Tightening Up a Loose Pinned Barrel

[Sieveboy]

Hi - I'm looking for some advice on how to tighten up the barrel on this Ranger .22 pump action. It was made by Savage and is identical to the Model 29B.

The barrel is very loose and moves around substantially when pumping the gun, even interfering with cycling as well as accuracy.

The barrel is supposed to be an interference fit with the receiver, and is held in place with a pin. The pin was in there real good, but I was finally able to press it out.





My thoughts are:
1. Wrap or soft solder a shim around the barrel and press in, reinstall pin.
2. Drill out the hole to 7/32" and install a pin (I have not had a chance to see if the original pin is tapered
3. Knurl or stipple the portion of the barrel than inserts into the receiver to try and tighten up the interference fit. Probably stipple as I don't have access to a lathe.

Does anyone have any opinions on what is the best way to solve the issue?

Thanks!

 

[rcmodel]

Knurling or center-punch "stippling" would probably work best if you want to be able to get the barrel out occasionally for cleaning.

Otherwise, I would degrease it and use Loctite #620 Bearing Mount on it.

http://www.aboveallmotorwerks.com/P...semblies-(36-ml-Bottle)__LOCTITE_37485_S.aspx

You can still get it out if necessary by using heat to break the lock-tight bond, but it wouldn't be something you want to do every time you want to take the barrel off to clean it.

I doubt the shim idea would work, as I doubt you really have "that much" clearance for shim stock & solder.

If you had access to a gas torch & a lathe, you could tin it with high-temp silver solder and turn it back to a tight slip fit on the lathe.

rc

 

[243winxb]

Aluminium foil wrapped around the barrel maybe?

 

[earlthegoat2]

Knurl it in two rows around both of those shiny spots on the barrel alternating the punches between the two rows as you go. Use a center punch as rcmodel says.

Try to fit the barrel.

Hopefully it wont fit. Lightly dress the the knurling down with 600 grit sandpaper using a shoeshine motion. Curl the paper as far around the barrel as possible and try to keep it all even by changing sides often to get as close to a circle as possible.

If you have T gauges measure the hole in the receiver for the barrel in three different spots to make sure it is close to a perfect circle. If not you can dress down more on the barrel in those spots to better fit your hole. This could be part of the reason why the barrel is loose to begin with.

Get it fit this way to a tight slip fit. Use a thin dowel and mor abrasive paper to fit the pin to the barrel/receiver if it wont go back in.

You can also try knurling the whole area as the knurling may raise the center of that barrel mating area enough to engage. This could also be part of the reason the barrel is loose because there is not enough contact area.

 

[Sieveboy]

Thanks, Guys! It went just like the Goat said!

I chocked the barrel up in a vise using wooden protectors, and went all the way around with a neat item - the "colon" ) from my grandad's old number punch set. It worked great because it wasn't pointed, it kicked up a nice divot.

After this, the barrel didn't quite fit back into the receiver so I dressed it with emery paper and pounded it back into the receiver with a rawhide mallet. The force used was exactly what I expected, tight, but not excessive.

Then I tapped the pin back in. I also learned a little about tapered pins - it's a number 3.

The barrel/receiver assembly are now one unit. There is no play.

A great repair - thanks for the help!

Joe

 

[earlthegoat2]

Glad to help.

 

[xr1200]

Simply use some brownells acuglas gel expoxy before putting it together you will get a nice rock solid fit and it can be removed easily by simply heating area with heat gun to remove barrel again, as acuglas gel falls apart under low temp of 400 degrees and low temp doesn't hurt metal.

Note do not use jb weld as it withstands hi heat .

Note do not use a center punch to butcher up the barrel or chamber area or similar method, this is a hacks method and should be avoided.

You want your method to be unseen and not cause any defacing or devaluating of your firearm, epoxy is the best method in this case and it allows the gun to be taken apart again and you are not altering the gun in anyway.

 

[earlthegoat2]

His method did not alter the exterior of the gun in any way. Metal to metal fit. I hope there was no use of a center punch on the exterior like some hacks, as you say, will sometimes stake a sight when they should be punching from inside the dovetail and then lightly dressing down with a file.

rcmodel's advice above about using loctite 620 bearing mount is a much better idea than using acraglas.

Either way "gluing" barrel in seems no longer to be a necessary option.

 

[xr1200]

Earl - if you knew what you were talking about then you would know that acuglass gel is not glue it is high strength epoxy and it is well known to hold in redman barrel liners to permanently hold in barrel sleeves used for shot out pistol and rifle barrels. So it is a perfect remedy for this rifle.

Using a center punch to raise metal to tighten a barrel fit is a hacks solution, you might as well use vise grips and a hammer for all gun repairs.

Center punching the outside surface of a pistol is called strippling and it is done with a specialty punch, called a strippling punch, not a center punch.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Everyone feel free to send their items out to xr1200s gunsmith shop. I havent the foggiest what Acraglas is.

 

[brickeyee]

what Acraglas is

Brownells' filled bedding epoxy.

 

[rcmodel]

So it is a perfect remedy for this rifle.

Gluing the barrel in with Acraglas is not a perfect solution to this guys problem.
In fact, it is a very bad idea!

He has to be able to remove the barrel at will to get the bolt out to clean it at some point.

That is why it had a big slip-fit cross-pin and a slip fit barrel joint in the first place!

rc