Stuck Fake Supressor

Ben86 said:

I recently obtained a Freedom Ordnance FX-9 pistol and very much want to remove the fake suppressor that came on it. I have tried strap wrenches, vice grips, pipe wrenches and everything in between and can't get it to budge. They claim no loctite and right hand threads.

Just wondering if anyone had a similar experience and if anyone had some useful tips before I throw in the towel and send it to them to remove it.

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If you took it off, doesn't that make it a SBR then?

bench vise after wrapping it in rags

I'd hit it with KROIL or a good penetrating oil and, if it's a right hand thread, try to tighten it ever so slightly, THEN try to loosen it. Sometimes if the thread is bound, that will help. Are you planning to keep the fake supressor? If not, a pipe wrench may be the next alternative.

Ben86 said:

I bench vised the barrel, wrapped in leather, to keep it still. My strap wrench maxes out on torque and just spins. Same with the other meaner wrenches. Although with them the fake suppressor is also leather wrapped so they can't dig in and be as mean as they are meant to be. They end up spinning around the thing as well without a mm of movement.

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I would try vising the suppressor once wrapped to avoid chewing it up and use the pistol as a way to turn it. You should be able to get a lot of torque on the pistol because of its shape versus the suppressor. After that as was said above I would start thinking of penetrating fluids. Then I would think about expansion and contraction via heat and cold. Being that it is a firearm that might be as simple as shooting it until hot and then trying...if that is an option. I would also make sure you were turning it the right direction (silly as that might sound). Also think of recruiting a large friend...preferably one built like a gorilla lol

Now if you decide that the fake can is going to end its life you have more options. Let us know how it goes

Another thought...what if you did a number of loop wraps with a wide rubber band (think like the kind that holds broccoli together). Maybe a softer rubber would provide better grip on the suppressor, then leather over that, then a pipe wrench or strap wrench?

The best recipe I have every found for stuck threads:
1) mechanically isolate (good vise, good wrench, etc).
2) Kroil overnight, and try.
3) if 2 doesn't get it, reKroil and heat until the Kroil is just boiling or smoking in the threads. Gently with propane or a heat gun will do. Try again, both hot, and after it's cooled a bit.

In every case, if the fastener/part isn't already broken, it's come loose after heating Kroil down into the threads and letting it cool.

ETA: If you don't Kroil, a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone works ok, but DON'T heat it with a flame.

Start cutting.

Ben86 said:

Could it loosen the barrel nut?

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Don't do that! You can ruin the upper. The barrel extension is keyed to the upper. . . you won't loosen the nut, but you can destroy the keyway in the upper.

If it won't budge. . . I would notch close to the threads with a cutting wheel, and use a nut splitter or cold chisel to split the female thread off the barrel.

"I would notch close to the threads with a cutting wheel, and use a nut splitter or cold chisel to split the female thread off the barrel."

Or just give up and use it like it is.

As Archimedes said: "Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world." Really you can be your own gorilla if need be.

...which is easy to say from my computer I just can't wrap my head around the thing being that tight (but I could be wrong). Torque in conjunction with heat (more than a blowdryer...maybe Propane/MAP gas) and cold / some kind of penetrating fluid should make even the most stubborn things break free in my experience. Slightly tightening it and then trying to loosen could have potential too but I don't know what the thread engagement looks like and I assume it is bottomed out. Also it is good to remember that different materials expand and contract at different rates and you can use that to your advantage. What material is the faux suppressor? Aluminum? Do you have other heat solutions and a freezer you can chuck the whole thing into? I am guessing oxy-acetylene has got to be overkill and can jack up finishes so let's not go there. Also quenching to effect expansion and contraction after heating comes to mind but too rapid of a temp change can be bad.

I don't know I don't want to give you bad advice as ultimately you have to live with it if something goes wrong...just throwing some stuff out there. One of my old jobs was to prep heads/blocks etc. breaking plugs free and I used to do this stuff daily (not on firearms mind you)...but obviously don't do anything you are not comfortable with. Also again if you are going to trash the faux suppressor you can pipe wrench or grind flats into it or even drill through it and insert a lever/use the hole to gain torque as it sounds like you are beyond your current wrench solution.

Again it is kinda hard to say without seeing for myself and I certainly don't want to lead you into a bad decision but at some point if you want to get it off there are only so many options. If it is truly unbudgeable something certainly isn't right...and here they are saying they use a cotton strap wrench. What would it cost to send it to them? And can we get some pics? We always like pics

Let us know how it goes.

I have the same problem with mine. I wanted to put a hand stop on there but couldn't get it off. Its torqued on there pretty good. I opted instead to go with an AFG. I'm guessing since the fake can is aluminum and the barrel is steel, its seized on there.

Ben86 said:

If only more companies would just put a thread protector on and let us decide what to attach!

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Oh they are out there... You chose the one you did...

Ben86 said:

"I'm guessing since the fake can is aluminum and the barrel is steel, its seized on there."

Looks just like that. Bottomed out aluminum on steel with some carbon lock mixed in perhaps.

It is very tempting to grind slots on the side and use a wrench but I can't keep the barrel still in my vice without biting naked steel. I bet it will just spin the barrel before I create enough torque.

Before I do something hamfisted I might just send this one off in a flat rate box. Thanks everyone for showing me I've tried all the nice options (including freezer). Makes me wonder how the hell they get these back off.

If only more companies would just put a thread protector on and let us decide what to attach!

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They used to come with an A2 style brake, but popular demand led them to putting the faux suppressor on there.

^^ Their gorilla has some very pretty hands.

MedWheeler said:

^^ Their gorilla has some very pretty hands.

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Frankly it's embarrassing

Well obviously you were wearing the wrong color of finger nail polish. Or maybe thats a fake video to make you feel like an idiot. It would have worked on me. I really need to get one of those strap wrenches too.

Is that Gary Busey and family inn the picture above?