Breechplug removal (Battle of Wits)

[David Rase]

I had a barrel in the shop a couple of weeks ago that needed the breechplug removed so I could inlet the barrel.  After failing to remove the plug using conventional methods e.g. Getz style plug wrench with an 18" solid steel handle I remembered a Jerry Huddleston thread that said  heat the breech area up to red hot , let it cool completely and any plug will remove easily.  Sorry Jerry, not this time.  I finally had to destructively remove the breechplug.  Problem was, the barrel was 1.200" diameter and I could not locate a store bought plug with 3/4" threads with a 1 1/4" O.D., so a new plug was made from a piece of solid round 12L14.  The barrel was chucked up in the lathe and dialed in and the damaged area parted off.  Then the barrel was rethreaded and new wedding bands turned.  Barrel is now inlet and back on its way to the customer.
I am not sure what caused the plug to bind.  I do have a couple of theories.  Could of been that the bottom thread in the barrel bound up with the lead thread of the breechplug, caused galling and bound up.  Or, because the plug was a cast plug, maybe the threads were never cleaned up and they galled during installation.  Anyway, I don't know and probably never will.  All I can say is that this was one tight mother.  Definitely a test of perseverance.
David

The below photos kind of look like beauty and the beast.


Before


After

[Boompa]

 All's well that ends well, looks good.  I had a stubborn breech plug awhile back and I did use heat on the breech area of the barrel but nowhere near red hot.  Whoever installed the plug had put some sort of adhesive on the threads. 

[joemeek]

You got it done and it looks good.  I know from the tooling industry
That we always try to have 3-5 points difference on the Rockwell scale
On mating parts fasteners dowells, wear pads etc. this would help with the
Gauling.  Not that you had any control over it.

[jerrywh]

Dave.
  If you get them hot enough they will run out. Looks like that one would have been bad even if it came out. I have taken them out red hot.

[Dphariss]

This is why I never order a barrel with a breechplug installed.
Heat "should" work even just heating the barrel so it "grows" a little and the plug is cool. Mild steels tend to soften a lot at red heat, 4140/4150 not so much.
I have an action/plug wrench made from two pieces of 1x4 aluminum. I can clamp this on with the 1/2" bolts then hit it with a hammer so its like an impact wrench...
Round barrels or even octagonal ones with thin walls can be "squished" doing such things.
In any event a excessively tight plug is a huge PITA as Dave has illustrated here.
Dan

[Mike Brooks]

I'm REAL glad you saved my arse on this one......