by Hoot » Sat Apr 11, 2020 9:54 pm
I've had to heat some factory muzzle brakes to get them loose. A couple left me wondering if the 800 lb gorilla was have a frustrating day when he installed them. Ditto on a few barrel nuts in AR rifles. You wouldn't know they have a torque spec! I think some low ball upper manufacturers don't want to spend a few extra dimes on shims to get the gas hole in their barrel nut to line up at rated torque so they just reef on them until the gas tube finally makes it through, but I digress. Heating a brake (within reason), as already said, wont harm anything.
The only issue you might encounter is if the barrel is painted with a non heat tolerant paint or hydro-dipped. I've gotten parkerized barrels hot enough to sizzle spit with no adverse affect.
Hoot
In Theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In Practice, there is.