Does anyone have a source for a proper action wrench?  I've done a bit of searching but have come up with -- nothing...

We (KCA Members) have made at least 2 types, and we have been known to loan them out! Will do a search and find links.
Here are a couple threads:
  (You need to Login
  (You need to Login

  (You need to Login

I think Rcat lent his to Butlersrangers and I have lent mine out also.


















.

Look on eBay ... ( Action wrench ) ... Although my first action wrench was made from a 4x4 piece of oak ... I shaped it to fit ... Then cut a slot so it would compress and put it in a big vice .. it worked held very tight ... Since then I have got others on eBay .. berrel vice is the hard one ... My first one was made from oak with with some big pieces of aluminum and bolts for a clamp .. I posted pictures here on this sight ... I have seen Krag barrel wrenches on eBay before although not very often ... By far the hard one was a barrel vice ... Remember to use lots of rosin to make it hold tight ... Good luck ....

The only two time I have used a action wrench was one time I purchased a Krag for 50 dollars and I took the barrel off so I could part the gun out minus the action ... And the other time I purchased a action at the gun show and then purchased a original barrel on eBay .. and .... Screwed it back on the action and it fit perfectly and the head space was exactly on ... This was because krags are very precision made although when you put a barrel on a action there are 800 things that can wrong so you really need a very good gunsmith who has Krag tools and can do a good job...

Thanks for the advice and sorry for being so late getting back -- been a crazy couple of weeks.  I did have a local 'smith silver solder the front sight base onto the barrel but the project may be delayed until I come up with some distilled water to rust blue the barrel.

I agree that proper tools are a necessity, but the action wrench using 1.5" U-bolts looks doable with what I have available and I have a 30-40 chamber reamer and headspace gages around here someplace to touch up the headspace of the Criterion barrel.

Whodathunk that distilled water would be hard to come by. I tried to get some for big industrial batteries, not easy in the age of hoarders.

The action wrench is easy enough to make in a whole bunch of workable styles if you have access to any machine tools.

I take it that your barrel is now clocked so when tight your sight is lined up correctly. It is possible to drive the reamer while screwed to the action. If it just needs a couple thousands to get the headspace correct that is a piece of cake driving the reamer by hand. If the chamber needs a bunch of depth on the reamer, it probably will be easier to pull it off and finish it in the lathe.

I use distilled water in my hot pack machine in my office or the local hard water will corrode the heating elements. That happened to my first one 25 years ago.

I put in a reverse osmosis unit after that and I have had perfectly clean water since then and have only replaced the filters once in 25 years.

I would highly recommend this if you ever need clean water comparable to distilled.