Rear Entry Wrench

[Clemson]

Continuing the theme of shop-built tools, I had a call for rebarreling a Kimber 84 rifle. I have never done one of these, and I don't have an action wrench that will fit the small action of an 84. After much gnashing of teeth, I decided to make a rear entry wrench that rides on the bolt raceways. Here was the process:

Started with a piece of 1" stock steel which I turned down to the width of the bolt raceways.
Wrench1 by jakefromclemson, on Flickr

I set the piece into a Fixture on the milling machine and cut it down on both sides to fit into the rear of the action:
Wrench2 by jakefromclemson, on Flickr
Wrench4 by jakefromclemson, on Flickr

I welded on a piece of scrap to use as a handle to put a cheater on when I turn the action off.
Wrench5 by jakefromclemson, on Flickr

The whole works fits into the rear of the Kimber action as shown. I will need a new bushing for my barrel vise next, as nothing on this cotton-picking gun is standard sized!
Wrench6 by jakefromclemson, on Flickr
Wrench7 by jakefromclemson, on Flickr

 

[rayjay]

In my opinion an internal action wrench should only bear against the forward action ring. The wrench may twist depending on how tight the bbl is. If the wrench twists you are twisting the action with the wrench shown in the pics. The main body of the wrench should be the same diameter as the bolt body and the flat section only about an inch long right at the front.
.
Factory installed bbls are usually too tight for internal action wrenches to be used. Often the factory uses some sort of thread locker and I have had to use heat more than once to remove a factory bbl.

 

[Clemson]

Sorry, folks. I have been on vacation the past couple of weeks and have not had an opportunity to update this thread!

rayjay, I share your concern over rear entry wrenches. If I could have found or made an external wrench for this action, I would have. The Kimber 84 is very small (and very thin). The wrench shown is a snug fit in the rails, and, as long as it is fully inserted, it helps to prevent twisting because it torques the front and rear of the receiver equally.

I pulled the barrel, and, as rayjay suggested, it was put on with threadlocker of an unknown type. I used heat and Kroil, and when I got the barrel to break loose, it sounded like a .22 rifle going off! As you can see from the photo, the breech of the new barrel will have some interesting machining to match the cuts in the old tube.

Bill Jacobs

Barrel Removal1 by jakefromclemson, on Flickr