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January 6, 2020
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Hello Members,
While awaiting the delivery of the EWK Arms Small Frame (.357) Barrel Nut Tool, I have been proactively searching thru the forum here - as well as some other posts on the internet about the removal of "Stuck Barrel Nuts" on our Dan Wesson Revolvers. For the record, the recently-acquired 15-2VH 6-inch beauty I own has a cylinder gap that measures about 5 times the recommended clearance: it is the only thing I can find that might be an issue with it.
The gun did not come with a barrel wrench, so Eric at EWK Arms was able to ship one to me. I am not claiming that I will have an issue removing the barrel nut: I am attempting to be proactively responsive to remove it carefully and tactfully, without damaging the original 2-slot barrel nut, thus allowing the gun to remain in factory original condition.
I stumbled across a post that I found on the internet where a gentleman used boiling hot water to get the crud in the threads of the barrel/nut to break free after attempting to just remove it normally, the link is here:
Does anyone have any experience removing a stuck barrel nut with this method? Am I correct in assuming that the end of the barrel would actually be SUBMERGED in boiling WATER to do this? For how long? The author of the post does not elaborate on the process, and honestly, the idea of submerging my gun in water is not an appealing idea .... in the event that seepage gets between the barrel and the shroud and you are still NOT able to get the barrel nut off.. You can see where I'm going with this.
In any case, I'm not sure if linking to other sites is allowed, and if so I would offer disclosure that the content of the above link would be owned by the respective copyright owners of the Bogie Firearms Academy's site. Thanks in advance for responses, I'm glad to be the forum's newest member and hope this post proves helpful to others who might run into a stuck barrel nut. - Aaron in WI
- Aaron in WI
August 8, 2016
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Not familiar with the boiling water method but it might work? Another option is to soak the muzzle end in Kroil penetrating oil. That stuff works wonders for stuck parts and it will not harm blued finishes. I bought a small can from Brownells recently to remove a seized EWK muzzle brake...
I'd also recommend emailing Bob Collins the lead revolversmith at DW for advice. I know if you ship the gun to him, he WILL get it removed but you'll pay for the service. He is great to deal with. I've got a couple guns and parts with him at the moment.
His email is bob@cz-usa.com
Good luck!
January 6, 2020
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Thanks for the response so fast Andrew1220 - and for intuitively answering what I had in the back of my mind about a penetrating solvent... I've heard others try things like PB Blaster, etc .. but I would want the assurance that the bluing on the gun would not be harmed : Looks like the Kroil would be a great idea (and a safe one), not to mention COUNTLESS applications I would have for it when working on other projects ranging from gunsmithing to automotive use too, breaking free rusted/seized fasteners...
I do appreciate the referral to Bob Collins as well, nice to know there would be a specific point of contact to work with at CZ/DW if things get really serious!! 🙂
Aaron in WI
- Aaron in WI
February 16, 2016
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INOXPISTOL said
I'm glad to be the forum's newest member. - Aaron in WI
to the 
February 22, 2017
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I would stay away from boiling water. Here is a link to my efforts at loosening a stuck barrel nut: https://www.danwessonforum.com/forum/reloading/my-new-7677-15-2-frozen-now-partially-stripped-barrel-nut-my-plan-of-action/. This should help.
Jerry
10 Dans and counting...
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February 22, 2009
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It would seem to me that the metal expansion from the heat of the boiling water would proportionally affect shroud, nut, and barrel. That's why I've always suggested using a soldering iron on the part you want to expand.... I'm guessing the stuck barrel nut in the linked article was more of a case of lacquered oil than anything else; it obviously worked for that. As for hot water and gun parts- I have no issue with that. I've cleaned many parts with scalding hot water (usually in the dishwasher- don't tell Household-6), just dry thoroughly and oil afterward.
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
January 6, 2020
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Thanks for the Welcome to the Forum, Stinger - as well as all who have jumped in to reply: I am blown away by the rapid and enthusiastic responses to help!! I'm a lot older than I am younger, and one thing I've learned with all things mechanical is to have patience. My EWK Arms barrel nut tool delivered this morning. Kudos to Eric for the kind responses to my questions about availability and shipping - incidentally, he has just finished moving his shop from one location to another and is in the phase of setting up his new facility for production and hopes to be fully operational soon, by the sounds of it. I'm super-pumped to hear his business is doing well. He provided a head's up to me (that I'm passing along here) that responses to emails/order confirmations might be a bit staggered for the next couple weeks as he gets back into full swing, but he's definitely there and definitely working!
jertex (see his linked response - a perfect mechnical approach with the Jorgensen Clamps) , Andrew1220's recommendation of Kroil penetrant, and rwsem offer advice (with the use of a soldering iron to precisely heat the nut) that seem to be the Holy Grail of getting these barrel nuts to come free, using approaches that are careful not to make things worse in the process. As I leaned towards hesistation with my original post, I am NOT AT ALL crazy about the idea of submerging my beautiful DW into a kettle of hot water.. So many solutions on hand, and so many thanks to those on the Forum!! I will certainly be sure to follow up with the end result in the coming days ....
