Barrel replacement illustrated

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I have a 1917 Luger 9mm with...a slightly pitted barrel that I want to replace...what tools are necessary...?

Originally Posted by John Sabato

If you decide to replace the barrel/receiver... contact member LugerDoc...

John's advice is probably your best bet...The special tools can be expensive...and the learning curve can be steep...Tom Heller [LugerDoc] and/or Gerry Tomek [G.T.] have all the tools and fixtures necessary to swap out barrels...

But since you asked...

Here's a quick & dirty guide to barrel swapping...

We get at least one post a month asking about swapping Luger barrels...I have a receiver with a 4 3/4" Tikkakoski barrel on it, I want to swap in a 5 7/8" barrel...here's what I use to do it...

- Barrel vise
- Action wrench
- Receiver block [brass]
- Squib rod [brass]
- Receiver shield [brass sheet]
- Receiver/block bolt
- 3/4" wrenches



I clamp the barrel in the vise with the squib rod inserted up to the breech face. Barrel has a turn of masking tape so the finish doesn't get scratched. Squib rod keeps the barrel from collapsing from the pressure of the vise. Receiver block is installed with bolt. The block keeps the receiver from twisting while unscrewing. Brass shield draped over receiver to prevent scratching, wrench is attached.



Receiver is unscrewed. One sharp smack with my hand on the wrench usually breaks it free.





5 7/8" barrel ready to go in. All threads cleaned. Threads get a light coating of grease. Masking tape on barrel again.



Receiver is screwed in by hand until it won't go any further. It has ~1/16 to 1/8 turn until the barrel/front sight is perpendicular with the receiver [or one extractor notch width]. Just right.



Receiver block installed again, wrench attached with brass shield. Receiver tightened until it is perpendicular with front sight.



Everything taken apart. New barrel installed & ready to go.



I sometimes use a special fixture that clamps to the front sight base to attach a spirit level (not shown), and another spirit level laid across the receiver to get the barrel and receiver perpendicular. Here's a pic of an artillery barrel being leveled/installed using the spirit levels (but not the front sight fixture). Also, for clarity, I have left the brass receiver block off for the pics (but it is used for final assembly).



Some slight tweaking may be necessary to get the F&R sights aligned after leveling/installing.

That's it. I spend about an hour doing the whole job, including cleaning. There are other ways to swap barrels, but this way works for me.