Welding On Muzzle Brake, Any Issues?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Welding On Muzzle Brake, Any Issues?

Posted: 3/13/2017 3:49:46 PM EDT

Guys so I have an older Romarm AK ... the threads were ground down I guess to import them.

Anyway the OD of the barrel is .503, and each wall of the barrel is not equal. Therefore I can't thread it.

Now I did have it tacked on there by a Gunsmith, I had a cheap slot brake I put on it. I shot it twice and the thing flew off.

Now I asked the gunsmith and he is saying maybe he can tig weld another brake on.

I'd love to do this, but I'm wondering if I would run into any issues?

FWIW I'm also looking at 9mm Muzzle Brakes, and 7.62 (308) brakes. All of these would work with a 7.62x39 bullet right?

To me this seems like the only real solution I have to getting a brake on the gun... Open to other ideas that are "cost effective"

Posted: 3/13/2017 7:25:54 PM EDT

[#1]

Have your smith use a 7.62mm wood or steel rod down the barrel to help line up the muzzle device with the bore and then have him tack it the muzzle device into place. I would also stick with .308/7.62 brakes. before you take it to him see if a brake will even line up with your bore with the rod. if it won't then it can only be attached crocked. I'm only thinking out loud others will know better I know nothing.

Posted: 3/13/2017 7:27:53 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:

Anyway the OD of the barrel is .503, and each wall of the barrel is not equal.

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How much "not equal"? It would have to be pretty significant before I wouldn't go ahead and thread it to 1/2x28. I get that you were worried about threading it due to non-concentricity, but then to turn around and stick one on there anyway and tack weld it???

Pics please.

I'd probably thread it if the muzzle stub was turned evenly at least if not perfectly, then use a slant brake, it's basically a big open hole anyway, low chance of strikes and you can and should check before firing.

Posted: 3/13/2017 7:30:41 PM EDT

[#3]

Drag has great advice, a slant cut is a possible solution.

Posted: 3/13/2017 10:25:47 PM EDT

[#4]

The gunsmith looked at it and said he wouldn't do 1/2-28. Just because it's a 30cal he'd be worried about wall thickness not being enough.

Posted: 3/13/2017 10:45:50 PM EDT

[#5]

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Quoted:
The gunsmith looked at it and said he wouldn't do 1/2-28. Just because it's a 30cal he'd be worried about wall thickness not being enough.

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His concerns are unwarranted. Multiple people have threaded their .30 cal barrels 1/2-28, including myself.

Posted: 3/13/2017 11:31:24 PM EDT

[#6]

Well he's seen the barrel.

Even still if I did get 1/2-28 RH I'd have a limited selection of muzzle brakes.

So right now I'm main just trying to figure out if there are any potential issues I can run into welding a brake on.

So far it seems like the only one I heard was that the bullet could potentially hit it if it isn't aligned properly.

Down for hearing others...

Posted: 3/13/2017 11:51:28 PM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:
Well he's seen the barrel.

Even still if I did get 1/2-28 RH I'd have a limited selection of muzzle brakes.

So right now I'm main just trying to figure out if there are any potential issues I can run into welding a brake on.

So far it seems like the only one I heard was that the bullet could potentially hit it if it isn't aligned properly.

Down for hearing others...

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That's better then having to live with the same muzzle device once it's welded, sounds to me like you need a new gunsmith.

Posted: 3/14/2017 1:49:02 AM EDT

[#8]

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Quoted:
Well he's seen the barrel.

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Post pics and so will we.

Posted: 3/14/2017 7:53:31 PM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
The gunsmith looked at it and said he wouldn't do 1/2-28. Just because it's a 30cal he'd be worried about wall thickness not being enough.

View Quote

He might not do it because of liability concerns for him.

