DIY Suppressor alignment rods

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Taxed from another site...figured it might be handy. These are pretty high tolerance rods (+/- .0005) so I'd think they would be pretty good to use at a fraction of the cost.


DIY Suppressor Alignment Redux​

For every option below, I will be including a McMaster-Carr part number for easy purchase. Keep in mind you'll see a minimum $7-8 for shipping, so you may want to grab all sizes you need or may eventually need in one go to dilute the shipping costs. So here we go!
  • .2031" - P/N 8893K187 - Good general purpose rod for 22 caliber suppressor alignment - should work well for distinctly undersized match .22LR bores (think CZ452/455 at .210-.212" bore diameter), but otherwise may be a slightly loose fit;
  • .212" - P/N 8893K191 - Better fit for many standard 22 caliber bores (.22LR at .217" bore diameter, .223/5.56 at .219" bore diameter, etc.)
  • .250" - P/N 8893k204 - Good fit for 6.5mm Creedmoor/Grendel bores (.256" bore diameter);
  • .295" - P/N 8893K217 - Good fit for 7.62x39, .308, 300BLK and most Western 30 caliber bores (.300" bore diameter)
  • .339" - P/N 8893K229 - Good fit for 9mm (.346" bore diameter)
  • .4219" - P/N 8893K252 - Slightly looser fit for .45 ACP (.442" bore diameter). Stepping up to a .4375" rod (P/N 8893K254) may generally work, but could be too tight for rare cases.
The sizes recommended here tend to be some fairly close fits - for some guns with tighter bores, going down one size may be necessary. My recommendations are based on SAAMI bore size specs, and are what I've used with success.
These drill rods ship from McMaster-Carr as roughly saw cut lengths, so they'll typically have sharp edges on the ends that you'll want to chamfer down to prevent damage to bores. The three foot lengths aren't exactly practical to use, but you can certainly cut each bar in half or maybe even thirds - consider the length of your suppressors and how much alignment rod would be in the gun's bore. The O1 tool steel these rods are made of is some pretty tough stuff, literally the kind of steel they make drill bits out of - be patient and careful when cutting down or chamfering the rods, as bending them will render them useless. They're not hardended and shouldn't tear up your tools, but tool steels can be pretty tough in almost any condition.
To check straightness of your alignment tools, you can roll them on a surface plate (or in a pinch, a glass-topped table) and look for any "eccentricity" in the rods sort of "flopping" or completely resisting rolling.
With a suppressor installed on the gun, you'll want to gently feed the appropriate rod through the suppressor and into the bore of the gun - don't force anything, as you could risk damage to the crown or bore of the barrel. Leaving just a tiny bit of the alignment rod sticking out the end of the suppressor, you'll want to look out how close the rod passes to the bore in the end cap or end of the suppressor. Ideally, the end of the rod should be centered in exit bore of the suppressor. If the rod contacts the end of the suppressor or completely refuses to be inserted, you may want to seek a professional evaluation of the suppressor-to-bore alignment.
 

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Looks like you can order one for .22cal, .30cal and 9mm for $35 shipped

Capture.JPG
 

sklfco

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Sounds like you are concerned about baffle strikes. I just look through the barrel and can once it is all assembled. A good alignment shows as a nice round spot of daylight at the end of the tunnel.
If there is a misalignment between the bore and the exit hole on the can it will show as an oval.

Never have had an issue. Always check!
And I am that guy at the range that will help put one on your rifle just to see how it sounds, so mine have been on a lot of different weapons.

By the way, I never have seen one off.
Scuse me while I go get my last half piece of plywood out of the safe to knock gently upon it, I feel my luck running low.

As an after thought, I would have great reservations about probing the muzzle end of a rifle with a piece of drill rod, even if it were chamfered really nice.
 

joegrizzy

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yeah i bought rods from mcmaster carr long time ago. i guess it gives peace of mind, but if a bullet is loaded wonky or for some reason wears more on side of the barrel, you could get a round that exits the barrel a bit out of center anyway, which might cause a strike.

basically, yeah the rods are good, but they don't guarantee a strike won't occur. they do let you know if everything is concentric pretty dang easy.
Sounds like you are concerned about baffle strikes. I just look through the barrel and can once it is all assembled. A good alignment shows as a nice round spot of daylight at the end of the tunnel.
If there is a misalignment between the bore and the exit hole on the can it will show as an oval.

