Vise jaws for 15-22 barrel

JeepWhisperer · Apr 30, 2014

I have searched the interwebs and this forum without much definitive word on this product. I am attempting an A2 FSB retrofit on my Dad's new 15-22, and need to remove the factory screw on flash suppressor. I bought a set of these at the local big box hardware store Amazon.com: Bessey BV-NVJ Multi-Purpose Vise Jaws (Jaws ONLY): Home Improvement@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/3170a8px-yL.@@AMEPARAM@@3170a8px-yL but would like to see if anyone has any experience with this brand or even similar vise jaws before I give it a go. Is something like this sufficient to clamp the barrel enough? Also; do I need to wrap the barrel with anything like electrical tape to prevent marring the surface? I'm also scared of deforming the barrel. I'm probably just being paranoid, but I have never removed a suppressor before and I believe it's on there pretty tight. One more thing.....is the crush washer reusable or do I need to replace it? My gut feeling is that I must replace it but I'm just not sure. TIA!

trebor127 · Apr 30, 2014

the plastic jaws you have look a little flimsy,not much grip area.......the washer is up to you as they are 10 a penny in america haha
i made my own vice jaws from 2 pieces of 3"x2" wood,then
clamped them together and drilled a 5/8th's hole down the middle joint

as it gives a large contact area then just clamped the barrel tight between them in a solid fixed heavy duty vice......using the correct size "wrench" i gave the wrench a sharp tap with a soft face hammer .....the shock loosened the flash hider

for the washer i made my own as i wanted the writing on my dummy can at 90deg to the top rail....i only made it as getting even small bits in England is difficult

roadkill45 · Apr 30, 2014

yep make your own vice jaws, pretty simple. as for the washer, i use one but it is just a spacer since 'normally' rifle threads are are a little longer than pistol threads and i use real cans so they need to but up against the shoulder of the end of the threads. sometimes these are too long in a rifle so i just use a regular black spacer, to keep it screwed in to the proper depth.

no need in buying a crush washer, just use a regular one. if you want, a little blue loc-tite or some clear nail polish will work as a bonding agent.

CrazyFingers · Apr 30, 2014

JeepWhisperer said:
would like to see if anyone has any experience with this brand or even similar vise jaws before I give it a go.

I used these when removing my barrel: Barrel Vise Jaws for Rifle and Pistol Barrels [TC22-BVJ-1] - $24.99 Tacticool22, Parts and Accessories for .22 Caliber Firearms

They gripped the barrel fine. I didn't use anything between since the jaws are aluminum and are much softer than the barrel steel, although I think I'll wrap it in a scrap of an old chamois cloth next time so I don't have to clean aluminum residue off the barrel.

JeepWhisperer said:
I'm also scared of deforming the barrel. I'm probably just being paranoid

You are. Unless you're The Hulk, you won't harm your barrel.

JeepWhisperer said:
One more thing.....is the crush washer reusable or do I need to replace it?

I've removed my flash suppressor and reinstalled with the same washer several times since it is an A1 and doesn't need to be indexed like an A2. Your call on this since crush washers are reasonably cheap: http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/Crush-Washer-p/crush washer.htm

Krylancelo · Apr 30, 2014

The barrel is very hard to bend or break, it's steel, so don't worry about that. I've tried plastic vice jaws very similar to the ones in your link and they aren't very good. Only work for extremely low torque operations. They slip even when vised down hard. I ended up going back to my good ol' aluminum vice blocks. While they do put little aluminum nicks on the barrel (it's not actually marring the barrel, simply rubbing off aluminum on it, just get a brush and some oil and it comes right off), you can mitigate that with some scrap leather or another protective layer for the barrel.

As far as torquing on a muzzle device... Since I routinely switch between a suppressor and the A1 flash hider that came with the gun (I don't like shooting with unprotected threads and I think the A1 looks way cooler than a thread protector

) I often only hand tighten it down. It hasn't come off on my yet due to being "only" a .22. Obviously on a rifle with a greater amount of recoil, hand tight isn't nearly good enough. Seems to work on a .22 though. Don't be a wimp though, tighten it pretty hard with your hand and you'll be fine.