But I did a Polytech that had the threads ground off just like yours, got caught in port when the ban went down so no telling what they mass-grinded 'em off with. IIRC it was right at .501 at the widest, and .498 at the narrowest, so it wasn't perfect either. Threaded it myself with some loaner tools from some crazy rubber-mallet wielding redneck that smelled like Shiner Bock, worked great, shot great, whole thread with pics about it somewhere in the archive hereabouts.

It will work dude, do it yourself, 1/2x28 die and TAT for 30 cal, it's stupid easy.

Posted: 3/14/2017 7:56:15 PM EDT

[#10]

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Quoted:

Even still if I did get 1/2-28 RH I'd have a limited selection of muzzle brakes.

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CNC Warrior, plenty of 1/2x28 cut for 30 cal

Posted: 3/15/2017 8:48:18 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:

He might not do it because of liability concerns for him.

But I did a Polytech that had the threads ground off just like yours, got caught in port when the ban went down so no telling what they mass-grinded 'em off with. IIRC it was right at .501 at the widest, and .498 at the narrowest, so it wasn't perfect either. Threaded it myself with some loaner tools from some crazy rubber-mallet wielding redneck that smelled like Shiner Bock, worked great, shot great, whole thread with pics about it somewhere in the archive hereabouts.

It will work dude, do it yourself, 1/2x28 die and TAT for 30 cal, it's stupid easy.

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What he was concerned about was the wall thickness. The left barrel wall and right barrel wall have different thicknesses. For example one side you can see threads the other side you can't .. when they ground them down they didn't do it evenly or uniformly, they just did it enough on either side until it was impossible to thread something on there.

Posted: 3/15/2017 11:06:10 PM EDT

[#12]

If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, you could probably send it to our very own barrel whisperer to have it threaded, or an extension threaded onto/over the messed up threads. Morgan's a wizard. See thread here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_7_143/1029861_Barrel-Threading-sale--50--PTR-91--Tavors--Augs--Scar--Sig-MPX--Beretta-21A-Threading--FAL--PAPM92.html He's posted all sorts of photos of AK threads to Facebook that he's saved.

I had a SAR-1 in a similar state, but it was before Morgan was really doing anything with AKs. I ended up having the FSB barrel journal extended a bit to fit a Bulgarian AK-74 FSB and just use the 24mm family of muzzle devices now. But I wasn't very concerned about collectible status, more utility.

Posted: 3/16/2017 3:54:14 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:

What he was concerned about was the wall thickness. The left barrel wall and right barrel wall have different thicknesses. For example one side you can see threads the other side you can't .. when they ground them down they didn't do it evenly or uniformly, they just did it enough on either side until it was impossible to thread something on there.

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SBR it.

Get you a combo fsb/gb, take the old stuff off, cut barrel and re-crown, re-thread muzzle, install new stuff. If you don't want to SBR, you can always find a little longer muzzle device and pin/weld it to make 16".

Posted: 3/19/2017 10:34:26 PM EDT

[#14]

Guys I really want to have some kind of threads and use an adapter. Like a 1/2-28 threaded barrel and a 1/2-28 to 5/24 adapter to use a 308 brake. Best of everything for me!

Here's pics of my barrel. The crap on it is from the last gunsmith tacking on another brake that came off.

Posted: 3/20/2017 5:03:06 PM EDT

[#15]

Holy crap, I stand corrected....pics are everything.

Lop that shit off, not really salvageable. Move FSB back. Thread newly exposed portion. Perm a muzzle device to bring it back to 16" and call it good. Or perm a small adapter/extension to bring it to length, then use whatever muzzle device you like.

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Quoted:
Guys I really want to have some kind of threads and use an adapter. Like a 1/2-28 threaded barrel and a 1/2-28 to 5/24 adapter to use a 308 brake. Best of everything for me!

Here's pics of my barrel. The crap on it is from the last gunsmith tacking on another brake that came off.

http://i.imgur.com/N0MK8Iv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KBI43Sv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/TIVDdny.jpg

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Posted: 3/21/2017 11:17:11 AM EDT

[#16]

What do u see that made u change your mind?

