I've installed breechplugs on Muzzleloaders and completed some minor machine work when I worked in the automotive industry. Yesterday, I recieved the barrel vise that I ordered from Midwayusa.com last week. Decided to put it to good use to pull the barrel on a somewhat rough Rolling Block that I purchased to tinker with and to learn on. I made the action wrench years ago to pull breechplugs on Muzzleloaders by holding the Thompson Center wrench / socket. I cut some sheet copper to keep from marring the Rolling Block action. 

Once apart I was a little surprised to find an Acme style thread rather than.something along the lines of 60 degrees. I found a cutter for such a thread at Pacific Tools. Anyone bought or used one from them? Is there a better source? 


Edit = Acme

I grind my own also.  Takes less time to grind one than it would to go online and order one.

Just follow the principles for relieving the edges for clearance in the cut.  If you're not comfortable grinding it, you can mill it from high speed steel with a carbide cutter. 

My first flat action wrench was made similar to yours; eventually it bent on a tough barrel, and I went to a handle also made of the same square stock.  It has worked ever since.

I have done a few rollers and I found not all threads are the same. A true square thread the depth is the same as the width. One original roller the threads were much thinner. The depth was correct but the width was not.The depth was .040 but the width was .030. When I measured the action it was .040 and .040. Now when I barrel a rolling block or anything with square threads I measured the receiver first if I don't have the original barrel. The more you work with this stuff the more things you will find.



JMH

I've owned the same barrel vise for decades and I got mine from Midway USA also. Mine is bolted to my gunsmithing bench on the edge and I have a nice action wrench my late friend Whitey Hansen built for me that has aluminum milled into the wrench to protect the actions.
I recently had to send my little 3F Ballard to Al Springer with the barrel left on it as I just couldn't get it to break loose! I have oak inserts for my barrel vise and twisted them right out. The very small diameter octagon barrel just didn't have enough surface to grip well. Al said it came right off with his barrel vise having aluminum blocks, so I'm going to buy some aluminum and cut blocks for my old vise.

rifleman wrote on Jan 2^nd, 2025 at 10:29am:


My cordless drill battery was dead, thought I would give the clamp a try, to my surprise it broke loose. I did soak the threads in Kroil every night for a few days. 


marlinguy wrote on Jan 2^nd, 2025 at 12:04pm:


I intend to bolt my vise to that green bench through the angle iron and plywood top. Not sure if these would work, but I bought aluminum blocks for octagon barrels from Rice, they fit a bench vise though, not the Midwayusa.com vise. Work well enough for muzzleloader, but maybe not good enough for old tight military barrels. 

I have one piece of aluminum about the size of those wooden blocks that I hope to cut a couple of different patterns in, round and octagon just for something more durable than the wood.

if you want a V thread RB receiver, you are pretty much limited to the Spanish Oviedo. Or the Swede Commercially manufactured actions and even all of those were not made with V threads. Anything Remington military is bound to be square thread.

Just finished a roller barrel this week. 1897 pat. date with the sliding extractor. Made it a 45 Colt carbine. 
If you divide 1 by the number of threads per inch and then divide by 2 you will have the size of the cutter for square threads.

ssdave wrote on Jan 3^rd, 2025 at 2:50am:



Glad to know about the powdered sugar. It's a LOT easier to find than rosin!
I became aware of the importance of using rosin when I tried to remove a VERY rusted breech plug from a muzzleloader barrel.The barrel kept slipping until I used the rosin. It really made a difference.
Rick W