Removing barrel, Excalibur?

I'm attempting to remove a cut barrel from a Metford II action and I'm not having much luck. I have a proper custom action wrench and I visited a gunsmith with a hydraulic press barrel vise. I prepared with a Kroil soak and was stored in an unheated garage to mimic the freezer method. Unfortunately we are having a warm up and the action was approximately 10c/50f by the time we were ready. We successfully pulled a barrel without any of this prep work from an RTI Lee Speed with the equipment. Heat was applied to the receiver ring before wrenching. We were not able to get it to budge, and the barrel would spin in the press before the action turned. I would like to preserve the barrel because I know a martini builder who wants to buy the 18" stub. I will cut relief cuts and flats for wrench grasping if I need to, but was planning on selling the take off to recover some costs.
As an alternative, I was inspired by the tale of the sword in the stone, and was wondering if it was plausible to set the barrel in concrete to make a vice that grabs almost 100% of the outside surface, forms around the rear sight base and the chamber knox. The barrel could be wrapped in tape for protection, muzzle plugged, and upon removing the action, the concrete hammered away.
If it's tight to the point that I need to cut the barrel or cast a vice, how likely is the receiver to crack or otherwise be rendered unusable by removing the barrel, and what would someone who knows what they are doing do?

I figure saving the barrel would be futile. I'll probably go with the relief cut 10-20 thou from the ring.

I have a proper Enfield barrel vice from the RSAF. I've seen a few nice barrels wrecked from clamping on the thin part of the barrel instead of the Knox Form. I have a beautiful Savage two groove No.4 barrel here that is literally squeezed to a smaller diameter. The .301 run gauge stops cold on it in the barrel. I struggled with Brownells tools for years. If you want me to have a go at it before you destroy it, give me a shout.

Probably my best bet at this point. You have a great reputation. I'm sending the RTI barrel out to McGowen get copied and eventually once that returns, is it alright if I contact you for rebarreling and sight installation with the new barrel?

Email me at bdlltd@bellsouth.net.

Brian

What kind of barrel vice blocks or bushings are you using? I would recommend steel (not wood nor aluminum nor brass). I have a vise from brownells, and have removed even mosin 91/30 barrels with it. These would spin in the wheeler vise with wood blocks as well as spin in the brownells vise with the aluminum bushings, but it held with steel bushings. Factory Remington 700 barrels can be similar. I use the wood blocks for delicate things, like shotgun barrels. I don't use aluminum bushings anymore. Lead shims is the way to go if you need to protect the finish when removing. Lead cleans up much easier off of, a parkerized barrel than aluminum does.

Custom hydraulic press vice. We used aluminum bushings, the vice itself is roughly 3 inches wide. It worked excellently for pulling the barrel from a similar model and age rifle in average RTI condition. This Metford is in much nicer condition, little to no rust. He claimed this Metford is the first rifle he had spin in the vice like this.

+1 for the lead lined barrel vise. I made one to install the barrel on my 1918 BAR. It took quite a bit of torque to index, but didn't spin or mark the parkerizing.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...P7260841-1.jpg

If you don't need to preserve the barrel there is the old school method of heating the barrel with an oxyacetylene torch until you can bend it 90 degrees. Let it cool and put a pipe on it. If it doesn't move get a longer pipe, it'll move.

Pulled one recently that defeated a six foot pipe on the wrench. Had to cut the receiver which was a boltless orphan so didn't feel too bad. Threads were full of old oil too. Would be interesting to know what kit was used to wind them on at the factories.

Relief cuts?

Warning / Danger, Will Robinson!

Metfords, Lee Enfields, SMLE etc all breech up on the INNER breech ring, as do ALL Mausers up to and including the Model 98.

No4 and five series "Lee-Enfields" breech up on the front face of the body..

Also beware neatly done "Pins' used to "stabilize a poorly set-up "replacement barrel

Relief cuts as in undercutting a stubborn No.4 or No.5 barrel Bruce. In the case above I slit the receiver ring along the extractor slot as deeply as possible without impinging on the threads using a cutting disc on a Dremel Tool and then cracked what was left with a cold chisel. Takes the tension off and allows the barrel to be unwound. Didn't want to undercut the barrel itself and make a breaching washer.

I guess if the body is "unuseable", a slice along the breech ring will loosen the "grab!

Probably OK for assembling a totally neutered "wall-hanger".

Other way around, the receiver is the desired part for me, the shortened barrel was wanted by a martini builder intact separately. Brian successfully pulled the barrel with the armourer tools. Unfortunately the barrel fails gauging standard throat erosion, which may change the deal I had with the martini guy.

As the rear of the barrel will beed to be "adjusted to work with the Martini extractor and this is a "freelance" model, whu not machine a 3 or so threads length off the back of the barrel, recut the shoulder to the bew required length, cut the breecjh thread ato meet the shoulder and re-cut the chamber.

I fit is a "hobby / "love" job, who cares. Commercially, it would make no sense unless the owner were a true eccentric.

The breech thread is the same 55 degree job. Lots of Martini Enfields ended their days with "surplus" Lee Enfield or SMLE barrels blacksmithed in. There are probably a few still floating about.

Quick rewrite / expansion:

As the rear of the barrel will need to be "adjusted to work with the Martini extractor and this is a "freelance" model, why not machine a 3 or so threads length off the back of the barrel, recut the shoulder to the nbew required length, follow / cut the breech thread also to meet the shoulder and re-cut the chamber.

If it is a "hobby / "love" job, who cares. Commercially, it would make no sense unless the owner were a well-heeled true eccentric.

The breech thread is the same 49 and a bit degree "Enfield special" job; NOT 55, NOT 60, NOT 47.5 degree. Lots of Martini Enfields ended their days with "surplus" Lee Enfield or SMLE barrels blacksmithed in. There are probably a few still floating about.

Undercutting works on the No4 and 5 where the compression on the shoulder bearing against the front face of the receiver/body, but here where the compression is on the rear face of the barrel, I don't see an undercut doing much for you.

Unless is just so happened coincidentally that the rear face and the shoulder share the compressive forces somewhat equally. In such a case, undercutting the shoulder might remove enough of the compression to allow your wrench to overcome that on the rear face of the barrel.

As with rusted bolts & nuts etc. if you can get the barrel hot enough to expand it against the female threads it will "crush" whatever rust and carbon etc. may be currently locking the threads, and probably break the compression "bond" between the male and female threads. Of course you'll want to do that fast enough that the receiver does not get too hot. An oxy-acet. torch directed into the chamber would be your best bet. Not a cutting flame, but close to it and large enough in diameter that the flame contacts the chamber walls rather than going mostly down the bore.

You could try that a few times gradually getting hotter each time. An infrared thermometer to check the temps of the body as you go would help. You could also fill a pipe with cold water and have it standing by (vertically obviously) so that you can immerse most of the barrel and draw the heat out of it faster than out of the body/receiver. That might also help to break the bond.

Your last option is to cut off the barrel and bore out the stub larger and larger until you can pick out the remains of the male thread. Probably not worth the trouble.

On the 1896 LSA body I have sitting on the desk, the depth from outer shoulder to inner face is 23/32" if that helps at all.

The L42A1 and L39a1 use indexing washers on the barrel installation, so the bearing must be on the front face of the receiver.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scharfschutzen63

The L42A1 and L39a1 use indexing washers on the barrel installation, so the bearing must be on the front face of the receiver.

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They are both based on the No4 rifle, and as stated in post #18 they do bear on the front face.

The original question is about an LSA (Lee Metford Mk11) which does NOT bear on the front face.