If you want to, you can reuse the crush washer. They have a large amount of "crush" to them. Generally people say to replace them but if you are only using a flash hider, I don't see any problem with reusing one. The down-side to reusing one is that they don't crush "evenly" and it just gets worse as it crushes more (from multiple uses). If you were ever going to mount a suppressor on the muzzle device (which most people would suggest not using even a new crush washer on anyway), that can cause major problems. If you had a muzzle device that had a very small exit hole (like some compensators), it may have issues with repeatedly reusing an uneven crush washer. But with a flash hider it shouldn't be any problem at all.

Rob1 · Apr 30, 2014

I had mine removed in shop when i purchased the rifle.

was then down to dealer not to mark the barrel and if he did his job to supply different rifle, simple clamp in vice (alloy blocks) gentle tap with hammer on wrench and bingo was free.

Quick wipe with light cloth to remove the alloy marks job done.

I have now fitted a moderator ( suppressor) which is just off fully tightened, this allows me to remove and refit flash eliminator as and when I want to.

This allows for the best of both worlds where I can be sneaky when I want or noisy if I want to make some noise and enjoy the sound when out and about.

just my experience hope you end up a the place you want to be.

Rob

tacticool22 · Apr 30, 2014

The proper tools make your job go much smoother.
The crush washer "should" be replaced after every use because they crush and don't spring back completely.
Yo never use a crush washer with a suppressor, they can throw the can off centerline and cause a baffle strike.
Never locktite or nail polish your flash hider or barrel nut. If you do, you will invent some new words when you try to remove them.
If there is some aluminum transfer that won't come off with a rag and WD-40, use some bluing compound. It eats aluminum up.
BTW, when you clamp your barrel in aluminum vise jaws, use as big of a vise as you can (5 inch minimum) and when you clamp it tight, tighten it just a little bit more. And make sure the barrel is clean of any oil or it will probably slip.

tacticool22 · Apr 30, 2014

trebor127 said:
the plastic jaws you have look a little flimsy,not much grip area.......the washer is up to you as they are 10 a penny in america haha
i made my own vice jaws from 2 pieces of 3"x2" wood,then
clamped them together and drilled a 5/8th's hole down the middle jointas it gives a large contact area then just clamped the barrel tight between them in a solid fixed heavy duty vice......using the correct size "wrench" i gave the wrench a sharp tap with a soft face hammer .....the shock loosened the flash hider

for the washer i made my own as i wanted the writing on my dummy can at 90deg to the top rail....i only made it as getting even small bits in England is difficult

Why is your cut off tool on the "other side" of the lathe?
What did that spacer do?

JeepWhisperer · Apr 30, 2014

It must be a right hand drive lathe! I think he made that to properly index the part? I know you didn't ask me though.

Oh...and of course, thank you everybody for the advice. Now I have a pretty good idea of which direction to go and what to expect. This is a really good forum as far as forums go. No bashing and needling. I don't know how to act!

trebor127 · May 1, 2014

Jody the "other side"as you call it

there are two main advantages to a rear mounted parting off tool. Firstly, with a conventional front mounted tool, if it digs in the tool tends to go under the work piece and is wedged between the workpiece and the topslide because the lathe is very rigid and this tends to make it dig in deeper. If the same happens on a tool mounted in a rear toolpost then the tool tends to ride up on top of the toolpost and the toolpost is deflected away and hence the tool tends to "undig" itself.
The second advantage of the rear mounted toolpost is that the chips tend to fall away rather than collect in the parting groove so there is much less likelihood of the tool jamming in the slot due to chips wedging between the tool and the groove.

the washer ended up that width as i did not want to remove the plastic end rail cap,so as 1 turn of the can is .0357" i worked back so the end of the can was 1/4 turn was from the end cap

....then i machined approx 1/8" off the front of the can so it was flush with the barrel and the writing was at 90deg to the top rail.....job done

keith

Rob1 · May 1, 2014

Nice set up Keith.

Reminds me of the kit I used at school many moons ago.

Used to love the old double metal work sessions.

Mark.

Vise jaws for 15-22 barrel

JeepWhisperer

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trebor127

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roadkill45

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CrazyFingers

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Krylancelo

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Rob1

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tacticool22

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trebor127

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