Hey guys. This question has probably been answered before, so sorry in advance. I did some googling though, and didn't really find a conclusive answer.
I was removing the fixed front sight off my 10.5 LMT, and my 14.5 PSA, with the intent of installing a LP gas block. This was not an easy task. The PSA tapers and sight came out easier than the LM|T (although still not what I would call easy...). The LMT wasn't budging....
Another arfcomer suggested I heat (torch) the A2 on the LMT for like 30 seconds, moving the torch back and forth as not to focus on one spot, and try to remove it. His claim was that it would expand the sight, but not transfer much heat to the barrel and cause expansion. When I did this, the sight didn't budget until things cooled down a bit. I eventually got the sight off, but I could tell there was probably a bit more heat transfer to the barrel than the guy stated there would be. It was pretty hot to the touch, but not completely unbearable, and cooled down rather quickly.
With the two barrels now, I have filled the pre-drilled taper holes with JB weld. Knowing that it only has a temperature rating of about 500 degrees, I was doing math in my head relative to how much I shoot (not frequently enough), and rare to never rapid fire.
So - finally my questions.
1. Am I cool with the JB weld (it's patched perfectly to fill in the gaps, with no extra)? My concern is overheating, and the rear patch bleeding onto the LPG block.
2. If the JB weld is a suitable fill, would a thermal dissipator help with protecting the weld from overheating?
3. Anybody know the average temperature of a barrel moderately firing through a couple of 30 round mags?
3. I've looked down the pipe on both rifles, and everything looks perfect. Is there any sort of ad-hoc test I can do to figure out on the LMT if the heat transfer had an impact?
4. I've read that some folks redrill through the JB Weld and put in smaller taper pins and modify them to fit..... I'm mechanically capable of doing this, but if it's not necessary, I'd rather not hassle with it...
EDIT: Final question. Could I just buy a 2" lpgb (to cover both taper holes), leave the JB weld, and call it a day?
I really don't feel like buying two new barrels, and would like to preserve these if possible, whereas the LMT only has like 200 rounds on it, and the PSA is brand new.