It just might work

[TheOTHERmaninblack]

Well, a couple of months have passed on my build without much progress. That's over

One of the guys in the local R&P club is a pretty good machinist and agreed to have a lash as hogging out the appropriate areas of the YHM diamond pattern free float. We checked it for fit today and it's just about a done deal. It's a little more fiddly to put together than it might otherwise be, but it actually looks like the YHM can be made to work with the Adams Arms piston system!

We've got the barrel nut relieved for the piston bushing and spring and the forward cutout for the piston cup positioned where it needs to be, but it looks like the cut needs to be deeper. We may also relieve just a tiny groove down the centerline of the fore end to give the piston a little more space to move.

The work isn't being done in my shop, as I'm not a machinist, but I'll take pics of the done deal before and after installing it.

I think I may finally be within sight of actually being able to shoot this thing!

[TheOTHERmaninblack]

Pics of the machining to the YHM rail. Contrary to what I'd feared, there's plenty of meat on this thing. A deep 1/2" cut on each end and a shallower groove connecting them. The barrel nut got the same treatment as the one the other guy did with his LaRue rail. While the machining essentially doubled the cost of the rail, I think the effect was worth it. I'll be finishing assembly tomorrow (I hope) and will post pics of the finished build tomorrow evening.

[TheOTHERmaninblack]

[txgunner00]

Nice rifle. What barrel?

[TheOTHERmaninblack]

Thanks!

Button rifled 18" Liberty Barrel. Sadly, no longer available. I like it for the fore and aft fluting, compared to the AA barrel with fluting only aft of the gas port.

Those forward flutes did make screwing the flash suppressor on more of a challenge.

[txgunner00]

rats- the fluting is what caught my attention.

[leopard6.5]

TheOTHERmaninblack: A dumb question but are you sure that barrel is a Liberty?

It looks just like the Satern Spartan 18" that AA used to sell and which Satern is now closing out.

txgunner00: You might try going to Satern Machinging's website and see if they still have the Satern Spartan barrels on closeout if you are interested in that style.
They are cut rifled and supposed to be very accurate.

Good luck

Lee

[TheOTHERmaninblack]

It was (or they claimed it was) one of the Liberty barrels that the Saterns picked up as an overstock. I did buy it from Satern, though. The only markings on the barrel that I can see (now that the rifle is assembled) is the caliber designation on one of the ridges.

[leopard6.5]

TheOTHERmaninblack: What made me wonder was that the only double fluted barrel mentioned on Satern's website is their Satern Spartan.

The Liberty is described as deep fluted but not double fluted.
Hopefully they accidentally got you one of the Spartan cut rifled instead.

Lee

[TheOTHERmaninblack]

That would be great, I hope you're right. But when I picked it up in April, they did have pics of the Liberty barrels down on the bottom of the page.

The whole reason I bought the Liberty instead of the Alexander Arms button rifled 18", even though it was $10 more and a separate shipping fee over what I was already paying for the other items I'd purchased from Alexander was that forward fluting.

Of course, two months later, the whole Satern thing happened and they closed the barrels out at $249, and oh, don't I wish I had the spare funds to pick up another!

I'll check the invoice again. Other than that, I'm not sure how to tell. Is there a difference to the rifling that's noticeable to the naked eye? I really don't wanna take that barrel off again just for practice.