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A Homemade SKS Barrel Vise

Having a barrel vise for your SKS rifle gives you the ability to do more in-depth work with your rifle. The purpose of a barrel vise is to hold the barrel securely in place, allowing you to modify or remove it from the rifle's receiver. You can produce your own barrel vise relatively inexpensively and with a minimum of tools. Another advantage of the barrel vise is that you can use it on weapons other than the SKS.

Things You'll Need

Small hydraulic jack
Two long (about 15 inches)1-inch-diameter threaded steel rods
3/4-inch-thick steel plate approximately 9 inches by 14 inches
Two 3/4-inch-thick steel plate approximately 7 inches by 2.5 inches
Drill with 1-inch drill bit
Two nuts for the 1-inch rods
Two 4-inch pieces of hardwood

Instructions

Vise Construction
- 1
  Drill two 1-inch holes 4 inches apart into the large metal base; center and align the holes the length of the metal block. Drill similar holes into the other two metal pieces. The two holes should line up when you stack the pieces on top of each other. Drill additional holes on the edge of your work surface (where you want the vise located).
- 2
  Place the two rods through the holes on your work surface (from the bottom) and place the three metal pieces on the rods with the largest piece on the bottom. Place the nuts on the ends of the rods.
- 3
  Place your two wooden pieces between the metal base and the middle metal piece. Place the hydraulic jack between the metal and top piece. Do not leave the hydraulic jack in place when you're not using the vise.
Vise Use
- 4
  Place the barrel of your SKS rifle between the two pieces of hardwood and hold it in position by hand.
- 5
  Put the hydraulic vise into position and expand it. By expanding the jack you will be securely holding the barrel in one position as you work on your SKS.
- 6
  Loosen and remove the hydraulic jack. Lift up the top wood piece and remove your SKS rifle barrel.

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