- Aaron in WI
January 6, 2020
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I Love Happy Endings:
Posting results of the barrel nut removal, first I want to give credit to Eric at EWK Arms for creating such a perfectly-engineered barrel tool - the presence of an aluminum pilot (vs the steel Dan Wesson factory tool) offers no risk of damage to barrel or crown, and the "teeth" on the tool fit the slots on the barrel nut with precision. It almost locks into place, firmly, which virtually eliminates the risk of the tool slipping or jumping out of the slots on the barrel nut. Absolutely worth every penny.
The barrel nut was in fact stuck, when taking a "hand-loosening" approach. Honestly, it might have come if I put a little more muscle into it, but I opted to take a more cautious approach using a couple techniques offered on the Forum here. I got my Jorgensen clamp set up with the barrel nut tool at one end - snugged up tight but just still barely loose enough to allow the tool to twist the nut.. This eliminated the possibility of me blundering the handling of the tool that might potentially scratch the barrel or damage the slots on the barrel nut. Link to this courtesy of jertex : https://www.danwessonforum.com/forum/reloading/my-new-7677-15-2-frozen-now-partially-stripped-barrel-nut-my-plan-of-action/
JUST BEFORE loosening, I proceeded to get the barrel nut heated up with a very capable Weller soldering iron: Thanks to rwsem for this concept! Between the setup with the clamp, and the heat applied precisely to the barrel nut, the nut broke free with one firm twist of the wrench. It was probably a bit risky to attempt this by holding the gun and the tool without the clamp - instead, the combination of both clamp and tool along with heat worked like a charm.
The barrel, threads, nut, and shroud were all protected very well and remain in near-pristine condition. On to my original intent of getting the barrel/cylinder gap adjusted correctly: It is all tuned to perfection and will even comment that this 15-2VH has a cylinder that is perfectly true and square: not even the slightest of variance of one chamber being more "proud" than any of the others. Assuming everything shoots well, I will probably dial it down to a .004" gap after testing, and might even go down to .002" if there's no issues, as long as the cylinder and forcing cone are offered a wipe-down periodically when shooting.
Now, out to the range this weekend - can't wait to shoot some steel! 
- Aaron in WI
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February 22, 2009
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If the cylinder is true, don't even bother with .006"- go to .003-4"... Congrats on not buggering up the DW
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
February 22, 2017
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I know it's been a while since you started this thread, but it would be great to see some range results and a pic of your DW. I'm glad you got it loose. In know in my case, it was a huge relief when that nut broke free.
Jerry
10 Dans and counting...
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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What Ron said! However, the small frame cylinders do expand after several cylinders worth of rounds. I have found two thousandths will bind. Always take the barrel tool with you when shooting and empty live rounds before taking the nut off at the range if necessary. I am sure that advise is not needed but some of us old fellows forget things.
January 6, 2020
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Well, so far no issues at .002, but I can;t say that I have been "blazing" thru rounds that quickly? Great mention as I would prefer to be proactive in monitoring as opposed to being reactive in repair or damage... I keep a gap tool kit in each range bag for each DW I have anyway so no problem there. I will keep attention focused!
And for the record, I will never scoff at a reminder of safe practices: As crazy as I am about following safe practices about shooting with family and colleagues, there was one "near miss" many years ago that was completely unexpected and a reminder (forever) that mistakes CAN happen, things are overlooked, perhaps complacency sets in.. and there are no second chances.
The situation with COVID-19 has thrown a lot of my normal activity into a tizzy, but in hunkering-down, its really truly great to find a little time to get back on the Forum here and catch up on some reading and education and just good-ol'-fashioned DW talk. God Bless and take care and stay healthy, dear Members 🙂
- Aaron in WI
May 3, 2011
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stormchimes said
Hello Members,
While awaiting the delivery of the EWK Arms Small Frame (.357) Barrel Nut Tool, I have been proactively searching thru the forum here - as well as some other posts on the internet about the removal of "Stuck Barrel Nuts" on our Dan Wesson Revolvers. For the record, the recently-acquired 15-2VH 6-inch beauty I own has a cylinder gap that measures about 5 times the recommended clearance: it is the only thing I can find that might be an issue with it.
The gun did not come with a barrel wrench, so Eric at EWK Arms was able to ship one to me. I am not claiming that I will have an issue removing the barrel nut: I am attempting to be proactively responsive to remove it carefully and tactfully, without damaging the original 2-slot barrel nut, thus allowing the gun to remain in factory original condition.
I stumbled across a post that I found on the internet where a gentleman used boiling hot water to get the crud in the threads of the barrel/nut to break free after attempting to just remove it normally, the link is here:
Does anyone have any experience removing a stuck barrel nut with this method? Am I correct in assuming that the end of the barrel would actually be SUBMERGED in boiling WATER to do this? For how long? The author of the post does not elaborate on the process, and honestly, the idea of submerging my gun in water is not an appealing idea .... in the event that seepage gets between the barrel and the shroud and you are still NOT able to get the barrel nut off.. You can see where I'm going with this.
In any case, I'm not sure if linking to other sites is allowed, and if so I would offer disclosure that the content of the above link would be owned by the respective copyright owners of the Bogie Firearms Academy's site. Thanks in advance for responses, I'm glad to be the forum's newest member and hope this post proves helpful to others who might run into a stuck barrel nut. - Aaron in WI
Here is a serious stuck barrel nut. In a .445 SM. With a muzzle brake. It took an L.B. to get it out. L.B. is the man. The barrel was recrowned and the threads were touched up by the fabulous EWK.
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