DIY Tikka Barrel Swap, By Dioni Amuchastegui

[roosiebull]

For those who have done this a few times, what are the necessary tools that you would be very confident you could finish the job with?

I want to get set up for swapping barrels, and want to get everything I will need, but I also have a bad habit of buying things I don’t need as well, just in case.

I figure if I buy the tools, they will probably pay for themselves in a couple barrels, and will give me some freedom in convenience of not sending guns off to have the work done, and after watching some videos, it’s not very intimidating

 

[Dioni A]

For those who have done this a few times, what are the necessary tools that you would be very confident you could finish the job with?

I want to get set up for swapping barrels, and want to get everything I will need, but I also have a bad habit of buying things I don’t need as well, just in case.

I figure if I buy the tools, they will probably pay for themselves in a couple barrels, and will give me some freedom in convenience of not sending guns off to have the work done, and after watching some videos, it’s not very intimidating

Barrel vice, outside action wrench and a set of shoulder bump gauges so you can measure headspace on different cartridges. I'm wishing I'd have gotten a better barrel vice since I've done eight or so removals now. You have to get it pretty tight to remove the factory barrels but the viper vise works pretty well once you figure out it's quirks. The top cap will start to bend after a handful of uses.

 

[willfrye027]

I have been using the mechforce vise, wheeler outside wrench, and a rubber mallet to strike the wrench handle. I used a magazine cover to protect the action and a cut piece of toilet paper roll to prevent slipping on the barrel.

The key is to tighten the vise in a star pattern so it evenly snugs down, as tight as humanly possible. Oh and a couple cases of shotgun shells on my desk to keep it from moving

 

[wyosam]

Barrel vice, outside action wrench and a set of shoulder bump gauges so you can measure headspace on different cartridges. I'm wishing I'd have gotten a better barrel vice since I've done eight or so removals now. You have to get it pretty tight to remove the factory barrels but the viper vise works pretty well once you figure out it's quirks. The top cap will start to bend after a handful of uses.

Shoulder bump gauges for headspace? Hope that’s just a strange way of saying go/no go gauges.


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[Dioni A]

Shoulder bump gauges for headspace? Hope that’s just a strange way of saying go/no go gauges.


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Yes. I would measure a new unfired piece of brass compare it to Sammi spec length then add tape to the back of it to make a no-go gauge. You have to have accurate shoulder bump gauges but all of this is measurable and repeatable. Doing this you can figure out the true depth of your chamber and see if it's in spec for headspace. Some people earlier in this post had issue with it but that can all be sorted out with measuring and ensuring correct sizing on your equipment.

 

[roosiebull]

Appreciate it guys!

So the outside action wrench, most of you guys don’t feel the need for a torque wrench? Just tighten it down tight without feeling like you’re going to break something?

 

[Andouille]

Appreciate it guys!

So the outside action wrench, most of you guys don’t feel the need for a torque wrench? Just tighten it down tight without feeling like you’re going to break something?

Pretty much. I used a torque wrench maxed out at 75 ft-lbs, then my 20" breaker bar for a little more "oomph" using both hands on the horizontal breaker to get 90-100ish ft-lbs. For practical context, that's more than my Subaru lug nuts at 75 ft-lbs and closer to the 98-ft-lbs for my Frontier lugnuts which I tighten with the same breaker bar.

Edit:
You can do back-of-the-envelope math to figure out the force (weight) needed on your breaker bar or action wrench (measured from center of barrel to end of handle) to equal 100-ish ft lbs (or your target value).

if: length (ft) x force (lbs) = ft lbs, then: (ft lbs)/length = force.

So for me that's 100 ft-lbs/1.66 ft= 60 lbs force on the end of the breaker bar, or 1/3 my body weight.

 

[HandgunHTR]

For those who have done this a few times, what are the necessary tools that you would be very confident you could finish the job with?

I want to get set up for swapping barrels, and want to get everything I will need, but I also have a bad habit of buying things I don’t need as well, just in case.

I figure if I buy the tools, they will probably pay for themselves in a couple barrels, and will give me some freedom in convenience of not sending guns off to have the work done, and after watching some videos, it’s not very intimidating

Here is my list:

Wheeler Action Wrench = $79 or Chi-Com version = $40
Viper Barrel vise = $70 or SAC Bravo vise = $275
Drywall tape = $5
Headspace gauge rental = $30 (including shipping both ways) If you buy, just buy the go gauge and use the tape or a shim to get "no-go".

That is the minimum you will need if you don't mind not accurately torquing your new barrel back on. You may need to spend a few $ more to replace the bolts on the action wrench with longer ones in order to flip the head around and still get good thread engagement.

Extras that make the job easier and more precise (in my opinion)

Internal action wrench from Bugholes = $90 from E-bay = $75, SAC modular = $125
Torque Wrench from Amazon = $40 Craftsman = $90

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I just took a barrel off a tikka T3 action (supposedly harder than the T3x I had heard) using the SAC Bravo vice with the tikka bushings & drywall tape, that thing gripped awesome once it was torqued down (just two bolts) and nothing seemed like it was getting stressed. I used my homemade external wrench & drywall tape and just smacked it a few times with a deadblow hammer. I didn't chill the barrel/heat the action. I did spray some freeall on the barrel threads a few hours ahead of time.