Never have had an issue. Always check!
And I am that guy at the range that will help put one on your rifle just to see how it sounds, so mine have been on a lot of different weapons.

By the way, I never have seen one off.
Scuse me while I go get my last half piece of plywood out of the safe to knock gently upon it, I feel my luck running low.

As an after thought, I would have great reservations about probing the muzzle end of a rifle with a piece of drill rod, even if it were chamfered really nice.
most people use soft blue painters tape or something to take up the slack and protect the muzzle. you get a firmer fit, and you don't risk messing anything up.

i guess if you REALLY wanted, you could look to order some brass rods in the same diameter, but they'd be more expensive i imagine.
 

JEVapa

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Sounds like you are concerned about baffle strikes. I just look through the barrel and can once it is all assembled. A good alignment shows as a nice round spot of daylight at the end of the tunnel.
If there is a misalignment between the bore and the exit hole on the can it will show as an oval.

Never have had an issue. Always check!
And I am that guy at the range that will help put one on your rifle just to see how it sounds, so mine have been on a lot of different weapons.

By the way, I never have seen one off.
Scuse me while I go get my last half piece of plywood out of the safe to knock gently upon it, I feel my luck running low.

As an after thought, I would have great reservations about probing the muzzle end of a rifle with a piece of drill rod, even if it were chamfered really nice.
Agree...the only time I've ever seen baffle strikes were on QD systems where the bayonet/twist lock mechanism doesn't lock up, or the ratchet type where it comes loose under fire and you get tilt. I haven't seen strikes on direct threads or with MD that have threads and a chamfer (like Allen Engineering on a MK12).

I think a brass or aluminum rod would be in order if it's getting stuck in the muzzle. I think they'd be great replacements for my magnetospeed..I'm always losing that thing.
 

sklfco

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Interesting timing for this thread to come back around as something interesting happed to me a couple weeks back. After putting some accessories on the old rat killer
CC93607D-245B-40FD-B0AF-56FE68761F68.png
Savage mark 2 fv-sr, spectre 2 on the end
Round count-many
First thing I learned about this thing was it really likes gold medal ammo (second was how much that crap is) and blazer standard velocity.
Third is to carry a .270 brush to swab out the chamber every half a box or so to keep it running smoothly. I use the gold medal for sighting and the blazer fodder for most everything else.

The third shot into the string of fire to zero the new scope impacts (15 yard target) a foot to the left and 2-3 low. This is a first and gets my attention. Recoil (😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆) impulse felt normal as was the tone of the shot and the sound of it slapping the mud backstop was about as loud as the first 2, no I don’t go measure the craters to compare 🤦‍♂️. My first thought was oh crap, mongo was lewkin at sum eye candy and didn’t tighten it all the way. I reached up and it was tight, and was quite relieved. For a moment, then I walked around to the front (after clearing the weapon, putting it on safe and hollerin real loud 3 times cease fire cease fire even though I was alone that early in the morning) and pulled out the flashlight to see


A24561A5-476D-494F-B413-93BE89575E8D.png
Ain’t much but trust me, wasn’t there before that odd round. Glad I tapped that chunk of plywood earlier, it payed off! (Hey, Maby I will put up a classified renting time on it, say 10 primers a knock🎣)

That sure looks like that 40 grain slug just kissed it on the way by, and can even make out the indentation made by the rifling on it.

The can came right off of course, I looked for something between the shoulder on the barrel or the can and found nothing. I fired off half a dozen more from random spots in the box with them grouping normally with no further excitement.

Like I said, many rounds on the barreled receiver. Enough that when it comes time to clean the can I just grab an old rounded off flat tip screwdriver to scrape the crud out. Yes it scratches the cups up a bit, who cares about scratching on the inside of a can???

Pulled it all back apart and scrubbed it down especially the crown area and tuned up that cheap clip spring holding the extractors while in there. None of the cups showed any signs of marks before cleaning and I looked real close. Reassembled the mess and returned to zero with no further issues.

Little fun while we’re here and do one of them pole thingys

A. was it just a bad round and I got lucky

B. crud on the crown

C. jest here fer the toes.....

D. who knowz
 

Fredkrueger100

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Thanks for posting this. I was just fixing to buy a couple for my AK74 and 47. But the darn things are about $75 a piece which is ridiculous. I have a hard time spending that. But at the same time, they a lot less than having to deal with sending my sandman in to have it fixed. I think these will work perfectly and save me alot of money.
 

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