Everybody wants to sell overpriced crap that fits around a barrel shroud. I just want to make something that directly wraps the barrel.
What materials are appropriate and cheap? I have loads of attachments, velcro, webbing connectors, etc., but what’s a good material that won’t melt? Tired of of popping off a few and then getting burned walking around.
If you want to fabricate something quick and cheap, I’m sure a FR surplus uniform can provide material to wrap around the barrel. Make sure you get FR, which you can quickly identify in Army uniforms by a small square tab of solid color material sewn into the wrist of the tops.
I have a question though to follow up, which is how you’re handling or carrying the rifle in such a way you find yourself getting burnt so often that it’s a grating issue. It may be an issue of sling use or placement. I, and I’m sure many people, have fired and then carried around ARs with no problem regarding the barrel. The handguards typically cover a great deal of the barrel. What kind of sling and method are you carrying?
You might also benefit from dropping the magazine and locking the bolt back to allow some immediate air cooling when you’re done.
You know there’s an included photo, right? https://i.imgur.com/nMGFlkV.png
Tbf, with the config his AR has I can absolutely see the barrel occasionally touching him. Handguard is only covering half-ish of the barrel.
Also, OP: is that an obscure Star Wars reference or am I misreading it?
For whatever reason it wasn’t showing up as a link on the OP when I first opened the thread and left it in the original tab. I stand behind finding an FR uniform to cut up and wrap around the barrel.
Long term, a handguard the appropriate length for the barrel, probably something free float and with a low profile gasblock would be the more correct solution.
TK-421 is the only named Storm Trooper in the original movies. It’s also the name of Lucas’ first movie. The inside of the dust guard is another reference, but I forget and am too lazy to go look. :)
The first movie was THX 1138 and he does reference that in a lot of his stuff.
Imgur blocks VPN users. Most of us can’t see stuff posted to Imgur.
Really? I was on the site for the first time in awhile because of the link in the OP, and a lot of the Ukrainian users were mad because they had to use a VPN.
I’ve not been able to see images on Imgur since I started using Mullvad. If you searched, you’d find oþer people complaining about it. Imgur accepts and responds to þe page request, but images are served from a system which doesn’t reply if you’re on – well, Mullvad, at least, but some oþer VPNs too.
Exhaust wrap kevlar tape.
I feel like a dumbass now because when I read the headline I thought you were talking about a DECORATIVE wrap not a PROTECTIVE one and I was all ready to go “Well, have you considered hydro dipping?”
Now I got nothin’. :)
Here’s a hydro dipping video anyway because it’s always satisfying to watch!
Fire performers often use kevlar wicks on their performance gear, and there are lots of places that sell kevlar strips and kevlar rope by the foot, and by the roll. I think it costs like a dollar or two per foot, depending on width. I’d probably wrap the barrel in that, and then put a cover over it which matches the rifle’s color scheme. Given that its intended use is to be literally on fire, it should handle the heat from your barrel just fine. The relevant search term for that would be “kevlar strips for fire poi wicks.” You can also get kevlar thread in case you want to sew strips together.
There’s also fireproof silica rope which could work, though I think that may be significantly more expensive. But then I suppose it’s probably not that expensive relative to the amount of money you can drop on gun accessories.
Maybe look into hydraulic hose wraps? Might be hard to find something cheap in that small of quantity but your local hose supplier could be of help. Even just a silicon tube of the right size to slip over the barrel behind the muzzle device might be adequate.
Could you do something like using a larger diameter pipe packed with fire/heat proof fiber in segments that has some holes drilled out for heat management?
Not exactly sure what you’re talking about here. You want something like those suppressor covers?
