VERY tight gas cylinder

Gents,

Years ago I purchased a Garand kit, most likely a Dane. Mix of USGI, Breda, Beretta. I think I bought it from AIM Surplus but can't recall for sure. In any case, at $100 I should have bought all they had!

The gas cylinder on this thing looks like new and is so tight to the splines that I never did bother to install it on the old rotten barrel. We got a Criterion barrel from CMP and the gas cylinder seems equally tight. I don't want to force it until I know that the gas cylinder is correct. Don't want to ruin splines on a new barrel with a junk cylinder.

So are there known to be commercial gas cylinders? How would I detect a repro? Would this explain the extra-tight fit to the barrel splines? I think I could probably tap the cylinder on if I beveled the leading edges of the cylinder ID splines. Is there a way to gage the ID of the cylinder splines?

Thanks,
Byron

If you can tap on the gas cylinder with a wooden block and a medium hammer, that is a perfect fit. It it takes a sledge hammer you might have a problem. I doubt it is a "repro" gas cylinder. Most of the commercial gas cylinders are much more expensive than a used surplus military one. It alone would have been more than the $100 you paid for the parts kit. I would expect the barrel is harder than the gas cylinder and "forcing" the gas cylinder on the barrel would be more likely to deform the gas cylinder than the barrel splines. You won't ruin the splines on the barrel.

You should probably gauge the gas cylinder with respect to the internal bore size before you put in on the rifle. AIM may or may have gauged the gas cylinders.

There are non-USGI gas cylinders. Korean and Italian/Danish are pretty common but usually within spec.

I think Badger Ordnance made some a while back as well(?) but the odds of finding one in a kit would seem pretty slim.

But I don't think that's what's happening.

Check the barrel diameter. Especially where the rear ring will sit. Criterion barrels have a history of being very slightly oversized there.

If that's the case just relieve the ring a bit then drive the GC on with a block of wood and mallet.

Tight is good.

Maury

I have 2 barrels that are that way with all GCs I have tried, one is a WRA with a ME of less than 1 and one is a HRA with a ME of less than 2. I tap them on and leave them, really don't need to remove them for cleaning unless you are using corrosive ammo
Bill