Ok guys,
Well I finally had the time to install my new DD Lite Rail today, and shit just went to hell.
I knew going into this, that it could possibly get ugly, as something told me that the $31 DD Lite Rail wrench was not hardened, and neither was the proprietary bbl nut they supply.
The instructions say to torque the bbl nut to 50-75 ft-lbs, and I guranTEE you guys that there is NO way in hell that I was going to get that nut anywhere CLOSE to 50, much less 75, with the SOFT wrench supplied.
I think that the wrench would work a bit better, if it were to completely encapsulate the bbl nut, by using FOUR teeth, instead of THREE.
Even IF this were the case, as soft as that wrench was, I'm betting it still would have stripped the 3 teeth, AND the bbl nut, as it did to me today.
SO, anyhow, just to note, I had set the torque wrench to only 50 ft-lbs, hoping to play it safe, as I KNEW that the wrench's teeth and bbl nut were not very strong, and could possibly strip.
I took VERY careful time in going SLOW, and making sure the wrench had FULL contact on all three teeth, and I also made sure that everything was square, so as to promote the best possible chance for the wrench and bbl nut NOT to strip out on me.
Unfortunately, as stated, the wrench and bbl nut stripped out (wrench stripped the worst I think), and now I'm sitting here with a bleeding knuckle, and no way to get my rifle put back together.
I'm telling you guys, the wrench/bbl nut stripped out under such little force, that it caught me off guard so quickyl, that I busted my knuckle.
I ALWAYS take care to make sure my knuckles are out of harms way, once I reach the point where the heavy torque needs to start being applied, but it must have stripped out under a mere 20 ft-lbs I would guess, as it happened almost immediately, and so quickly. I mean, I had JUST barely got started, and BOOM, the wrench teeth gave.
So I've now got a stripped bbl nut, stripped wrench, and busted knuckle, and no rifle to shoot.
I just cannot see how this wrench/bbl nut system works, and can possibly have ANY decent amount of torque applied to it, UNLESS I have somehow received an ABNORMALLY soft bbl nut and wrench????? I doubt mine's any different from the rest of the one's DD has made though. Hopefully I'm wrong though.
I ALMOST decided to just leave the stripped out bbl nut on there, and finish torquing it on with a monkey wrench, but when I slid the Lite Rail onto the barrel, you can CLEARLY see the gruesome, marred up, ugly as hell, battered bbl nut, sitting there staring at you, and I just am not cool with that, after spending $300 on this rail setup.
Please understand I'm not trying to knock DD in any way, as I know for a fact they are good guys, and have EXCELLENT customer service (which I've experienced first hand in the past), but I just had to come here and ask if any of you guys have had the same experience? Do I POSSIBLY have a lemon bbl nut and/or wrench (ie abnormally soft)???
I would think for a $300 rail + $31 proprietary wrench, they would have been HARDENED steel, or at LEAST made of a stronger tool steel? perhaps?
MAYBE they ARE made of tool steel, but I swear I've never seen tool steel this soft before. I've got quite a bit of tool steel experience myself too, as I've made quite a few knives in my time, in the machine shop.
I know DD will replace my parts, but I KNOW for a FACT, that IF they supply me with another wrench and bbl nut, that are no different than before, they too will strip out, and there is NO WAY I'm getting anywhere close to 50-75 ft-lbs of torque on it...
Someone please tell me something that will lift my spirits.
What's worse, is I just moved, and my Bridgeport mill and lathe's phase converters are no longer wired up, and I don't even have the capability to make my own replacement wrench or bbl nut... Not that I've got the time to do it anyhow. I really HOPE a new nut and wrench will somehow work...
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Originally Posted by Paul Cataldo
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