Very stuck barrel in upper receiver

[Jcon268]

Well I left it in the freezer for 12 hours and just gave it several good whacks on a wooden dowel (plunger stick). All I accomplished was shredding the dowel and getting slivers of wood dust and shavings in the chamber area. No budge. Sounds like a professional job for someone with a press and more experience in building and disassembling AR-15s.

 

[Jcon268]

So here's what I'm dealing with. Thought about buying a rubber hammer/mallet (yes I don't have one) and sticking the reaction rod inside then striking the top of the receiver above the gas tube to knock the receiver backward. Hoping it works.

 

[Certaindeaf]

By the way my vice is a 15 minute drive away from my freezer

A can a Freon (or the like) and a torch'll do ya out in the wild.

 

[DirectDrive]

So here's what I'm dealing with. Thought about buying a rubber hammer/mallet (yes I don't have one) and sticking the reaction rod inside then striking the top of the receiver above the gas tube to knock the receiver backward. Hoping it works.

View attachment 415175

I don't think a rubber mallet will deliver a sharp enough blow to do anything.
You might bend your gas tube though.
Why is that still on ?

I'd take it in and let someone that is tooled up take care of it.

So here's what I'm dealing with. Thought about buying a rubber hammer/mallet (yes I don't have one) and sticking the reaction rod inside then striking the top of the receiver above the gas tube to knock the receiver backward. Hoping it works.

View attachment 415175

 

[osprey]

Do you have any friends that work on their own cars and such. Somebody with a hydraulic press or an arbor press could get those seperated without damage. If you lived near me I could do it for you but that is not the case. Most machine shops could do it for you as well.

 

[Jcon268]

I don't think a rubber mallet will deliver a sharp enough blow to do anything.
You might bend your gas tube though.
Why is that still on ?

I'd take it in and let someone that is tooled up take care of it.

The muzzle device is pinned and welded on so I can't take the gas block off. I could unpin the gas tube but honestly didn't expect to run into this much hassle and didn't really have the time to tinker with it. My vice is at my work so every time I want to work on it I have to pack it up and take it there. I'm with you on just having someone do it.

 

[Jcon268]

Do you have any friends that work on their own cars and such. Somebody with a hydraulic press or an arbor press could get those seperated without damage. If you lived near me I could do it for you but that is not the case. Most machine shops could do it for you as well.

In fact I do. I have a friend who works at a machine shop. He's not gun knowledgeable but I suppose it shouldn't matter too much for this.

 

[DirectDrive]

The muzzle device is pinned and welded on so I can't take the gas block off. I could unpin the gas tube but honestly didn't expect to run into this much hassle and didn't really have the time to tinker with it. My vice is at my work so every time I want to work on it I have to pack it up and take it there. I'm with you on just having someone do it.

You'll probably want to take the gas tube off.
Doing that will free up more "bearing surface" for whoever presses the barrel out.

 

[Jcon268]

You'll probably want to take the gas tube off.
Doing that will free up more "bearing surface" for whoever presses the barrel out.

I'm now realizing that'll probably have to happen. Thought it would be a relatively quick and painless slide off and swap out the receiver but NO

 

[osprey]

If it were me I would definitely remove gas tube and find a piece of pipe that clears the barrel o.d. but contacts the face of the receiver squarely and rests on plates of press squarely. The pipe can be sqaured up on both ends quickly in a lathe. This method should prevent damage to the receiver and barrel.

 

[MountainBear]

A dead blow hammer will always work better than a rubber mallet.

 

[DirectDrive]

If it were me I would definitely remove gas tube and find a piece of pipe that clears the barrel o.d. but contacts the face of the receiver squarely and rests on plates of press squarely. The pipe can be sqaured up on both ends quickly in a lathe. This method should prevent damage to the receiver and barrel.

1) The receiver needs to be restrained (jig or blocks)
2) Force need to be applied to the BE (barrel extension)

Push the barrel out of the receiver, don't try to push the receiver off the barrel, if I am reading the above correctly.

 

[osprey]

That is what i tried to convey. Squared chunk of pipe would be contacting receiver face restraining it. Barrel pointed down, assembly resting on sqared piece of pipe on press bed/plates. Use rod, preferably brass, that contacts barrel extension squarely and long enough to poke above end of upper receiver. Slowly press barrel out of receiver and have someone catching barrel as it comes free.


Sorry about the crude sticky note drawing but hopefully it is clear enough to convey my thoughts.

 

[DirectDrive]

That is what i tried to convey. Squared chunk of pipe would be contacting receiver face restraining it. Barrel pointed down, assembly resting on sqared piece of pipe on press bed/plates. Use rod, preferably brass, that contacts barrel extension squarely and long enough to poke above end of upper receiver. Slowly press barrel out of receiver and have someone catching barrel as it comes free.
View attachment 415258

Sorry about the crude sticky note drawing but hopefully it is clear enough to convey my thoughts.

I see.
The OP has a pinned muzzle device (I think he said) which holds the gas block captive.
To get past the GB, the ID of the pipe would probably be to large for good purchase against the receiver.
In that case, instead of the small piece of pipe, some blocks might have to be used.

But that looks like the winning setup.

 

[osprey]

I see.
The OP has a pinned muzzle device (I think he said) which holds the gas block captive.
To get past the GB, the ID of the pipe would probably be to large for good purchase against the receiver.
In that case, instead of the small piece of pipe, some blocks might have to be used.

But that looks like the winning setup.

That would be correct as I missed that little detail. An appropriate sized bearing separator would probably work as well with square edge against reciever face.

 

[DirectDrive]

I'd use some stock like this (rectangular if I had it)

And then I would pad it with some "tilit shim"


Or a couple of pieces of hardwood would probably do the trick as well.
I don't think the tilt shim or the hardwood would mark up the receiver.

 

[Sstrand]

Someone said a small container of Kroil will last a long time . . . WRONG!!!
I filled a small plastic bottle with Kroil several months ago. I haven't used any but the bottle is now only about half full!
The stuff evaporates "through" the container. It also "crawls" out of the can it comes in, especially through the joints.

Sheldon

 

[Jcon268]

That is what i tried to convey. Squared chunk of pipe would be contacting receiver face restraining it. Barrel pointed down, assembly resting on sqared piece of pipe on press bed/plates. Use rod, preferably brass, that contacts barrel extension squarely and long enough to poke above end of upper receiver. Slowly press barrel out of receiver and have someone catching barrel as it comes free.
View attachment 415258

Sorry about the crude sticky note drawing but hopefully it is clear enough to convey my thoughts.

Yes I completely understand your thoughts. This will likely have to wait until after the holidays as time is not abundant. This is what I have:
Geissele reaction rod
Wooden dowel
Vice blocks for upper receiver
Hammer
Torch
By the way I'm a drummer and you'd be surprised how well old drum sticks work as a dowel rod

 

[DirectDrive]

Yes I completely understand your thoughts. This will likely have to wait until after the holidays as time is not abundant. This is what I have:
Geissele reaction rod
Wooden dowel
Vice blocks for upper receiver
Hammer
Torch
By the way I'm a drummer and you'd be surprised how well old drum sticks work as a dowel rod

A homemade press showing the basic design of a press...

 

[B5Ben]

I would buy a new barrel for the upper you have coming and start a new project. Nothing wrong with an extra upper right??