that far. They come off pretty easy as I remember.

That figures about heating it up. I was pretty surprised when the guy told me that he did it! I want very happy, and they charged me for it! I don't know what I'm going to do?

dry ice

I believe these nuts are smooth if they are like the Ruger American; I would use a pipe wrench and then buy a new nut. (If you can get one). I hear that they are on way tighter than necessary.
Or, make a clamp like a barrel vise and turn that.
Or you can part it off in the lathe near the receiver; that will loosen it. Or mill a slot in it. There are many ways to skin this cat, depending on if you can get a new one, or not.
Dry ice might help.
If that "gunsmith" charged you for not doing the job, he is not a gunsmith, and I would never go to him again.

You can always cut the nut most of the way through, then pop it open with a cold chisel. Then new barrel nut.

My usual theory for a stuck nut is penetrating oil, a bigger cheater, then a bigger cheater, then star removing metal.

I tried making a barrel vice out of some oak blocks, put them in my shop press and went to town. I just ended up busting the blocks, because no matter how much I tightened the press, the barrel spun through! I bought a wheeler receiver vice block last night, thinking about trying that, but I'm worried that I'll tweak the action if I go locking it into a vise and trying to force the nut off? I guess if nothing else I'll call ruger on Monday and see if I can get a new nut, before I go cutting it off.

Clamp the receiver in a heavy mill vise, or press so it won't warp. Use a steel clamping wrench and it will come off.
Whoever is making the replacement barrels should also make the nuts; they are easy to make.

You should be able to simply clamp the ring in a barrel vise. Put on the action wrench with a 6 foot cheater bar and screw it off. One might have to make a special action wrench for them as the action has no protruding lug to transfer torque, if memory serves.

I got it!! I put the action in the receiver block I got, put a big cheater on it and it busted loose finally! Thanks for the help guys. I'll pay a pic when I get it done.

I figured it would come off if the correct fabric softener was used. I have a tendency to underplay and confuse people some times. So just to clear the air. The thing in my right hand is an action wrench. The piece of pipe in my left is a cheater bar. They make other tools. Those other tools are commonly called "watchmaking equipment."


action wrench by Rod Henrickson, on Flickr

Cover up those knees; exposing atrocities like that is not allowed in the US.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Cover up those knees; exposing atrocities like that is not allowed in the US.

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HAHHHH ! I'm in Canada and we are not governed by international law ! ! ! ! !

You're just jealous dpcd because you just now discovered that you picked up your action wrench in, "THE LADIES DEPARTMENT !" BBBBWWWWwwwwwaaaahahaha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Let's see if I can remember -- Large heat exchanger with defective gasket. No problem they said ! One inch high strength bolt .Normal 3' wrench + 6' pipe .Two men chinning themselves on the end of the pipe . Bang, bang, bang !! Hey , these bolts are no good !
"Get a new gasket "!!

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And that's the beauty of working with guns and not heat exchangers mete. With guns you put the gasket in AFTER it's all tight and you get a new one with every shot !

Just to clarify: you are saying size matters? Regards, Bill

Naw Billy. What I was actually getting at was that, with powerful arms like that you can twist the nuts off a bridge with yer bare hands. LOL