First Build. Rookie. Help1

[Eric Smith]

I got my rifle barrel in today from TOTW. .45 cal Green Mountain 13/16. Had the breech plug installed at TOTW. Put it in my brand new vice, with a leather pad for the jaws. Tried to take out the plug buy the barrel slipped. I'm not sure how much pressure to put on the vice to hold the barrel. Dint want to damage it. Throw some ideas and advice at me. Ive been wanting to build a rifle since I was 14. Now I'm 52. What was I waiting for?

[Roger Fisher]

Try hardwood blocks and squeeze the snot out of her (but not close to the breech) use a good fitting crescent wrench at least 12 incher and wrap the wrench with a light sledge...to bust her loose....that should work.  Make sure your turning the right way.

[Jerry V Lape]

Get two hard pieces of maple and hollow out a section at least as long as your vise jaws for the barrel to be clamped between.  Wrap the barrel in saran wrap, fill the two jaws with bondo and clamp the barrel between the blocks until the bondo hardens.  This can then be split open easily if you arrange some saran wrap to create the joint.  Clamp the barrel with the new jaws in the vise but not up close to the breech end where it could increase the grip on the breech plug threads.  Now you need to make a wrench or get a big crescent wrench or an old monkey wrench  (the kind with smooth jaws) to wrestle the plug.  besure to protect the upper edges of the breech plug so the jaws don't contact those edges and round them off.  (I use piece of brass thick enough to protect them.)  Then apply the wrench - sometimes a few good whacks with a hammer on the wrench handle helps to get things moving.  I have never been successful at get the plug installed by the factory's gorilla out without the above tools.  

[Eric Smith]

How far in front of the breech plug should i be?

[rich pierce]

Just leave 5/8" of the barrel hanging out at the breech end.

[Jim Kibler]

A big solid vise with hardwood blocks  and a big crescent wrench should do the job fine.

[docone]

I use lead flashing to buffer from the vise.
So far, so good.
Good luck on your build.
Take it easy, take it slow. Cut inside the inlays, then shave out.

[Ezra]

I use brass sheet metal shaped to my vise.  Used leather once...won't do that again!  The barrel "rotated" in the vice and I was draw filing for some time getting the gouges out.


Ez

[flehto]

I have copper inserts for the vise jaws  and use a 12" Crescent wrench w/ an 8" pipe extension. Most of the time the extension isn'treally  needed for plug removal but it's sure nice when installing to "hit" the 2 index marks.....Fred

[Eric Smith]

A big solid vise with hardwood blocks  and a big crescent wrench should do the job fine.

Worked just fine. Thanks Jim.