While working on my Jeep tapping some holes, It made me wonder.  The barrel on my Post Ban Bushmaster has a little step down, can you just throw a die on there and make yourself a threaded barrel for a flash suppresor?  Im not gonna do it, dont need a flash suppesor but just wondering if will work.


Mike

It's a bit more complicated than throwing the die on. If you're going to do the job right, you'll need a barrel insert that will insure the threading die goes on straight, and to reduce the barrel diamarter to about 9/16s to properly cut the threads; but yes, it's doable if you're motivated enough. actually, if the ban expires next year, I expect a lot of people will be giving gunsmiths a fair amount of business doing just that[:D]

The step down is there on threaded barrels too.  It steps down for about half and inch and then it steps down again to the threads.  Thats not the diameter of the threads in that step down you see.  If you want to do it right you would have to add that same step behind the threads too.

The dyna systems kit comes with a neat thread alignment tool (TAT) that goes into the barrel and guides the die - makes it snap to do. the kit is about $60, probably not worth buying unless you are doing more than one or just want to do it yourself. I got professional results with their kit. I borrowed it though, I didn't buy it. I don't know how much a gunsmith would charge for that. The folks at dynasystems are great - they actually answer the phone and are very helpful.

the kit: [url]http://www.dynasystems-ltd.com/GunFile/TAT.html[/url]

the site [url]http://www.dynasystems-ltd.com/GunFile/Products.html[/url]

here's what the TAT looks like:

[img]http://www.dynasystems-ltd.com/GunFile/Resources/TAT.jpg[/img]

and the handle:[img]http://www.dynasystems-ltd.com/GunFile/Resources/Handle.jpg[/img]

Here is the kit you get: [img]http://www.dynasystems-ltd.com/GunFile/Resources/Kit.jpg[/img]

I was looking at a look-alike brake and I have one of the cav comps (not on yet, hoping, praying and writing that the ban dies) to put on my SLW barrel.  It actually states that the barrel needs to be turned to .496 before threading.  
That is something that I will let a skilled smith do, unless I was very good at metal turning and...owned a lathe or mill...please Santa????
It is sort of a toss up though.   With about $130 for the work, the $6 for the FS, $30 for a pre-ban front sight housing, I could just sling out the cash for a pre-ban barrel right from the factory and save myself the work and wait.
The wait is the real grab, if the ban dies, it will be worse then pre-hunting season at most gunsmiths.

I have the same quandary with my postban. It has the Cav Comp on it. If the ban expires, I may just dremel the mouth of the brake open and reparkerize it so it becomes a flash hider (looks nice, I just don't like the noise it makes as a brake) It's a dissipator sytle upper, so I can't put a bayo lug on it anyway.