MachIVshooter
Member
My focus in suppressor development has been primarily monocores, as they go a bit quicker for me, require less material, and I don't believe they've seen enough development in the centerfire rifle category. But I decided to see how quickly I could knock down a stacked baffle type. My approach is a little different than conventional designs, though.
It is a taper lock brake mounted design, my own, which uses a 20° included angle cone with 1/2" of 1"-12 TPI thread ahead of a chamber like brake with offset angled holes designed to create a vortex in the blast chamber. This is the brake, made of heat treated 17-4 stainless:
The initial prototype had 10 baffles and measured 9.0" long at a weight of 20.3 ounces. However, I had made the muzzle brake too thin to stand up to full auto .308 fire from a 13" barrel, and in testing, the brake failed and sent a bullet through the entire baffle stack and end cap. This was the original set of 10 17-4 stainless heat treated baffles and end cap:
The baffles vary in length, but all have a 60° cone. The original stack had thicker baffles, but to reduce weight, I thinned them out considerably. The blast baffle has a .065" thick cone with .040" walls. The remaining baffles get progressively thinner cones, from .040" to .025", and all with .032" walls.
The stack is fully welded, including the end cap. They each have an undercut and counterbore for alignment, and I clamp them all together with a piece of allthread and then use a rotary indexer to TIG them cleanly.
If you intend to weld baffle stacks (or anything else cylindrical), I highly recommend investing in such an indexer. They're about $80 on fleabay, plus collets or chuck. Variable speed electronic rotary units are nice, but spendy. These are an economical solution that also have other uses on a mill or even drill press for indexing in whole degrees. I use the same indexer to cut the wrench flats and drill the ports on the brakes.
This pic is the original 10 baffle stack before welding
and this is the current 9 baffle stack with a different style end cap. I also lowered the heat treat temp to increase hardness, which is why the second baffle stack has a more golden color, versus the blue of the first.
one of the primary differences in my design from most others is that the rear mount (also 17-4 stainless) is threaded into the 1.5" .070" wall gr. 9 Ti tube, and then the baffle stack is threaded in from the front. The blast chamber is strictly the Ti housing. The threads are turned onto the end cap after the stack is welded & trued up. The stack is removable, though not serviceable.
In order to not waste the expensive titanium tube, I simply heated it and beat the bulges back in, then turned the profile down in the middle .020" to get rid of the hammer marks, and to reduce weight. The final configuration is 8" long, 14.5 ounces (without brake) and hearing safe according to my ears on the 13" .308 and 10.5" 5.56.
It is a taper lock brake mounted design, my own, which uses a 20° included angle cone with 1/2" of 1"-12 TPI thread ahead of a chamber like brake with offset angled holes designed to create a vortex in the blast chamber. This is the brake, made of heat treated 17-4 stainless:
The initial prototype had 10 baffles and measured 9.0" long at a weight of 20.3 ounces. However, I had made the muzzle brake too thin to stand up to full auto .308 fire from a 13" barrel, and in testing, the brake failed and sent a bullet through the entire baffle stack and end cap. This was the original set of 10 17-4 stainless heat treated baffles and end cap:
The baffles vary in length, but all have a 60° cone. The original stack had thicker baffles, but to reduce weight, I thinned them out considerably. The blast baffle has a .065" thick cone with .040" walls. The remaining baffles get progressively thinner cones, from .040" to .025", and all with .032" walls.
The stack is fully welded, including the end cap. They each have an undercut and counterbore for alignment, and I clamp them all together with a piece of allthread and then use a rotary indexer to TIG them cleanly.
If you intend to weld baffle stacks (or anything else cylindrical), I highly recommend investing in such an indexer. They're about $80 on fleabay, plus collets or chuck. Variable speed electronic rotary units are nice, but spendy. These are an economical solution that also have other uses on a mill or even drill press for indexing in whole degrees. I use the same indexer to cut the wrench flats and drill the ports on the brakes.
This pic is the original 10 baffle stack before welding
and this is the current 9 baffle stack with a different style end cap. I also lowered the heat treat temp to increase hardness, which is why the second baffle stack has a more golden color, versus the blue of the first.
one of the primary differences in my design from most others is that the rear mount (also 17-4 stainless) is threaded into the 1.5" .070" wall gr. 9 Ti tube, and then the baffle stack is threaded in from the front. The blast chamber is strictly the Ti housing. The threads are turned onto the end cap after the stack is welded & trued up. The stack is removable, though not serviceable.
In order to not waste the expensive titanium tube, I simply heated it and beat the bulges back in, then turned the profile down in the middle .020" to get rid of the hammer marks, and to reduce weight. The final configuration is 8" long, 14.5 ounces (without brake) and hearing safe according to my ears on the 13" .308 and 10.5" 5.56.
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