Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing thread lock td barrel

Has anyone on here used blue thread lock on a TD barrel to get the last bit of wobble out of it? I am thinking of trying the blue theadlock for my 22 hp to see if it will take the last bit of wobble out. ,as I am getting about 6 in group at 100 yds. I don't like the idea of Hammering the threads more to tighten it, and I know it is loose ,even though the key slot lines up good.

Would it be better to tighten it by hammering the threads so it won't line up the keyway and then forcing it tighter to line up the keyway ,

Lightly tapping on the barrel threads is the way to tighten the barrel. Been discussed before on Savage forum. Maybe a sticky there too that explains in detail. Tom

I am aware of that procedure. Just wanted to know about the threadlock.

Take the damn thing back to who did it! If it was you, quit. There is no reason to have the barrel threads that loose, someone phuqued it up. Beating on the threads to tighten them up? C'mon, what blacksmith shop are you working at?

The issue here is the take-down itself. The barrel threads loosen slightly each time the barrel is removed. If you want the rifle to shoot well, I would advise forgetting it is a take down. While peening the threads is an acceptable fix, I would try a .001" or .002" shim on the barrel to gain a little more "draw" on the assembly. Then do the final assembly with either blue or red LocTite.

you can't use shims on it, because of the key slot you would have to cut the shim on the bottom for it to fit. .

So? Said shim would only be a couple thousandths thick- you can notch it out with an exacto knife.

Peening the threads is perfectly acceptable. Nowhere does it say to wail away at them with a blacksmith's hammer. Gently tapping on them with a chasing hammer or a tack hammer is the protocol, because you aren't moving very much metal and if done with a dab hand, no one will ever be the wiser. I did it to one of my takedowns and I defy anybody to identify which one it is in my rack full of them.

I was taught to do this by a mentor, forty years ago. I ground chisels specifically for the purpose. Many years later, for a more high-tech solution, I re-threaded the barrel to a fine pitch and made a sleeve which I could use to adjust the thread; much like the sleeve on a model 12 or Model 97 Winchester shotgun. Works great but you have to want to do it because it is fairly involved. GD

I can see you never saw one, or diden't understand how it works.

WTH are you talking about????? Take another look Hubert and picture a brass or steel shim washer in the interface and picture cutting that couple of thou out of the notch and tell me with a straight face that you couldn't trim it with an exacto knife.

As for this whole bit about tightening TD threads, notice he didn't pose this question on the Savage Collectors forum where the guys who developed these techniques still hang out.


"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think."

The problem was obvious from his first post in that he doesn't really want to correct the problem but rather screw it up even more. Anything to keep from doing the job correctly.

I like it

All I did was ask a simple question, I don't need all this bull chit.

And you were given the simple answer. Setting up the thread by is common procedure. Shimming is no good because it will increase headspace. When thread is being tightened, it is done by moving the contact surface of the thread toward the barrel shoulder. When this is done, you are really tipping the square thread so that contact is toward the top of the thread. Obviously, this is not a perfect situation but it is somewhat better than a wobbly fit.
It is possible to set back the barrel by one thread but this is complicated by the fore arm attachment and the fore arm has to be shortened to compensate. GD

... has anyone else here but me tried thread wrapping the threads with ultra-thin annealed brass wire? Works well, tightens it up and doesn't change the headspace. Sadly my source for such wire (aerospace) is long gone ... have 2 spools left somewhere in the cache. This was an old trick taught in the locksmithing guild, when they truly were craftsmen at repairing items.

I kind of thought I knew my way around gunsmithing and anything to do with threads but just being a kid of 53 I have to say......WTF over! I'm with Jkob on this one.

To help me understand can you post some pictures to see what you are dealing with. Until then I'm about to puke. I love building guns for their precision and the challenge of building something perfect. Upon reading this thread I feel my nuts sucked up so far the may never come back when I think of someone hammering, tapping, chiseling, winding wire up in threads or filling them full of goop in an effort to tighten the fit. I have epoxied some loose 10/22 barrels into the receivers but never anything like this.

Have you ever actually worked on a Savage M99 takedown? If not go to the Savage Collectors forum and read the "misc good info" thread. You will learn things.

Never had the pleasure but Dunlap in his book 'Gunsmithing' describes bumping up the threads as greydog describes as a way to tighten barrels in receivers. IIRC he ground chisels to fit that particular task. (Dunlap was a machinist before taking up gunsmithing.) An old A&P certified aviation mechanic taught me the brass wire (or suitable material) trick. Never looked to see if it was officially approved, but knowing the guy if it was good enough to be used on aircraft...

But I don't know about TD barrels, just an opinion on those techniques for tightening threads.

Hubert, might try threadlocker and let us know, it does fill gaps and is a sort of a glue. Don't know how durable it would be. After all the best stuff Dunlap had was thickened linseed oil and glyptal.

This.

M99 takedown, nope and don't ever intend to. I quit working on ALL Savages as of this year.