Help! I broke a barrel!

R

REMINGTON973

New member
Rating - 100%
27   0   0
Location
Edmonton AB
While trying to take the barrel nut off of my bcm c8 upper the barrel extension unscrewed from the barrel. Does anyone know of a place that will reattach and torque the extension back to spec? I contacted bcm and they are not willing to help. And no smiths in edmonton that I know of have the tools to fix such an issue.

Cheers, Curtis
 
Is the index pin on the extension broken? Maybe they didn't lock the extension to the barrel via the index pin?

If you have a barrel block for a vise and a Geissele reaction rod or Brownells Torque rod you can realign the extension to the barrel so that both holes line up and then tap in the index pin. Then again, I think you need about 130-150ft lbs of torque for the barrel extension and don't know if those two above bars can support that much torque. How were you securing the upper receiver to be able to unscrew the barrel nut?

Else just get someone like ATRS or Mystic to reindex the extension to the barrel so the gas port is indexed properly to the extension. Shouldn't cost a whole lot 'cept the shipping to/from.
 
Last edited:
Take it to Tier One Armoury in south Edmonton ask for Greg he's a retire CF Weapon Tech with 22 years of experience. He should be able to help you. I'm sure he's seen it before.
 
The index pin is solely there to index the barrel in the receiver. It's isn't, nor was it ever meant to be, a mechanical 'lock' to prevent the extension from unthreading. While some people do inset the pin into the threads slightly, if the extension can overcome the 150ft/lbs, the index pin isn't going to stop it (typically those pins are not hardened and even if they were, dowel pins are meant to locate, not resist movement). The 150ft/lbs of torque is supposed to do that. And if it wasn't torqued properly to begin with.......

If you were closer, I could re-torque it for you (I have a barrel vice and extension socket) but, there is a possibility that once the extension is re-torqued, the gas port may be misaligned, however, you might be lucky and it may be negligible.
 
Last edited:
Something is goofy....I'm amazed you were able to unscrew the extension ( even if barrel was clamped ...ie no receiver vice block or reaction rod etc ) for the simple reason is you shouldn't have been anywhere close to 150 ft lbs to remove a barrel nut / muzzle device etc . Hell, most people probably couldn't achieve that torque with a std barrel nut tool .

If I were to guess , the extension was never properly torqued anywhere near 150ft / lbs

Therefore , if you did reinstall extension to proper torque, the chances the gas port now lining up would be slim . Reason I would guess that, is the torque used couldn't have been close to 150ft lbs for you to inadvertently unscrew it

Also , you should have gunsmith verify headspace after as well . Good chance it may not close on a " go " gauge
 
we have made 1000,s of ar15 barrles, trust me its not worth your time, I would try and get warrenty on it
That is if you did not buy it gray market..
 
how about permanent loctite..? Tighten to the point where it will line up where the pin went initially, then drill through the hole in the extension to create a positive lock indentation/recess for the pin to then be loctited into place. I cant see it moving. Heck, you can maybe even thread the pin hole and custom make a pin that can be screwed in to lock everything in place.. Is the extension hardened??

just spit-balling here, but I am tenaciously self sufficient when out of conventional options like a warranty :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom