Barrel too tight to press in trunion? What about this?

[Ted in Tallahassee]

I, like many of you, am the owner of a newly acquired Krinkov kit and plan to build an SBR on a host gun or receiver, but ONE of the nastly little complications we face is the freaking TIGHTNESS of the fit of the barrel in the trunion.

So--what about this--What REALLY wouild happen if you took a brake cylinder hone and BARELY enlarged the trunion's opening, just so that the barrel could be pressed in with a piece of wood and a hammer, instead of some jigged-up seven foot tall hydraulic press? I mean, after the barrels' been drilled & pinned, and as long as it's not a LOOSE fit in the trunion, what would happen? Would it work loose and become dangerous? How? Would it take 100,000 rounds to do this? What's the real deal on this?

I'm sure the purists & veteran builders will at least cringe at this very idea, but hell, it's a fair question. -Ted

[SClark]

it need to be pressed with that force or after a while the barrel can jump the pin. that is what i was told. how would you make sure it was straight?

[Ted in Tallahassee]

"Barrel jump the pin?" Hmm. OK, sounds like an answer. Still, I have a hard time imagining how it would do that. Anyone know anything else about this?

-Ted

[DaveL111]

Mike Prewitt suggested to me to use some emory cloth and pollish the barrel a little bit. Also use oil when you press it. I'm afraid a brake hone might take too much off. You want it to fit tight so it won't pop out, which would be a major problem.

[Rusty Shackleford]

I have a milled receiver that was built with a Hungarian parts kit barrel. Since we did have the ability when building this kit to cryo-freeze the barrel, we just turned the barrel down a little more when taking the threads off. We then tapped it in with a block(it was still tight). The biggest problem was drilling the pin hole, as the receiver is hardened to about 55 rockwell. We have put several hundred rounds through that piece, and still have a weapon tighter than our Colt AR-15. Not the best way to do it, of course, but it has been done with some success.

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They can have my guns, but they have to take my ammunition first.

[affatboy]

Try packing your barrel in dry ice, and put the trunion in the oven for a few hours. This might help enough.