I removed my FH and FSB because I was trimming it to be a low pro to put an extended rail on. I finished shaving the FSB and painted it. I then reinstalled it. When it came to putting the FH back on I tried putting a new crush washer on and threading the FH to see where it timed and it timed to 12 oclock hand tight, which means I would have to crank it around another 360 degrees to make it line up. Instead I used my old crush washer because it timed at 9 oclock by hand. I cleaned the thread so the FH and the muzzle with break cleaner and applied some Lubriplate 130A to the threads. I just used a small amount of Lubriplate 130A. I worked the FH to 12 oclock with the old crush washer and it is snug as can be.
My questions are:
-Should I have not reused the same crush washer?
-Is a small amount of lubriplate 130A ok to put on muzzle threads to prevent galling?
-Should I take everything off and redo it with the new crush washer and a different lube/grease on the threads?
Thanks
I did this once before and just used slip 2000 ewl on the threads with a new washer but the washer timed better by hand than this one.
The lubriplate is fine. I use aeroshell 33MS. Due to the heat and fouling the muzzle device and threads are exposed to at the muzzle, a high temp threadlocker like rocksett, resbond ts blue, or a high temp grease is preferred if you ever want to get it back off in the future.
ok. is it cool that I just used a little or should I have gooped it up? I literally just dabbed some on my finger and smeared around the threads. Sorry, I just want to be clear so I do not have a hard time getting the FH off in the future. Thanks
It’s not ideal to re-use a crush washer. It can over expand and get stuck on the muzzle threads, making it difficult to remove in the future. Using the new crush washer would have been better even though it needed a full turn. Better still would be to use shims.
At the moment, there’s no reason to re-do the muzzle device
Well I ended up taking off the FH again and putting a new crush washer on. I really had to clamp down on the barrel to get it to go around. I do not have a barrel vice which would have been extremely nice. Instead I rapped it in leather around the front of the barrel and clamped it down in the vice. I would tighten the new washer a bit and release some pressure and tighten it up again until it timed right. I really had to snug the barrel down. It kept wanting to rotate. Just proves that the proper tools help for the job. I thoIght I was going to break my vice or the damn barrel with the amount of pressure I had to clamp down with. I literally had to tighten the vice with my body weight. It eventually snugged up enough. Lesson learned…I ordered a good barrel vice.
You may want to just try a new crush washer once your barrel blocks come in. I could be wrong but I was under the impression that you’re not supposed to loosen and retighten a crush washer and it sounds like you ended up with a lot of torque to put it on. You may do well to buy a couple and see how different ones time.
I didn’t back it off all the way. I maybe loosened it up by backing off by 1/8 turn and then reapplying pressure until it lined up. Kind of like you do when torquing a barrel nut. I did order more crush washers too so If I do have to do it again I can use another one.
I personally would not reuse a crush washer especially if you don’t end up with some torque on it because as the rifle heats and cools the muzzle device could work lose. If you put rockset or something that WILL keep it from coming lose. I have also used just a little bit of High Temp red silicon RTV gasket maker from the auto parts store.
To keep from having your barrel slip in your barrel clamp take a look at this stuff. It’ll help ensure your barrel stays put. –>Brownells Rosin
To keep from wrecking your barrel the best tools are these: Reaction Rod
OR this…
Brownells Barrel Ext Torque Tool
This one is a really good deal right now on sale for $30. I have one of these because I bought it before the Geissele version came out. What I did to make it easier to use is that I used my grinder to make flat at the end of the tool so I could grab it in my vice. It works great, but if you want the very best tool buy the Geissele Reaction Rod.
OP, just grab a muzzle device shim set. AAC makes one. Precision Armament makes one that I use exclusively now. Either will work and prevent having to gorilla your flash hider back on.
With shim sets, use plenty of high temp moly grease, like aeroshell 33MS. There was a guy on the EE who was selling small amounts of it for very reasonable prices.
Apply the grease on the threads of the muzzle and the muzzle device, the shoulder of the barrel, the back of the muzzle device, and to both sides of the shim you’re using. Get things timed properly by hand and then torque to alignment. Then break torque and torque again back to alignment…after doing this, you may need to go to the next thickness shim as it has been my experience that on the second torque event, the device will usually over rotate. I suspect this is due to some surface polishing of the shim, barrel shoulder, and rear of the muzzle device.
Also, USE A BARREL VICE. LOWE’S sells a delrin vice block that I use. It’s right around ten bucks and it’s a yellowish Orange color. You can torque the barrel nice and tight without any chance of marring the finish.
I’ve seen and used barrel vices (with barrel blocks) that were tightened down very tight. Never seen one deform a barrel, though I don’t doubt it’s possible. Especially for a lighter weight profile. Mine is a gov profile and is a quite thick.
Barrel vices or “V” blocks put pressure on 4 points of the barrel, whereas a flat plate (normal vise) only has 2 points - easier to “egg” the barrel at the point of clamping.
If the FH will not time correctly, try another crush washer. If that will not work, pick up a peel washer and use enough layers to get proper minimum torque on the FH.