Battle Comp muzzle brake

[Zeus]

Opps! just saw that it was a "blem" so I edited the huge slam I just typed out. Did it look all mangled up like that to start (know that Alan and Nick wouldn't let something like that out the door)? Otherwise, I'd be expecting the butcher who installed that to cough up the cash for a replacement!

[Gren]

The tooth marks and bending was not part of the blem. The worst part is the guy charged me $50 after doing the work. I didn't notice how messed up it was until I got home.

I should have known better when I got to the shop and asked if they had and armorer and they said we have a gunsmith, he doesn't like being called an armorer, he thinks it's beneath him.

I guess I'll go back this week and see what I can do.

[Kuiper]

Wonder what he like's to be called if not an armorer....a plumber?

Looks like he used a pipe wrench instead of a prober combo tool intended for work on AR15's. How did the rest of the weapon held up? Use of a receiver block or barrel viceblocks are the minimum, IMHO anything else is a WECSOG job

[PatrolRifleGroup]

Call me crazy, but I don't think the BC looks that bad. Then again, my rifles are tools and not show pieces. As long as the device still works as it's supposed too, that's all that matters (to me). It appears that any cosmetic damage was contained to the BC itself. I would have been more upset if Jo-Jo the gun plumber used channel locks to lock down the barrel or something along those lines.

Just playing devil's advocate, he did buy a blem unit. Maybe the diameter of the unit was out of spec, thus the proper AR wrench would not work. As an armorer myself, I would have left the decision on alternate installation options to the owner, and definitely would not have charged for the work.

[Gren]

Thanks for the quick replies. Patrol, you are right in that I don't care about the finish as much as the function and that is why I was asking the question in the first place. I think more than anything I've learned to go to another shop.

I think my main problem is he didn't tell me how much he would charge then came back 5 minutes later with the BC in that condition and charged $50.

Thanks again for the help. I've been reading and not contributing for 4-5 months. This is the first time that I've had a question that I couldn't find an answer to by searching.

[chadbag]

I'd go back and tell them their gunsmith cost them $50 and demand your $50 back and a replacement blem BC.

Take it to small claims court if you need to. There is no excuse for mangling up the device like that (appears to be in the pic). Absolutely no excuse for such a craptastic job.

It does not matter if it is a show piece or a working piece, it should not look like that after getting the job done and your hard use of the gun won't eventually make it look like that either.

[Duffy]

I wasn't being gentle with my 2.0 install, still the wrench only marred it around the edge of the flats, it didn't chew it up. Have a look at the 2.0 picture I posted earlier (top of this page), and the one below:



Feel free to show them to the "gunsmith" He used a vice grip or some kind of wrench that has teeth inside, when a 3/4 wrench used by mechanics would work (that's what I used, I have an armorer's wrench but the 3/4 is easier to use)

[Zeus]

... I'm also an Armorer, Rally Car, Motorcyle, and Aerospace airframe mechanic. To tool mark a part like that would have one FIRED by me. Saying that, I'm a function over form guy myself too. However, a customer marring their own gear is a completely different issue. My BC's went on with a 3/4 wrench with no drama. This guy should have never let work like that out the door. I wouldn't!!!

[Robb Jensen]

I used a Craftsman tappet wrench with a little of the blue painters masking tape on the BattleComp 2.0, This is what it looks like after 300 rounds nonsuppressed on my Boss's SCAR16. The wrench still left small rub marks on the wrench flats. I used a Birchwood Casey flat black paint pen to touch up the marks.

[Mega]

When I went to install my BC 1.0, I just could not get it to clock correctly with a crush washer, no matter what I did.

What I ended up using was a shim washer set that included 1 'large', 8 'medium', and 1 'small' shim (by thickness).

By mixing and matching the shims, you can get the muzzle device to clock correctly through a little trial and error.
Get it close with the shims, then cinch her down with a 3/4" wrench.

You can get the same results using peel washers, but I found the shim washers easier to use.