Exploded Slant Brake.... Ideas why? - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Exploded Slant Brake.... Ideas why?

Posted: 5/7/2013 6:22:18 PM EDT

As the subject says. The brake was locked into 1 of the 2 notches with the brake to the right. Upon dumping a mag, I noticed the brake was gone and I was left with exposed threads. After the range went cold, I found the smaller piece just past the firing line on the ground and the larger piece BEHIND me on the ground. I cannot for the life of me figure out just what happened as this is the first time I've experienced or even heard of this sort of thing happening.

Thanks all

-Matt

Posted: 5/7/2013 6:29:37 PM EDT

[#1]

In for the answer.

Just a wag, the barrel heated up and expanded faster than the brake?

Really no clue, it's clearly deformed, bullet strike?

Posted: 5/7/2013 6:40:29 PM EDT

[#2]

Bullet strike has to be the culprit, but what would cause a bullet strike? I've had that same brake on that same Mini Draco for easily 1000+ rounds with no faults.

-Matt

Posted: 5/7/2013 7:03:06 PM EDT

[#3]

Clearly the brake says "Tapco" there's your problem.

But yeah, those things aren't a tight fit, so I don't see the barrel heating up as being an issue. Had to be a bullet strike. Maybe it wiggled when it should have waggled and ended up getting tapped.

Posted: 5/8/2013 7:57:13 AM EDT

[#4]

Tapco

Posted: 5/8/2013 8:01:34 AM EDT

[#5]

Was not screwed in all the way.

Look at the distorted threads. The crack is charred. That brake has been forward of the muzzle for a bit before the bullet strike.

Posted: 5/8/2013 8:03:50 AM EDT

[#6]

Mini Draco ? Any FSB detent? Loc tight the next one. That one unscrewed itself. Smear the threads with clear nail polish and put a replacement back on. Then monitor it. The nail polish will turn into a loctight, and holds up to heat better than loctight.

Posted: 5/8/2013 10:01:46 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
Was not screwed in all the way.

Look at the distorted threads. The crack is charred. That brake has been forward of the muzzle for a bit before the bullet strike.

Quoted:
As the subject says. The brake was locked into 1 of the 2 notches with the brake to the right. Upon dumping a mag, I noticed the brake was gone and I was left with exposed threads. After the range went cold, I found the smaller piece just past the firing line on the ground and the larger piece BEHIND me on the ground. I cannot for the life of me figure out just what happened as this is the first time I've experienced or even heard of this sort of thing happening.

Thanks all

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k145/mkruger_2006/f6fa557c-3906-4f88-a5c6-a6d9f7b7fa6f_zps13901e2a.jpg

-Matt

Quoted:
Mini Draco ? Any FSB detent? Loc tight the next one. That one unscrewed itself. Smear the threads with clear nail polish and put a replacement back on. Then monitor it. The nail polish will turn into a loctight, and holds up to heat better than loctight.

Yep, it has one.

Posted: 5/9/2013 1:12:44 AM EDT

[#8]

I saw that ring in SkyMall.

as to the brake, I don't see evidence of a bullet strike. looks like it was blown off from the rear, like there is a hole in the barrel at the rear of the threads.

Posted: 5/11/2013 11:50:12 AM EDT

[#9]

Build defect where one of the front sight radius holes broke into the bore? Its almost gas blasted..

Posted: 5/17/2013 5:24:10 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Build defect where one of the front sight radius holes broke into the bore? Its almost gas blasted..

Yeah, that looks consistent with the way the brake was peeled off from the rear. If gas were venting from the front sight block and going forward that might explain it.

That would be really weird though.

Posted: 8/15/2013 1:57:39 PM EDT

[#11]

Is the threaded end of the barrel fine? Maybe, just maybe you had a squib load near end of muzzle and you shot it out, causing a slight bulge that broke the brake?

Posted: 8/15/2013 2:05:53 PM EDT

[#12]

Speculation: Gas was getting trapped by the brake and getting under the threads. The Crapco Pot Metal(R) failed after repeated exposure to force caused by the muzzle gas.

Why is it communist countries, using shiftless laborers, could make AKs that just work while the US finds this to be difficult?

H

Posted: 8/15/2013 3:21:10 PM EDT

[#13]

Because Communist countries haven't posted all the failed muzzle breaks they've had on the internet since 1947.

Posted: 8/19/2013 2:14:39 AM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
Because Communist countries haven't posted all the failed muzzle breaks they've had on the internet since 1947.