Posted: 3/21/2017 11:46:31 AM EDT

[#17]

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What do u see that made u change your mind?

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I was with the other guys until you put those pictures up. I'd go the route the guy above laid out. That's rough.

Posted: 3/21/2017 1:31:50 PM EDT

[#18]

Well I don't know shit about this barrel. It's not chrome lines or anything.

How much does it cost to rebarrel it?

My options are either spend a decent amount in this gun or just buy a new wasr

Posted: 3/21/2017 1:59:50 PM EDT

[#19]

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Quoted:
Well I don't know shit about this barrel. It's not chrome lines or anything.

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Are you sure about that? I'm not informed enough about older romy's to know for sure, but I think it would be odd to have one that's not chrome-lined.

Probably need to assess the barrels condition before you go farther, borelight helps a lot, if it's ragged, all smoothed out inside and shot out, then maybe it is time for a new one. But as demonstrated by Henderson Defense, a good romy barrel can last in excess of 100K rounds IF you take care of it.

The procedure I recommended earlier is well within the capabilities of a decent DIY guy with simple tools, I think you could do it, it's certainly worth trying because it will cost you almost nothing to do so.

Posted: 3/21/2017 2:24:29 PM EDT

[#20]

Il be surprised if it's CL. I guess I can clean it and see.

What method are you referring to? Threading what's currently happening here or chopping it down and pinning something on?

Posted: 3/21/2017 5:07:29 PM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
Il be surprised if it's CL. I guess I can clean it and see.

What method are you referring to? Threading what's currently happening here or chopping it down and pinning something on?

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Well yes, cleaning it would be a good first step.

Chop it. Is there a stepdown (change in barrel diameter) from the barrel (receiver side) to the FSB?

Posted: 3/21/2017 6:27:24 PM EDT

[#22]

I thought all the older Romanian SARs and pre WASR 10's were chromelined including the new ones???? I had a WASR I bought new in 2003 that was definately chrome lined. Mine had no threads and no detent at all. David

Posted: 3/22/2017 2:47:47 PM EDT

[#23]

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I thought all the older Romanian SARs and pre WASR 10's were chromelined including the new ones???? I had a WASR I bought new in 2003 that was definately chrome lined. Mine had no threads and no detent at all. David

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Yeah my 10/63 is chrome-lined, bore looks great and it shoots really nice.

Posted: 3/22/2017 3:45:03 PM EDT

[#24]

Thread to 1/2x28 tpi, and use a muzzle device that just has a bore considerably larger than .223, enough that it will clear the off center bore hole when a round is fired. I believe CNC Warrior makes 1/2x28 threaded slant brakes, which will have plenty of clearance and will get you the look you want.

Not sure what "threads" are on there, but a good threading job will either chase those threads or cut new ones.

Sven
Manticore Arms

Posted: 3/22/2017 8:04:03 PM EDT

[#25]

Looks like the barrel extends past the front sight a lot further than most. If you were able to thread it, many brakes would bottom out before screwing all the way to the front sight.

Posted: 3/23/2017 11:19:11 PM EDT

[#26]

Quote History

Quoted:
Thread to 1/2x28 tpi, and use a muzzle device that just has a bore considerably larger than .223, enough that it will clear the off center bore hole when a round is fired. I believe CNC Warrior makes 1/2x28 threaded slant brakes, which will have plenty of clearance and will get you the look you want.

Not sure what "threads" are on there, but a good threading job will either chase those threads or cut new ones.

Sven
Manticore Arms

View Quote

What I was thinking was thread to 1/2-28 ... then buy a 1/2-28 to 5/8-24 thread adapter .. then use either a 308 or a 9mm muzzle brake.

Assuming I can thread 1/2-28 no probem, the only other problem I see is how I would secure the thread adapter ... would I use a crush washer? would i use a crush washer on the thread adapter and the muzzle brake, on the muzzle brake only? Could either walk out?

Thats a little confusing right now but seems like my favorite option.