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Posted: 6/26/2011 11:37:23 AM EDT
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Went shooting yesterday with my light weight AR and when I got back I noticed that the barrel nut on my Clarks Custom CF Free Float is loose, anybody heard of this ever happening or is this just shitty luck for me only ?
could the BCG actually put that much pressure on the barrel to make the barrel nut strip ? Im assuming the aluminum barrel nut somehow is stripped and im going to have to grind off the pinned flash and buy a new free float, either that or the gun smith never tightened it enough and no lock tight on the threads ? |
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Whoever worked on the weapon last forgot to tighten the barrel nut or did not torque it properly with a torque wrench.
Take it back to the person who worked on it last, and explain the problem. If he says he never uses a torque wrench, or doesn't own one, that's an indicator that you need to find a competent gunsmith, and leave that fool's shop immediately. |
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Barrel nut is loose or the float tube is loose? I'm not familiar with that particular brand of float tube, you usually have one of three types of attachment styles.
1. Simple glue on float tube that gets epoxied to their proprietary barrel nut after it's been properly torqued. 2. Simple screw on float tube that threads to a proprietary threaded barrel nut with a locking nut on the back after the barrel nut has been torqued in place. 3. Bolt on float tube that gets screwed into a proprietary barrel nut after it's been torqued in place. If you have thw 1st type your barrel nut is loose. The other two types maybe not. Do not shoot the rifle if the barrel nut is loose. Posting pictures may help solve your problem. |
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Quoted:
Simple glue on float tube that gets epoxied to their proprietary barrel nut after it's been properly torqued. Here's what Brownells says: Requires installation of supplied, seperate barrel nut and gluing of tube to nut with Elmer's Ultimate, Devcon High Strength, Gorilla Glue, or equivalent bonding agent.
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Quoted:
Barrel nut is loose or the float tube is loose? I'm not familiar with that particular brand of float tube, you usually have one of three types of attachment styles. 1. Simple glue on float tube that gets epoxied to their proprietary barrel nut after it's been properly torqued. 2. Simple screw on float tube that threads to a proprietary threaded barrel nut with a locking nut on the back after the barrel nut has been torqued in place. 3. Bolt on float tube that gets screwed into a proprietary barrel nut after it's been torqued in place. If you have thw 1st type your barrel nut is loose. The other two types maybe not. Do not shoot the rifle if the barrel nut is loose. Posting pictures may help solve your problem. yes its the first one. its the one pictured above. i used the 2 ton devcon epoxy too, in fact the expoxy i can swear on after using it but its the barrel nut that broke its seal |
| You don't use loctite on the barrel nut, you use grease. Your gunsmith didn't properly torque your barrel nut. My Clark hasn't moved at all. It is more difficult to torque properly since you have to use a strap wrench or pipe wrench to tighten it, but it's still possible. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Simple glue on float tube that gets epoxied to their proprietary barrel nut after it's been properly torqued. Here's what Brownells says: Requires installation of supplied, seperate barrel nut and gluing of tube to nut with Elmer's Ultimate, Devcon High Strength, Gorilla Glue, or equivalent bonding agent. hmmm. tube glued to the barrel nut? I think you'll need a cut off wheel to access your gas block? and a new float tube to fix her now. nice looking rig! |
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Quoted: So would you have to remove the glue to try tightening the barrel nut? If he used the right glue, it's not removeable. You'll have to destroy the tube to get it off. You could salvage the barrel nut with some work though. Other option would be to cut the tube behind the gas block, remove the gas tube, tighten the barrel nut and tube together, then reinstall the gas tube. |
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yeah im going to have to purchase a whole new CF free float(luckily is only $100) it will need to be cut off to get to the gas block hopefully they can salvage the flash hider.
