S&W Model 686 Barrel removal

[xbimmers]

okay i have not actual gunsmithing tools other than punches and a tapping hammer. I want to remove the barrel from my 686 so I can put a 6 inch.

Any suggestions on how to take off the barrel?

[Trakker]

need a custom vise to hold the frame.
You can potentially by it from Midway or Brownells.

But you need a lathe to fit the new barrel. My suggestion is to get a qualified gunsmith for barrel work.

[uxo2]

If you don't screw up that barrel..I would like to buy it

Send it to a GS because you run a bigger risk of destroying the frame

[GuyW]

Maybe you can trade the gun with a CalGunner for what you want??
.

[Josh]

you need a barrel block and frame vise to remove the barrel.

Thats the easy part, to install the new barrel you need to index it by shaving off material from the torque shoulder. Once its indexed properly and torqued on to the frame you must set the cylinder gap and cut the forcing cone in the barrel.

You can do all this with hand tools, but if you're just doing this once it will cost you almost the price of another 686 in tooling just to do this.

[buffybuster]

Asking how to take the barrel off.. That's the first indication that you don't know what is involved with replacing a revolver barrel. My advise is you should go to a qualified gunsmith.

As stated previously, fitting a replacement barrel is not as simple and just threading it on. Without the proper knowledge and tooling it is very possible that you will tweak the frame and then it will never be right.

[Beelzy]

Good luck.....S&W barrels are "crush fit" that is why they were able to delete
the barrel pin.

Buy a gun with a longer barrel.

[new cal shooter]

I called a gun smith about this myself, he said it was very much a big job, call S&W they can help you. If you get it done, please let us know, like to do the same, but was not cost effective, 100+ for the new barrel at midway, but another 200 to get it done, came out not cost effective for me, hope if works out for you

[CRTguns]

taking the barrel off is easy, but, yes does require a special vise, one of which, I own, along with the L frame jaw set. PUTTING the new one on is the hard part. The barrel must be timed and the cylinder gap must finish at between 6 and 10 thousanths of an inch (.0100/.0060"). This is a service I offer, and have done many times. PM or email with more details for a quote.

[maxicon]

Replacing a S&W barrel is a non-trivial task.

I don't have the original link since they updated the board, but here are some posts from S&WForum:

"Crush Fit" simply means that the barrel is turned in until it tightens up, then it's forcibly turned a little farther. As it's turned tighter, the shoulder "crushes" against the frame. This is the same thing as tightening up a screw until it's really tight.

Truth is, when you break the torque of the barrel when you remove it, it really needs to be completely refitted to the frame. Once the barrel is removed, it'll tend to screw in just a little farther, and when properly torqued (crushed) in place, the front sight will no longer be at 12:00 o'clock top-dead-center.

What many people do is just not torque the barrel in as tight, and this is why you'll occasionally see a revolver in which the barrel vibrates loose and starts to unscrew. When the barrel is turned in too far, you run the risk of pressure "dimpling" the barrel. This means the force actually causes the bore to constrict, leaving a tight spot in the rear of the barrel.

Too loose, and the barrel may vibrate loose, but even if it doesn't the barrel will vibrate improperly and accuracy will be poor. Barrels MUST be properly torqued in place; not too loose, and not too tight.

When changing a barrel from one revolver to another the barrel MUST be totally refit. Barrels are carefully fitted and adjusted at the factory to ONE frame, and the barrel is unlikely to properly fit another frame.

People who want to re-barrel a revolver are often shocked to see that the replacement barrel either won't screw on far enough, or it screws on too far.

When a barrel, whether new or used is installed, the gunsmith has to fit and adjust the following items:

1. Fit the barrel to the frame so the front sight is at 12'clock top-dead-center, AND the barrel is torqued (crush fitted) with the proper torque.

2. The barrel/cylinder gap must be re-cut to establish the correct gap.

3. The forcing cone in the rear of the barrel MUST be re-cut AND gaged to the proper spec.

Most people, even some gunsmiths, have no idea this HAS to be done, and few realize there is a specific standard it must be cut to. The ONLY way to know is to gage it with a special plug gage. The forcing cone is critical and must be properly done.

The critical measurement is the outer mouth of the cone, NOT the depth or angle it's cut to.

Response to "It's easy" post:
The torque shoulder is the area where the threaded portion meets the rest of the barrel. That entire shoulder is trimmed to allow the barrel's front sight to be at 12:00 o'clock when it's properly tightened in place.

In addition to a lathe, you need a real barrel vise setup and a real gunsmith's frame wrench with hard plastic inserts that were made for THAT specific frame size.

Using the old hammer-handle-through-the-frame method will usually bend or crack modern S&W frames.

Of course, you can do a barrel switch without a gunsmith doing it. If you have the tooling and the knowledge of HOW to use the tools, and WHAT needs to be done, you can do it, and we often hear from people telling us how easy it is, how you don't need the right tools, and how you don't need to do all the adjusting and gaging.

What you DON'T hear is from all the people who try it and ruin good guns.

People will rush to tell you how they don't need no stinkin' gunsmith, but when they crack a frame, or it no longer shoots accurately you hear nothing, and the gun usually gets quietly sold or traded off, without the new owner knowing he's buying Billy Bob's trouble.

If someone wants to do major gunsmithing without the right tools or without the right checks, it's YOUR gun, and you can do what you want.

However, consider this:
1. The price of a new gun.
2. The fact that a pro gunsmith won't ruin the gun, and if something does happen, he has to stand behind it.
This means HE pays for the new gun.

Take the advise to do a major operation on a gun, and if it doesn't work out, remember that the person who told you to ISN'T going to be standing there with a handful of cash to buy you a new gun and apologizing for bad advise.

What to expect from a take-off barrel is......anything and everything.

A lot of take-off's were taken off because something was wrong with them.
Others were removed by Billy Bob methods, and are often damaged in some way. I once had a customer bring in a gun show Colt Diamondback barrel to be installed on his gun. Something didn't look right, and after checking I found someone had TWISTED the barrel some how.

Looked like they were trying to unscrew the barrel the wrong way and used so much force they actually twisted it.

When dealing with a used or take-off, inspect VERY carefully. As to fitting, that's luck of the draw. I've seen a few that were close, an a lot that weren't even close.

If you're lucky, you won't have to cut a full turn off the barrel to get a proper fit.

If you don't already have it, I strongly recommend buying a copy of Jerry Kuhnhausen's book "The S&W Revolvers: A Shop Manual". This is a real gunsmith's book that shows PROPER barrel changes.

[maxicon]

And another:

[GuyW]

"Looked like they were trying to unscrew the barrel the wrong way and used so much force they actually twisted it."

Hah!

THERE's a new rifling technique I hadn't considered...
.

[GuyW]

So, what's a good barrel torque?

Based on typical bolt thread/fits, I'm speculating 40 ft-lbs.

(I have Kuhl...'s S&W book, I'm just not reading it right now)
.

[Trakker]

1/8 turn passed hand tight if you pin the barrel
a little more with a crush fit i believe
you can use heavy duty loctite
ebook

http://books.google.com/books?id=7QkvhpRwqgoC&pg=PA345&lpg=PA345&dq=barrel+crush+fit&source=bl&ots=Sp0Rm8BPMJ&sig=a-TKheO0DiBYCY1tFV-svrmj9b0&hl=en&ei=oKLOSfmpL5nUlQf468TQCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result#PPA347,M1

[maxicon]

I wouldn't expect Loctite to hold in that application. You use heat to break Loctite free, and the forcing cone/threaded area gets pretty durn hot.