View Quote

More like because to the commies turning out substandard weapons was sabotage...

Time to purge the counter-revolutionary factory worker!

Seriously, I don't expect a muzzle device to last forever, my AK-74 brake shows signs do gas cutting in the steel. But I expect that brake to last 50k rounds or better, not blow apart like a cheap air mattress at a frat party.

H

Posted: 8/23/2013 2:06:13 PM EDT

[#15]

def. a bullet strike barrel heating up should not have been an issue.
wiggle waggle in barrel splat on the break.

Posted: 8/23/2013 3:20:58 PM EDT

[#16]

See if Tapco will swap it out.

Posted: 8/23/2013 3:26:54 PM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
See if Tapco will swap it out.

View Quote

Worth a try.

Kinda like trying to talk a hooker into a free lay, but it's worth a try.

H

Posted: 8/23/2013 3:31:53 PM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:

Worth a try.

Kinda like trying to talk a hooker into a free lay, but it's worth a try.

H

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
See if Tapco will swap it out.

Worth a try.

Kinda like trying to talk a hooker into a free lay, but it's worth a try.

H

My guess it they will be interested in the failure. If it is a strike, which isn't obvious, no big deal. It looks more like a stress riser gave up, which might tell them something important. It's a multi dollar part, I'd trade it in for goodwill alone.

Posted: 10/18/2013 3:53:44 AM EDT

[#19]

On Draco and Mini-Dracos, the gas block and front sight base (with muzzle device plunger) are the same thing, in one combined unit, unlike regular AKs.

Gas block bleeding somewhere it shouldn't, perhaps?

Stick another one on there, well secured. Shoot it and make sure it isn't unscrewing itself. If a second one 'splodes, you'll know you have angered the gas block gods.

Posted: 10/18/2013 4:56:01 AM EDT

[#20]

And that reminds me..I want to replace my slant brakes on my Yugo underfolder and my WASR. Any suggestions? Want to reduce the recoil. Don't care about noise or flash.

Posted: 11/1/2013 7:41:44 PM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
I saw that ring in SkyMall.

View Quote

Posted: 11/23/2015 12:38:28 AM EDT

[#22]

ring

http://www.kinektdesign.com/products.php

Posted: 11/23/2015 2:58:02 AM EDT

[#23]

Thread necromancy.

Posted: 11/23/2015 11:38:02 AM EDT

[#24]

TAPCO has a lot of products worth bashing. But in the 10,000 + slant brakes they've made, having an occasional failure is to be expected. This is the second one I've seen in the last 15 years. I suspect there was a flaw in the metal before it ever became a brake.

I see the slight discoloration on the brake's left side, which appears to be soot and suggests there was a flaw/crack immediately before the split.
Doesn't make the product inherently poor. I used hundreds of TAPCO brakes in my production guns, and never had a failure.
I've seen HK MP5 bolt carriers crack. Shit happens.

There is a guy on FalFiles who does failure analysis at the microscopic level, and may be interested in it just for curiosity sake.

Posted: 11/23/2015 3:51:29 PM EDT

[#25]

This thread is over two years old...

Posted: 11/30/2015 5:50:29 PM EDT

[#26]

The brake obviously unscrewed, worked it's way forward and finally was hit by a bullet and destroyed. Most likely the index plunger has a weak spring and possibly the brake was not screwed on as far as it could have been, but that doesn't matter. It happened, and it was user error. I can't see Tapco being 'interested' in a brake that was allowed to unscrew during firing. I wouldn't have contributed to bringing back an old thread but I really couldn't see why nobody saw the obvious.

Posted: 11/30/2015 8:19:32 PM EDT

[#27]

Zombie thread wouldn't go into archive!

Posted: 11/30/2015 8:42:36 PM EDT

[#28]

Quote History

Quoted:
The brake obviously unscrewed, worked it's way forward and finally was hit by a bullet and destroyed. Most likely the index plunger has a weak spring and possibly the brake was not screwed on as far as it could have been, but that doesn't matter. It happened, and it was user error. I can't see Tapco being 'interested' in a brake that was allowed to unscrew during firing. I wouldn't have contributed to bringing back an old thread but I really couldn't see why nobody saw the obvious.

View Quote

Obvious, eh?

Where is the visual evidence of a projectile strike?

Why is the front of the muzzle device (the area generally most damaged by projectile strikes) almost pristine except for being split?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Exploded Slant Brake.... Ideas why?

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