Pardon my non-technical terminology below, but I am new to modifying the 870, and do not know the actual names for some of the parts I am discussing.

I just traded another site member for a few 870 parts.  One of the parts I recieved was a new synthetic stock and forearm.  It is REALLY nice, but did not come with the slide rails, so I assumed that I was to take the rails and metal tube from the old wooden forearm.  After reading through my 870 manual (and taking the forearm off the shotgun) I assumed that this would be a simple matter of unscrewing the big nut off the forward end of the slide tube and pushing the assembly backwards (rearwards) to remove.

After searching for about an hour, I discovered that the metal end of a BDU belt fits that diameter perfectly, and easily unscrewed it.  BUT.........I CAN'T GET THE !@%#!!% ASSEMBLY TO SLIDE OUT OF THE FOREARM.  (ahem)
I assume I am missing something here.  What have I not done?  Do I need to push harder?  Am I risking damage to my old forearm?

Please help a guy out here.  I love the new extended tube, but that glossy Wingmaster forearm REALLY clashes with the black synthetic stock and parkerized metal.

They can be tight at times. terminology is pretty good. What would probably work better is to get a piece of flat stock steel that will span the diameter of the nut, clamp in a vise then start turning.
Hope this helps a bit.

sounds like you got the nut all the way off, the wood can stick ,especially one that has never been taken off before. try pulling harder or bump the back of the forearm with a rubber mallet to get it to break loose. it will come off you just need to work at it harder.

Screw the nut all the way on the tube. Then unscrew the nut 2 revolutions ONLY. Hit the nut with a rubber or rawhide mallet. This will unstick the tube without damaging the threads.
Works Great!

Thanks,
Lee

PERFECT.  That did it.  Thanks!

Damn, that looks much better.
I'll have to borrow my roomate's digital camera later and post pics to celebrate.

Then I need to see about getting the reciever re-finished.  This hobby never ends.