I cant see a gun smith admitting they did something wrong and covering this for me. Anyways, I was just seeing if this has ever happened to anyone else. |
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Quoted:
yeah im going to have to purchase a whole new CF free float(luckily is only $100) it will need to be cut off to get to the gas block (luckily is only $100) hopefully they can salvage the flash hider. I cant see a gun smith admitting they did something wrong and covering this for me. Anyways, I was just seeing if this has ever happened to anyone else. I'd cut it nice and square behind the gas block, remove gas block and gas tube and try to re-use the float tube. A good strap wrench might salvage it 
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| I don't see a strap wrench getting enough torque. If you can remove the gas tube and or gas block do that. Then try to locate either 1) a piece of old fire hose or 2) some header wrap like you would use on a Harley or race car/hot rod etc. Use a few of wraps of that type of heavy material and a bunch of wraps of duct tape on the tube as far to the end (over the bbl nut) as you can then use a big plumber type pipe wrench. The longer the handle the better. That might get the torque you need and not mar up your tube. Good luck. |
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thanks for all the nice comments about the build.
i can see how i could cut or drill to get to the gas block, remove the gas tube and use the strap wrench to tighten it up but then the bipod swivel wouldnt be in the right place. im just going to buy a new one and hopefully get it dont the right way. |
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Just an idea... in the interest in saving your set-up/parts.
Could you go to a good smith or machine shop and have 2 holes drilled 180 degrees apart through your float tube and into your barrel nut?? About 1/4" in diameter and about 3/8" deep..... WRENCH LIKE THIS ONE......... http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/PROTO-Adjustable-Pin-Spanner-Wrench-1FJ39?Pid=search I don't know what your barrel nut looks like but you should be able to get a couple of holes through the FF tube and into the nut. Then use a "spanner" wrench.... I mean a wrench that looks something like a castle nut wrench but has a ROUND peg/stud on the end that fits into the hole you have drilled...something like these http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/spanner-wrenches/wrenches/hand-tools/ecatalog/N-9a8 .... you could just drill one hole. That would let you tighten the whole unit without tearing stuff up and you would just have to live with a little hole in your tube. I am pretty sure it would work. |
| This is why the Clark CF tubes are cheap, they're designed that way. A cheap design that is. As we all know, the gas tube won't allow the barrel nut to unscrew itself, so the barrel nut likely has some striped threads. So the barrel nut & CF tube are junk. I say this because the tube, if properly installed was bonded with the barrel nut, forever. You'll have to cut or grind on the CF tube to access the gas block. CF doesn't take to being drilled very well. Whatever method you use, you should flood the area with water to keep down the CF dust. CF dust can be very harmful to your lungs. You might be able to use a vacuum cleaner for dust removal. I doubt I'd do it, unless the vacuum had a HEPA filter attached. After removal of the gas tube, the rest is up to you. A lot of people like the Clark tube, I don't for this reason. Of course you could take it back to the gun plumber, but he'd likely tell you it was a defective part & blame it on Clark Custom. |
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Quoted:
This is why the Clark CF tubes are cheap, they're designed that way. A cheap design that is. As we all know, the gas tube won't allow the barrel nut to unscrew itself, so the barrel nut likely has some striped threads. So the barrel nut & CF tube are junk. I say this because the tube, if properly installed was bonded with the barrel nut, forever. You'll have to cut or grind on the CF tube to access the gas block. CF doesn't take to being drilled very well. Whatever method you use, you should flood the area with water to keep down the CF dust. CF dust can be very harmful to your lungs. You might be able to use a vacuum cleaner for dust removal. I doubt I'd do it, unless the vacuum had a HEPA filter attached. After removal of the gas tube, the rest is up to you. A lot of people like the Clark tube, I don't for this reason. Of course you could take it back to the gun plumber, but he'd likely tell you it was a defective part & blame it on Clark Custom. I actually dont blame the product on this but I do blame the gunsmith for not tightening up all the way. The the reason the Clark Custom CF free is the lightest is because its the cheapest most simplest FF there is. Aluminum barrel nut & a CF tube, no bolts just a tad bit of 2ton glue. Shit the whole FF is 6oz, that under of. |
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