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Posted: 7/5/2005 5:06:17 PM EDT
| I have a Stag Arms upper with an A2 flash hider. I am planning to replace the A2 flash hider with a Phantom. My question is, do I need to use a barrel vice to remove the old flash hider and install the new one, or can I get by with just removing the handguards and wrapping something around the barrel, then clamping the barrel into a bench vice? |
A barrel vice would be optimum but you might get by with wrapping the barrel and snugging it in a vice. If you do go that route I would use leather or thick rubber and stop if you think your scratching up your barrel. If you plan on doing a lot of AR maintenance then investing in the proper tools is a wise move. |
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OK, it doesn't look like the cheap and easy route is going to work. Tried clamping the barrel in the vise with some rubber around it and the whole barrel started to turn in the vise every time. I've read some positive posts about Bushmaster's Armorer's Action Clamp. I've got another AR that I'll probably do some upper receiver work on down the road, so it probably makes sense to go ahead and buy one. It seems to me though, that if I were clamping down the upper receiver with the action clamp and loosening the flash hider that there's a risk that I could start to loosen the barrel out of the receiver. Would it be better to use a set of barrel vise jaws blocks to change the flash hider or will the action block work OK to perform this task? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. |
| You wont loosen the barrel nut by turning the flash suppressor. You didnt mention how long the barrel is I suspect that since it has an A2 FS on it that it is atleaste 16". (Barrels shorter than 16" have the FS perm attached welded and pinned or with silver solder). |
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You're supposed to use an action block for removing or installing a barrel assembly. Most of the torque applied during this operation is concentrated on the barrel nut and the upper receiver. A lesser amount to the index pin. That's why you support the upper in the block. And you're supposed to use a barrel vise when removing or installing a flash hider. If you use an action block for this, a lot more of the torque will be transfered to the index pin. That's why you want to clamp the barrel, not the upper, securely in a vise. I'm not saying it can't be done with an action block, but it really shouldn't. I use homemade aluminum vise jaws lined with leather to do FH installs and have never had an issue. And I tighten the shit out of the vise. |
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