Since 1934, the legal limit of a regular rifle barrel has been 16 inches. But this rule has a caveat. This means you are allowed to have a shorter barrel but attach a barrel attachment and make it within the legal limits.
This is the reason why you need to pin and weld a muzzle device. Now that you know why people weld a muzzle device, let’s find out how to pin and weld a muzzle device. After all, if we can’t even install it, what’s the point?
As the process is a bit complicated and requires quite a bit of time, let’s divide the process into two parts. Let’s go.
How To Pin And Weld A Muzzle Brake
The first part of the 2 part project is figuring out how you are supposed to pin the muzzle brake and then weld it in place as well. Let’s find out how you can pin a muzzle brake at home.
Choose the right muzzle brake
The first step of the process is to choose the right muzzle device. When you are picking the muzzle device, you will need to keep the total length of the barrel and the brake in mind. You don’t want to go over the legal limit. If you want to, you can also use suppressor flash cans to direct the gun blast upwards.
But you need to find the right muzzle device first.
Drills are required
Drilling the hole in the muzzle brake is probably the most tedious part of this project. This needs to be precise or your entire time will be wasted. You may require a power drill and a Dremel machine.
Before you start drilling the hole in the muzzle for the pinning process, make sure to hold the muzzle brake on a vise. This will keep it steady and stop the muzzle brake from moving around. Use masking tape on the teeth of the vise to prevent any scratches on the muzzle brake.
Identify the dead center of the muzzle brake and mark it with some sort of ball pen or marker. Then use your power drill to slowly start drilling a hole in the muzzle brake. When you see the hole is done, use the Dremel tool to clean the inside and outside of the muzzle brake. The Dremel will solve any deformity and smooth out the inside of the hole you just created.
Please keep in mind this is a lengthy process. And you are doing it with basic tools and not industrial-grade tools like a gunsmith. So, take your time and don’t feel discouraged. The result is worth it.
Measure the pin size
Now that you managed to drill the hole for the pin, time for you to cut the pin into size. To measure the right length of the pin, you could use a steel punch of a similar product. Put it inside the freshly drilled hole and mark the length where you need to cut it off.
Then use that punch as a scale to cut your pin.
Now that you know how to pin a muzzle brake and are done with the pinning process, it’s about time to move on to the next step. Another time-consuming process but this requires less precision than before.
Install the pin on the hole
After cutting the pin with the correct measurement, place the pin in the hole. Previously I mentioned you should be careful with the hole size you create. If you create a wider hole, the pin might move around. But if you have the right sized hole and pin, it won’t move around at all. It’s time for you to find that out. Insert the pin on the hole and hammer it in a bit if needed.
Time to weld it in place
Let the welding begin. Now that you have fit the pin on the barrel and the device, it’s time to fix them together, for good. Keep in mind, that scraping some paint from the muzzle device helps in the welding process. It makes the weld stick better and not fall off when your paint chips away.
There will be a bit of bubbles around the brake and the barrel from the solder impact. But you can always fill those bubbles and then paint the device again. Just mind the heat while welding and don’t touch the barrel or the brake before they cool down naturally. Avoid putting any kind of oil in the welding joints.
You can use sandpaper to trim down the weld to make it look more “natural”. But that bit is preference. Not everyone is bothered by the bubbles around it or the visible welding joint.
Conclusion
There you go, a complete guideline about how to pin and weld a muzzle brake. It takes a bit of work, that’s for sure. But the result is completely legal and a better-performing gun. With reduced recoil, your AR will feel awesome to fire now.
This solution is great for barrels that don’t have any kind of threading to them. You can use this solution to overcome that issue. That’s all for now, good luck in your endeavors. Till we meet again, take care and stay out of trouble.
