Do I need to use an actual alignment rod or can I use a wooden dowel or even maybe just looking down the bore? (Obviously unloaded/disassembled)
Suppressor alignment rod?
- Thread starter landmammal
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OP
That's a very good point I hadn't thought of. I'm trying to make sure everything's g2g. The can and barrel are both silencerco.
Get the rods, they can be had for 60 to 75$ each. Sub cal I do not worry much about.
Saying that a 6.5 or 6mm/5.56 will almost always be fine in any 30 cal can.
You can also get the rods from McMaster Carr.
I have about 10 or so of them to cover 22 up to 45 cal
I cut them down check to be true and have several PVC tubes I store them in.
They work great and cost is 5 to 10$ each. You can make short ones and long one of one stick. Like 9mm pistol being 10 to 12" long and works fine then the 9mm rifle being 20ish inches. Same for 22lr and 22 mag.
They have worked fine for me and many others.
Saying that a 6.5 or 6mm/5.56 will almost always be fine in any 30 cal can.
You can also get the rods from McMaster Carr.
I have about 10 or so of them to cover 22 up to 45 cal
I cut them down check to be true and have several PVC tubes I store them in.
They work great and cost is 5 to 10$ each. You can make short ones and long one of one stick. Like 9mm pistol being 10 to 12" long and works fine then the 9mm rifle being 20ish inches. Same for 22lr and 22 mag.
They have worked fine for me and many others.
OP
Awesome information! I will definitely check McMaster out. I have a Turbo T2 in jail atm so I'll be stocking up on a few for 5.56 and 9mm.
22, 22 mag and 5.56 are the ones I find most critical.
I have rods that fit some 22 and not others, I found I needed a few and some for 22 mag, .223 and 5.56.
Again some barrels are thighter than others.
DrScaryGuy
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i gotta be honest with you, i've never used any kind of rod to stack my 9mm and 22lr cans.
I've always just been careful with them and if the endcaps don't sit flush, i know something is aligned wrong.
I've always just been careful with them and if the endcaps don't sit flush, i know something is aligned wrong.
Some are lucky.
Have run into several guns that were factory and the threads were off. One CMMG, the threads were great, shoulder was not. Can screws of fine, alligned with no real torque.
Tighten it hard and the shoulder angle changed it so it would hit.
Some may never have a problem but the more cans and guns someone has more likely to see it.
They have saved me and I will keep using them. Had the guys at the shop also ask to use them.
BigWaylon
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My ratio of cans to rods is dozens:0
Odds are higher you’ll have a warped rod and freak out over nothing instead of actually finding a problem with one.
Odds are higher you’ll have a warped rod and freak out over nothing instead of actually finding a problem with one.
I have always eyeballed suppressors onto rifles until earlier this year. I installed a somewhat salty surefire muzzle brake onto the barrel and then put the can on and it just did not look right. Luckily geissele was running their 35% sale so I went ahead and grabbed a 7.62 and a 5.56 rod. Glad I did because when I used the rod on the rifle it touched the can. I was able to fix the alignment but now I plan on using them for future uses.
TRaGiK
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Saw this exact thing happen to a friend. Bought a rod, thought the threads were junk, and found out the rod was junk.
I own several geissele aligment rods and find they are well worth the cost, especially if there’s any concern about thread concentricity such as AK’s, imported barrels, questionable barrels, etc.
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BigWaylon
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Shine a light down the bore and see if you have a perfect circle on the wall…if you don’t trust looking down the bore yourself.
OP
Hadn't thought of that. Was really just looking at it kinda like a mp5 diopter sight
Good to hear that. If it works for you stick with it.
No freak out here!
Found a few problems verified by my Smith that has threaded several barrels for me and all worked out in the end.
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Average Joe
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I use the same method as @BigWaylon. I’ll start off with the old eye. If I see something that looks funny. I’ll breakout the old flashlight and check the light circle on the wall.
Admittedly, I’ve never mounted a can to a AK variation. Knowing the issues with some AK manufactures, most likely I’d use a rod to triple check after using the methods above.
Admittedly, I’ve never mounted a can to a AK variation. Knowing the issues with some AK manufactures, most likely I’d use a rod to triple check after using the methods above.
Heavily.censored
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Is this even necessary with dead air keymo? Torqued brake on with shims, no crush washer, then with keymo its a taper mount. Should be good to go, right?
