Hi guys,
Has anybody got any good tricks for getting the barrel off a Model 29?
It's come in with a 0.023" barrel-cylinder gap and the forcing cone is badly eroded. I was intending to turn it back and recut. Problem is the barrel just will not come off. I have the MGW wrench with the correct inserts and also the correct factory nylon barrel block. I've left it sitting in penetrating fluid for a week, tried gentle heat (from a hot air gun) but it's too tight to remove without bending the frame.
Back to the factory from the UK isn't really an option.
Help please.
Cheers

I will assume that if it has a frame barrel retaining pin, it has been removed (29-2 and earlier). Which version of the Model 29?

I bought the MGW wrench many years ago. I wasn't particularly impressed with the insert. Tell me, does the insert lock against the flat on the bottom of the threaded frame boss or does it have a peg against the vertical section going down to the lower part of the frame? I made my own insert that locks against the flat on the bottom of the thread boss.

Have you considered soaking the barrel only in dry ice? A couple of hours in dry ice, maybe a bit of heat on the frame and try?

Since you're going to turn the barrel shoulder back anyway, have you considered a very careful and thin cut on the barrel as close to the frame as you can get without hitting the frame? This should release the tension on the threads. I've done this with rifle barrels that prove very stubborn with great success. Much easier since the barrel action goes right into the lathe and a cutoff blade can be used.

I have had success in the past with a stubborn barrel by striking the barrel/frame lug just behind the barrel shoulder (barrel/frame junction) repeatedly on both sides with a non-marring plastic hammer. This will, at times, help the applied fluid make it's way into very tight spaces. (I would suggest another immersion of the lug in a suitable penetrant prior to the application of this vibration/stress caused by the blows from the plastic hammer)

Immersion in a suitable penetrant in an ultrasonic environment might accomplish similar results.....although I have never used this method.

J. Kuhnhausen also mentions that if the barrel won't move with "moderate wrench pressure, maintain pressure on the wrench, and then strike the wrench handle with small, sharp raps."

__________________
Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I too was going to mention the 'sharp rap with a hammer' procedure. You put the torque into the wrench setup and have someone that is coordinated hit the wrench lever with a brass hammer. Also, for the first couple of raps put the torque into the tightening mode first, then into the loosening mode. I put my faith into the use of Kroil Solvent for the penetrating solution. Soak it, heat it , soak it, heat it again.....then start the torquing of the barrel. I am not familiar with the MGW wench, but a properly designed barrel wrench should not harm the frame alignment even under outrageous pressure.
Any possibility someone before you reinstalled this barrel and used something like Red Locktite as a locker? If so you are going to have to heat with a propane torch, just being very careful.

I had earlier asked the question as to whether the barrel was pinned or not. I don't know from personal experience, but I have heard and read that the unpinned Model 29 barrels were tightened to a somewhat heavier torque than the pinned barrels, and are supposedly more difficult to remove. I doubt S&W ever used Loctite, but I don't know that.

I do know that some rifle barrels are screwed into receivers so tightly that it is essentially impossible to remove them without machining a relief groove into the barrel where it meets the receiver face. I think the old WWI Model 1917 U. S. Enfield rifles were notorious for that, and that many Enfield receivers were cracked by efforts to remove the original barrels.

I will also bring up another theory on the Model 29 barrel - thread galling. I don't know if that ever happens with revolvers or not, but I have had it happen in other applications. It usually happens with dissimilar metals, or where there is a large hardness difference between the mating pieces. There is no cure for a galled thread short of machining it out.

Sounds dumb, but are you trying to turn the frame in the right direction?

Before attempting to remove any gun barrel I always just stopped, put my hands in my pockets and looked at the set up for a moment.
On more then one occasion I was about to try turning the frame and wrench in the wrong direction.

That's all I can think of. Is this gun a 29-3 or later model?

" Originally Posted by WR Moore
...Since you're going to turn the barrel shoulder back anyway, have you considered a very careful and thin cut on the barrel as close to the frame as you can get without hitting the frame? "

Might work, but I have no idea how it would be done. Maybe with a Dremel tool and cutoff disc? Thin bladed saw?

The issue with the Pattern 14/17 Enfields wasn't over torquing. Some inventive soul decided that the barrel threads should be dipped in what amounted to hot tar before installation to prevent rust on the threads. Since it was liquid during installation, it provided lube to the barrel shoulder/action joint and then hardened on the threads.

I'm also reminded that sometimes applying the removal
torque and then holding it will start the stuck bolt/nut moving. The slight attempt to further tighten may also help.

Hi Gents,
Sorry it took me so long to reply, been offline.
It's a 6" 29-5, so not pinned.
The problem is damaging the finish. On a stainless gun heat would almost certainly work, although I have had one gall on the threads, but I've never had a blued one do that.
I've used the MGW wrench for about 1500 barrels over the years, and never failed to undo one before. However the amount of torque I'm having to use is definitely on the edge of maximum. You can see the yoke to frame gap opening up if you put the yoke back in (the gap does close back up if I tighten it with the same torque). So I'm close to bending the frame!
The "problem" with the MGW wrench is that the nylon inserts will melt if I put it onto a hot frame.
I'll try penetrating fluid onto a hot frame, but wary it will mark the blueing.

Just an idea. plug the forcing cone. Get the wrench on the frame and set it up with the muzzle up. Then make a mixture of acetone and dry ice and pour it down the barrel. Wear gloves as the slurry will be -100f and should shrink the barrel momentarily. Cheap to try.

Success!!!
Full torque on the wrench and had my son belt the wrench shaft with a brass hammer. Went with a bit of a bang. Everything clean inside. Looks like the penetrating fluid had gotten all through the threads. So It must have just been mighty tight.
I hope the frame closes up when I retighten it, as there is a few thousandths gap at the top edge of the yoke.

I have never seen a forcing cone this bad, I'll try to post some pics.
Cheers for the advice

Here are some photos. The Barrel-Cylinder gap was .023" and the cone gauge drops way down. there is also a groove in the forcing cone!
How this looks so bad when the rest of the revolver looks relatively unworn is a mystery. I suspect very hot loads with a hot-burning powder.

Attached Images

	Mod 29-004s.jpg (73.0 KB, 132 views)
	Mod 29-016s.jpg (62.5 KB, 122 views)

Congrats! I know how great it feels to be stumped by something and finally getting it fixed.

How does the top strap and cylinder face look?

Hi Tomcatt,
There is a degree of flame cutting, but only in the centre of the top strap. Like an elipse by the rear sight thread. When I've had cutting on an L frame it went right across the width as a straight line.
Cylinder face looks OK
Cheers