I picked up this BA 14.5" BBL from the board back in January.
Well, let me back up.. it was paid for, and shipped in mid-January.. didn't actually get it until mid-February.. USPS pretty much lost it for several weeks, but @Fooboy was diligent in hounding them and eventually it was located, and delivered when we had basically given up hope. Fooboy is a solid dude, he really went above and beyond on the whole ordeal.
Back to the project.
The bbl was originally pinned and welded, and there was a slight "mishap" in the removal of the previously installed muzzle device.
I figured this would be a fun project to see if how hard it would be to cut away the bad area, cut the bbl back, and then rethread with hand tools. Sadly, I don't have a lathe. Also, I have another bbl I'd like to cut and thread eventually, so why not try it out on a cheap bbl that was already boogered up.
Tools were very basic.
Hack saw, file, 1/2x28 die, tap magic, and an annular cutter, 1/2x28 nut and layout fluid.
I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, so I grabbed a HSS annular cutter from cncwarrior since they had them in stock, and started off.
First thing was to coat some dykem on the end and mark how far back I wanted to cut the barrel back, using the cut in the threads as a starting point. IiRC this was 5/8" based on measurements of the existing threads.
Right off the bat, I had a problem...and one I'm sure some folks figured out before getting this far..and one I should have realized before I bought it..
HSS...it can't cut surface hardened material, like a nitride finished barrel! Whoops. Totally over looked that..
Off to google to find a carbide tipped annular cutter with the right dimensions..few days later it arrived and I was in business.
Few days later I had some more time to start in on cutting the threads, very easy does as it expected.
One I guess "trick" I remember from my HS metal shop days...when cutting a threaded rod, bolt, etc.. put a nut on it to help guide you, but also help prevent the blade from jumping over and dorking up threads, but also cleans up the cut threads a little bit when taking it off.
I also used it when filing the end and facing the bbl.
One thing I dont have yet is a crown cutting tool..that is one item I need to dig into yet, but also seems most places I have looked are also out of stock.
I ended up filing the face smooth, the used various grit sand paper on a block to make sure everything flat as I could get it. It is not polished by any means, but should work out..I hope.
Next step...swapping out my flash hider on its current 10.5", dropping it on this guy then perform the bbl swap and see how she shoots!
More pics coming as I make progress...
ETA: Fixed some typos/wording
Well, let me back up.. it was paid for, and shipped in mid-January.. didn't actually get it until mid-February.. USPS pretty much lost it for several weeks, but @Fooboy was diligent in hounding them and eventually it was located, and delivered when we had basically given up hope. Fooboy is a solid dude, he really went above and beyond on the whole ordeal.
Back to the project.
The bbl was originally pinned and welded, and there was a slight "mishap" in the removal of the previously installed muzzle device.
I figured this would be a fun project to see if how hard it would be to cut away the bad area, cut the bbl back, and then rethread with hand tools. Sadly, I don't have a lathe. Also, I have another bbl I'd like to cut and thread eventually, so why not try it out on a cheap bbl that was already boogered up.
Tools were very basic.
Hack saw, file, 1/2x28 die, tap magic, and an annular cutter, 1/2x28 nut and layout fluid.
I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, so I grabbed a HSS annular cutter from cncwarrior since they had them in stock, and started off.
First thing was to coat some dykem on the end and mark how far back I wanted to cut the barrel back, using the cut in the threads as a starting point. IiRC this was 5/8" based on measurements of the existing threads.
Right off the bat, I had a problem...and one I'm sure some folks figured out before getting this far..and one I should have realized before I bought it..
HSS...it can't cut surface hardened material, like a nitride finished barrel! Whoops. Totally over looked that..
Off to google to find a carbide tipped annular cutter with the right dimensions..few days later it arrived and I was in business.
Few days later I had some more time to start in on cutting the threads, very easy does as it expected.
One I guess "trick" I remember from my HS metal shop days...when cutting a threaded rod, bolt, etc.. put a nut on it to help guide you, but also help prevent the blade from jumping over and dorking up threads, but also cleans up the cut threads a little bit when taking it off.
I also used it when filing the end and facing the bbl.
One thing I dont have yet is a crown cutting tool..that is one item I need to dig into yet, but also seems most places I have looked are also out of stock.
I ended up filing the face smooth, the used various grit sand paper on a block to make sure everything flat as I could get it. It is not polished by any means, but should work out..I hope.
Next step...swapping out my flash hider on its current 10.5", dropping it on this guy then perform the bbl swap and see how she shoots!
More pics coming as I make progress...
ETA: Fixed some typos/wording
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