Removing a Tikka Barrel

[StumpyJohnson]

This is the best way I have seen. I am going to make a action wrench like you have from the aluminum stock...thanks

Wheeler and others make an action wrench that works if you flip the notched half over. I'm all for making your own, just saying that serviceable tools are available too.

EDIT: I'm personally not to keen on mixing hammers and gunsmithing. I made a cheater bar out of a length of pipe. All the tikka's ive encountered broke loose with body weight and leverage. Banging on the action wrench, supported or no seems bad to me...fwiw.

 

[Jim’s Hunt]

Wheeler and others make an action wrench that works if you flip the notched half over. I'm all for making your own, just saying that serviceable tools are available too.

EDIT: I'm personally not to keen on mixing hammers and gunsmithing. I made a cheater bar out of a length of pipe. All the tikka's ive encountered broke loose with body weight and leverage. Banging on the action wrench, supported or no seems bad to me...fwiw.

I agree with you on not using a hammer and heat on the action. You said hammer i just threw in the heat part.

 

[HandgunHTR]

Wheeler and others make an action wrench that works if you flip the notched half over. I'm all for making your own, just saying that serviceable tools are available too.

EDIT: I'm personally not to keen on mixing hammers and gunsmithing. I made a cheater bar out of a length of pipe. All the tikka's ive encountered broke loose with body weight and leverage. Banging on the action wrench, supported or no seems bad to me...fwiw.

Having worked on threaded components since I was about 12 and doing it professionally since I was 18, I can confidently say that cheater bars have ruined more threaded fasteners than hammers ever will.

 

[Jim’s Hunt]

Having worked on threaded components since I was about 12 and doing it professionally since I was 18, I can confidently say that cheater bars have ruined more threaded fasteners than hammers ever will.

I worked heavy open pit mining equipment mechanic for 40 years. We are saying 240 ton haul trucks D-10 and D-11 dozers and large loaders hammers,heat and extra long cheaters were a way of like. Unlike a small delicate precision action

 

[Hugan]

Wheeler and others make an action wrench that works if you flip the notched half over. I'm all for making your own, just saying that serviceable tools are available too.

EDIT: I'm personally not to keen on mixing hammers and gunsmithing. I made a cheater bar out of a length of pipe. All the tikka's ive encountered broke loose with body weight and leverage. Banging on the action wrench, supported or no seems bad to me...fwiw.

Another thing you mentioned that I appreciate was not to over torque the outside action wrench for fear of putting pressure on the threads, making it harder to turn the action off. Wheelers torque recommendation may be too much.

 

[Nuclear Worker]

This is the best way I have seen. I am going to make a action wrench like you have from the aluminum stock...thanks

Can you post pictures please

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

I had a real stubborn T3x barrel removal that I could not budge with wheeler 1 wrench. Tried heating with a torch with no improvement, even leaning into it and whacking the wrench handle with a dead blow hammer.

Finally soaking the threads with liquid wrench over night and trying again did the trick. Still took a fair amount of force to break it, but it finally worked.

A quality barrel vise torqued down TIGHT is crutial!

No one has tried placing the action in the freezer overnight or for at least a few hours & then heat the action with a heat gun ? A trick used to remove 10/22 barrels. It's a;so used for many other applications such as installing boat shaft bearings , front end loader bearings, etc.

 

[Wy Will]

I've heard hit and miss. My smith told me he has seen a lot of twisted tikka actions from people trying to remove the barrels. He usually cuts the barrel

 

[Jim’s Hunt]

I've heard hit and miss. My smith told me he has seen a lot of twisted tikka actions from people trying to remove the barrels. He usually cuts the barrel

I agree cut them no if and or buts

 

[westexhunt]

I decided to try one this morning. I had soaked it with kroil a few days ago and left it barrel down. Wheeler #1 using both flats and a sac barrel vise with Tikka inserts. One whack with a steel hammer then I took the action wrench off and spun it off by hand. The Kroil had fully penetrated throughout the threads. Screwed a factory takeoff 300 WM on and checked headspace. Bingo. (But the engraving is off by 1/4 turn).

 

[westexhunt]

duplicate post. Sorry

 

[Wy Will]

I decided to try one this morning. I had soaked it with kroil a few days ago and left it barrel down. Wheeler #1 using both flats and a sac barrel vise with Tikka inserts. One whack with a steel hammer then I took the action wrench off and spun it off by hand. The Kroil had fully penetrated throughout the threads. Screwed a factory takeoff 300 WM on and checked headspace. Bingo. (But the engraving is off by 1/4 turn).

Kroil certainly is impressive stuff

 

[HandgunHTR]

I just removed mine today. T3 in 270WSM. Started spraying a bit of Liquid Wrench in it on Thursday, let it sit barrel down and refreshed the LW each day.
Today, I put in the Viper barrel vise, with a couple of wraps of paper drywall tape. Cranked it down good. Put the Wheeler #1 action wrench on it with the v-side out so that it was flat against the sides. I did get a couple of Grade 5 bolts that were 3/4" longer than the ones that come with it so that I could get very good thread contact without having to torque it too much. I put a doubled up piece of drywall tape between the wrench and the action as well to help protect it. I positioned the action wrench about 3/4" back from the barrel/action junction to prevent putting too much clamping force on the barrel threads, and snugged it down, but not too tight.

Gave the end of the wrench handle two good whacks with a large claw hammer and on the second whack it broke free. Took the action wrench off and spun the action off of the barrel. Took the barrel out of the vise. No marks on it or the action. Cleaned up the threads on both and am ready to go when my new barrel gets here.

 

[Rocketeer77]

How hard is it to remove a Tikka barrel? I have access to a clean Tikka 30-06 that Id like to make into a 280 Ackley but I have no experience with the barrel removal.
Thanks

Told it's not too bad....
You're better off with a Sako action