 

[Dioni A]

I just took a barrel off a tikka T3 action (supposedly harder than the T3x I had heard) using the SAC Bravo vice with the tikka bushings & drywall tape, that thing gripped awesome once it was torqued down (just two bolts) and nothing seemed like it was getting stressed. I used my homemade external wrench & drywall tape and just smacked it a few times with a deadblow hammer. I didn't chill the barrel/heat the action. I did spray some freeall on the barrel threads a few hours ahead of time.

I think having a really good vice makes a significant difference.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I think having a really good vice makes a significant difference.

Yeah cause then nothing gives and the hammer hits can shock thing loose quickly vs a big breaker bar prying.

 

[Castle Rock]

Yes it really isn’t that hard
There also isn’t any need to buy gauges etc if you are using prefits
Gauges only come into play when you are using a barrel nut ie remage

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Yes it really isn’t that hard
There also isn’t any need to buy gauges etc if you are using prefits
Gauges only come into play when you are using a barrel nut ie remage

Well the gauge is your safety / sanity check everything came together properly and that you didn’t have an anomaly action out of tolerance or such. If that is an optional item in your mind it’s a free world but I did opt to buy a go gauge and will add a shim to the rear for no go.

 

[Andouille]

Concur on the gauges, or at least very careful measuring using new brass, scotch tape, and quality calipers to test your headspace clearance. I had a Tikka WM barrel headspace normally, then a Tikka WSM barrel with tight headspace on the same action.

 

[wyosam]

Concur on the gauges, or at least very careful measuring using new brass, scotch tape, and quality calipers to test your headspace clearance. I had a Tikka WM barrel headspace normally, then a Tikka WSM barrel with tight headspace on the same action.

I’d assume there’s prefits spun up on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons by humans, too. I don’t think it’s common, but I’ve had a couple that were a bit long.


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[Sled]

I’d assume there’s prefits spun up on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons by humans, too. I don’t think it’s common, but I’ve had a couple that were a bit long.


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I had one out of spec that was out of spec on multiple actions. I gave the barrel maker the info to put it into spec and they took off double. For those guys every day is a Friday.

So yes, better check your headspace. If not, better check your head.

 

[Dioni A]

I think whatever method you do you should at least check it. If you feel very competent The shoulder bump gauge isn't perfect but can be made to work reasonably well. Otherwise you should just rent the go/ no go gauges.

 

[Dioni A]

We're talking about something that's containing an explosion happening inches away from your face. Do your due diligence and make sure it's right.

 

[HighUintas]

Finally got the barrel off.

I used the wheeler, which was nice because it's so rigid.

Soaked the breech threads with pb blaster... I'm not sure if any made it in them.

Finally resorted to using my bench vise because my press setup was suboptimal. Made some maple barrel bushings, hammered a couple lead round balls flat for some lead shims, coated them And the barrel with climbing chalk.

Put the barrel in the freezer and used a torch on the action before putting the wrench on.

Cranked the vise as tight as I could and gave a couple of really quick hard yanks and it popped free.

Then screwed a different factory Tikka on. Used my bow draw weight scale slipped over the wheeler action wrench handle at 1 foot from center of rotation, pulled on the scale til it hit a max of 85ft lbs. Headspace seems good! Don't need the internal wrench?

After having put on a spare 308 barrel and a 6.5 cm barrel using my bow draw, weight scale and measurement off the center of rotation on the outside action ranch, I'm pretty confident I can get repeatable torque value within 10 ft lb and I think it's fairly accurate considering my crude method of doing it.

I think it's a viable way of doing it if you're looking to do it super cheap.

However, I second the recommendations of using a headspace gauge unless you have some fired brass from the chamber you know was headspace correctly. I used a factory around a check headspace, and about 50% of the rounds out of a box of 20 chamber a little snugly. I used my Hornady headspace comparator to measure a headspace off one of them that just barely rubs when chambering and I'm fairly certain I'm 0.002-0.003 short of minimum headspace.

I ground down the bottom of my headspace comparator to remove the bevel that's on the inside edge so that the diameter of that comparator surface is a true 0.400 and actually measures correctly off the datum that it's supposed to. I'm pretty sure my measurements are pretty accurate, so that's a huge bummer. I think I can get away with doing nothing to the barrel chamber, but I will run the risk of not being able to chamber some factory rounds. I had mostly planned on handloading for this barrel anyway, so we'll see when my dies show up If I'm going to have to grind anything down on those so that they will bump the shoulders back on the brass that I will load.


Alternatively, I should be able to rent a 6.5 cm reamer and a t handle and remove a few thou by hand, although I'm not really sure I want to mess with that since it's so close. I may consider that if my brass Chambers tightly and I have issues with the dye not bumping the shoulders back. We will see after it arrives. Bummer. It was supposed to be an easy and cheap swap, but didn't go according to plan, has my gun projects usually don't

 

[sndmn11]

Appreciate it guys!

So the outside action wrench, most of you guys don’t feel the need for a torque wrench? Just tighten it down tight without feeling like you’re going to break something?

I use a torque wrench on an internal action wrench for swapping between barrels. I had the Bugholes ones, @pods8 (Rugged Stitching) now has it, and replaced it with a Short Action Customs modular so I can have a Tikka head and Vanguard head.

I had removed several factory Tikka barrels with that Bugholes wrench without issue. However, an external wrench isn't a bad idea for that task.

I have my vice mounted in the truck hitch.

I torque to 55ftlbs.