I question the need at all, but in your example the issue would most likely be that the brake is not concentric or aligned or both to the bore. The can might be perfect on the mount, but the mount is cocked and a foot from the muzzle the bullet strikes the can.
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Yikes, so how do I check this? My rifle is kind of a home tinkered build. Took A2 style upper and changed the block, mounted the dead air mount on it... but did this years ago before I was so into perfect. Worried ima get strikes now
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Or shoulder wasn’t square, shims were slightly off, etc, etc. 😁
BigWaylon
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Take the upper off the lower and set it down somewhere it’s not moving. Remove the BCG/CH. With the silencer attached, do you see a perfect circle when looking down the barrel from the chamber? Additionally, you can shine a light down the barrel from the chamber end with the barrel pointed at a wall. Do you see a perfect circle on the wall?
Have you ever shot this setup with the silencer? If so, and no baffle strikes, you should be fine. Only issue would be if you didn’t get the KeyMo properly locked down one day.
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Never ran a can on this before!! That's why I'm so sketched out. I tried both methods you mentioned and it looks to me to be ALMOST a perfect circle. I did put a laser boresight through it which didn't seem to be centered at the port of the silencer, granted this is a $20 Sightmark boresight and not exactly precision tech. I took a picture, as well as one of the light coming from my barrel.
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By the way, it's possible the laser appearing off center is a trick of the eye- if you put your phone directly over the barrel you can't get a picture
As described above. Also check the warranty on the can, many companies will cover your first strike. Everyone has to decide if they want to eyeball it and go or obsess over it, neither is wrong and nobody can tell you which fits you.
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When given the option between obsessing or not obsessing, I always obsess 👹
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That's right! Nomad
McMaster carr is the way to go in my opinion. The ones below are the straightest they sell IIRC, adhering to the tightest tolerances. Below are the item numbers for 9, 45acp, 223, 762x39
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Oh those are cheap!!! Better than the $75 surefires
I have McMaster rods for 223 and 300 BO. I cut them in half and sanded/polished all ends. I’ll inspect my install using both halves. Maybe a little OCD, but 0 baffle strikes thus far. Plus I have back up/loaners for cheap.
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I'm planning to hit the range this afternoon so I may had to the LGS and see if they can check it for me, and then get a couple of those order. They're so cheap I'm considering buying 2 in case one is out of tolerance
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Be sure to roll them on a glass table before using them. The odds of one being straight enough aren’t as high as I’d like. It won’t take but the slightest warp/bend to send you into a tizzy based on what it looks like when the can is installed.
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Yeah, I was gonna say I feel like their version of straight and our version of straight may vary, lol. Two thou is probably enough screw with my head
For those of us suppressing AKs with notorious non-concentric threads to bore, alignment is critical.
Especially on the piece of kit with the longest wait time and most red tape to procure
Especially on the piece of kit with the longest wait time and most red tape to procure
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I know several on here think the rods are not worth it or needed so I will comment no more on them other than one thing.
Take a sharpie and add a line accross the end or a witness mark at 12 and 6 on the rod.
It is easy to confirm they are true. If the barrel is true and rod they will slide all the way through just like gauge pins. Also add suppressor to barrel and insert rod. Mark the 12 witness and place at 12 oclock. Rotate 180 deg and look again. It is true if the gap is the same all the way around and rotated 180. It the rod is warped it will be tight in the bore and also will show being close or touching the suppressor at one point say 12 oclock then when you rotate it 180 deg will show close at 6 o'clock.
Glass is not always true, temperature and stress change it. Rods may be truer from McMaster Carr than standard plate glass causing you to freak out. I used a Starrett Precision Granite Flat-Surface Block to test them. Really only one of a few ways to test them.There are a few other tools and processes to test runout but those cost more money.
Take a sharpie and add a line accross the end or a witness mark at 12 and 6 on the rod.
It is easy to confirm they are true. If the barrel is true and rod they will slide all the way through just like gauge pins. Also add suppressor to barrel and insert rod. Mark the 12 witness and place at 12 oclock. Rotate 180 deg and look again. It is true if the gap is the same all the way around and rotated 180. It the rod is warped it will be tight in the bore and also will show being close or touching the suppressor at one point say 12 oclock then when you rotate it 180 deg will show close at 6 o'clock.
Glass is not always true, temperature and stress change it. Rods may be truer from McMaster Carr than standard plate glass causing you to freak out. I used a Starrett Precision Granite Flat-Surface Block to test them. Really only one of a few ways to test them.There are a few other tools and processes to test runout but those cost more money.