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Thread: Why don't barrels have wrench flats machined near the muzzle?

  1. #1
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    Why don't barrels have wrench flats machined near the muzzle?

    Thinking about the hassle of securely clamping a typical AR15 barrel to install a muzzle device - requiring either a special barrel vise (which may require rosin to hold, and may mar the barrel anyway), or a Geissele reaction rod or similar tool which supposedly isn't ideal anyway (depending on the greater torque between the barrel extension and barrel breech threads), or the bad-idea method of using receiver blocks, or the effective garage method of clamping a pinned gas block, if you have one... why don't barrel makers just machine two wrench flats near the muzzle (obviously, behind the threads) so you could install and remove muzzle devices with two ordinary wrenches and no special tools, not even needing a vise of any kind? It would eliminate torque on anything other than the barrel itself, would make installation and changes super easy, and would cost maybe a dollar in machining when the barrel is being made. FN-FAL barrels have wrench flats near the breech so they can be installed without a barrel vise. M4A1 profile barrels already have a flat machined spot under the handguards. Why not put two little wrench flats on the barrel itself?
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    .......That is actually a brilliant idea. I can see barrel makers even machining in a raised shoulder at the end of the barrel where the wrench flats would be machined in.

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    But...... there's nothing wrong with using a receiver block, barrel block, Reaction Rod, or any combination. So modifying the most expensive and critical part of the gun for sake of internet paranoia doesn't actually make sense.

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    Some forward thinking muzzle device manufacturers include a lock nut with the MD to both allow easier timing and easier installation and removal. Wish more did this.
    I would buy just the nut if shipping was cheaper. https://www.cncwarrior.com/ProductDe...ductCode=22289
    Last edited by mpom; 03-13-14 at 09:00. Reason: Added info

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    My guess is because barrels aren't manufactured for garage tinkerers, and armorers have the appropriate tools to do it.
    Why do the loudest do the least?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Eurodriver View Post
    My guess is because barrels aren't manufactured for garage tinkerers, and armorers have the appropriate tools to do it.
    Except that a huge number of barrels made today are specifically made for garage tinkerers - basically any small upstart maker (or sourcer-distributer) that doesn't have an existing military contract. (Which is like 99.9999% of them.)

    I don't see the need for this feature on a barrel being made for the military. But for all the barrels that are going only to the civilian market, why not?

    @mpom: I've used the locknut method and am not convinced that it's a good idea overall. Especially since it seems to leave the barrel shoulder and sometimes a bit of thread exposed behind the locknut, and some barrels have a significant unthreaded portion of the 0.5" diameter area, presumably for where the barrel maker expects a crush washer to go.
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  7. #7
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    By the way, I have both a barrel vise and a reaction rod... but I always like to think of better ways. And both of those require a good sized bench vise to make work, so if you want to use one at the range for some reason, you're SOL.
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eurodriver View Post
    My guess is because barrels aren't manufactured for garage tinkerers, and armorers have the appropriate tools to do it.
    All but about three AR manufacturers would say otherwise.

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    You can get a barrel vise for under $15.00, what's the problem?
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    If you want flats, you have to go Black Powder/Muskets and such. And then you won't need a flash hider, so.... ??
    "You people have too much time on your hands." - scottryan

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