Looking for help with SEI Muzzle Break Installations

48206

48206

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Hi Gang

I recently purchased the SEI US Navy Cost Guard muzzle brake and Extended Bolt release. When the items came in the mail there were no installation instructions. Does anybody have experience installing these?

I have searched google and youtube, and e-mails to SEI have gone unaswered.

thanks

Craig
 
The bolt release can be a pain in the arse, good instructions are online from Smith (link below). The muzzle brake, you'll need to have a pair of castle nut pliers on hand, I made a heavy duty set from a pair of Vice Grip brand channel lock pliers. Ten minutes with a dremel cutoff wheel to make a set of castle nut pliers you can't beat, the pliers are of 'laminated' steel construction like a Master Lock, you simply cut away two of the three layers of steel, then grind the teeth for the castle nut out of the last layer, it's the perfect width.

Once you've made, purchased, or borrowed castle nut pliers you'll have to grind out your flash hider spot welds with a dremel. I've also pounded them straight off with a block of wood and a heavy hammer, sometimes they break easy. Keep your Norc castle nut, and use it to install the Smith brake.

http://www.smithenterprise.com/support08.html
 
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whoa, you sir are a true fountain of knowledge. I should have put that I have a Springfield standard. I don't think they are spot welded like the norcs The castle nut pliers I have. I wasn't sure if one has to apply loctite to the muzzle brake once it is on.

Hard for me to get a clear picture of what I am up against as I store my rifle in my gun locker at work and haven't brought it home yet.
Thanks for the help, and I will post some pics and hopefully a range report when I am done.
 
Good news is your job just got a whole lot easier! Your flash hider will come off easy, and nice rifle by the way. Not spot welded on Springfields.

I'd make the set of pliers personally, wish I had a pic of mine for you, but they're in the shop at work 1,300kms away for another 2 weeks. If you're not in a rush, happy to loan them but shipping is more than buying the pliers and dremeling them. Pretty straight forward figuring how they need to be cut once you have a pair in your hand. I live in a small northern town and was strolling our hardware store looking for something to get the nut off that night, those channel locks caught my eye, turned out to be the best castle nut tool I've found. Some guys grind the jaws of vice grips too.

So first thing put some penetrating oil on the castle nut before you get started to let it work, usually not necessary but certainly doesn't hurt. Then just back out the little Allen set screw found just below the front sight, when looking at the flash hider from the muzzle. Then loosen the castle nut with your tool, careful not to starch the flash hider's finish. Once the castle nut is as far forward as it will go, tap the flash hider on the underside edge with a block of wood hit by a hammer. Sometimes they're sticky due to powder and fouling residue, once it pops free and falls against the castle nut spin the nut the rest of the way by fingers and pull it off. Put your Smith brake on in reverse of what you just did and away you go. :)

I've had bolt stops go super easy too, so don't write it off yet, but I don't find the extended ones terribly helpful as I'm leery to use them. Smacking something supported on such a small roll pin puts me off a bit, I like the stock ones and only touch the bolt stop when manually engaging it while cleaning, proving safe, etc.
 
Well, I am going to bring my rifle home after work tomorrow and I will give it a try. Do you reccomend putting loctite on the new muzle brake?

I am not sure exactly why I bought that extended bolt release, seemed like a good idea at the time ! :)
 
No, no loctite sorry missed that part, the little allen set screw mentioned holds it rock solid, loctite could make future work a real nightmare for you. I presume we're talking the one piece Navy brake, not the threaded adapter and separate brake, if it's the latter still no loctite but a 5/8" crush washer rather.
 
alright, got the front swing swivel off and a put new sadlak rail on the front and atlas bipod installed. Tommorow off to home depot to find a screw driver small enough to loosen the set screw on the flash hider...


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Ardent said:
The bolt release can be a pain in the arse, good instructions are online from Smith (link below). The muzzle brake, you'll need to have a pair of castle nut pliers on hand, I made a heavy duty set from a pair of Vice Grip brand channel lock pliers. Ten minutes with a dremel cutoff wheel to make a set of castle nut pliers you can't beat, the pliers are of 'laminated' steel construction like a Master Lock, you simply cut away two of the three layers of steel, then grind the teeth for the castle nut out of the last layer, it's the perfect width.

Once you've made, purchased, or borrowed castle nut pliers you'll have to grind out your flash hider spot welds with a dremel. I've also pounded them straight off with a block of wood and a heavy hammer, sometimes they break easy. Keep your Norc castle nut, and use it to install the Smith brake.

http://www.smithenterprise.com/support08.html
Click to expand...

I wanted to say that for the most part it isn't even needed to dremel out the old welds. It's also very important to be careful if you're using the dremel method(well any method of modification one should be careful). I used my 1/4hp die grinder and didn't have a good enough hold and it skipped off the flash hider and kissed the barrel. No critical damage but left a spot that bothers me. After that, I stopped trying to remove material, got out the brass drift and the flash hider promptly came off with a couple smacks.
 
So the SEI Navy Brake went on without much trouble at all. I was out at the range today and put 40 rounds down range. The brake stayed on and didn't go flying down range so I must have done something right.
 
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