First tikka barrel swap and NERVOUS

I just took off a barrel from a T3x light using the vise, wrench, and bushings from Buffalo Creek Machine. Kyle is still working on the wrench and I bought a kit from him to be one of the earlier testers. I did all the YouTube searching and his wrench idea specific to Tikka actions looked intriguing. And it worked brilliantly. A 24” breaker bar on the wrench and my 205 body weight did the trick. Used old targets to wrap the barrel and the action, no marks on either.

I’m not affiliated, just wanted to support a small business coming out with a great idea. I paid full price for the kit.

This is his video…



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I am doing some serious testing of his stuff too. He has already done some tweaking for me.
 
The sturdier and heavier ( not always mutually inclusive) is your workbench, the better. If your bench is light or flimsy, it will move when you torque or whack the action wrench. The energy that should be going to break the barrel loose will dissipate into moving the bench. Basically, massiveness and immobilization of your vise are your friends in this situation.

Edit: A Sherman tank, D-8 Cat, or anything you have laying around that size would be the optimum mointing platform for your vise. 😬😬😬

Kroil is good stuff and helps with this.

Not all people are haters of old slow twist barrels, so they are not super valuable, but worthless is a strong word.
 
Agreed with needing a sturdy bench. I put about 200 lbs of free weights on my bench to ensure it wouldn’t move. Tightened the hell out of my vise and the action broke free on the second whack of the dead blow.
 
The sturdier and heavier ( not always mutually inclusive) is your workbench, the better. If your bench is light or flimsy, it will move when you torque or whack the action wrench. The energy that should be going to break the barrel loose will dissipate into moving the bench. Basically, massiveness and immobilization of your vise are your friends in this situation.

Edit: A Sherman tank, D-8 Cat, or anything you have laying around that size would be the optimum mointing platform for your vise. 😬😬😬

Kroil is good stuff and helps with this.

Not all people are haters of old slow twist barrels, so they are not super valuable, but worthless is a strong word.
I have a design in my head for a trailer hitch mount. Take the slack out and it should be solid. I added some rail to my tailgate to swap barrels out shooting, but never gonna try a factory removal.

I bet some DIY guys don’t have a sturdy enough bench and that causes failure.
 
Bolting a vise to a sturdy piece of wood (2x12" here) is a good start, then improvise a way to stabilize the wood. Using both and internal and external wrench at the same time has worked great for me, and lead sheeting is a great way to "fill" a bushing that doesn't perfectly match the barrel chamber taper. I applied constant force on the internal wrench with my foot in a strap (80ish ft lbs), then tapped the external action wrench lightly with a 3 lb hammer and presto!

Ebay steel wallycooper barrel vise with aluminum inserts is pretty bomb proof.
 

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