BROWNELLS - RECEIVER FACING CUTTER & PILOTS

I've used this facing cutter on two Remington 700 receivers. It "chatters" very easily. I used several different lubricants on my on my first one, settling on STP oil treatment. But wasn't fully satisfied with it. On the second 700 receiver, I tried generous amounts of DAWN dishwashing liquid as a lubricant. It worked GREAT! I still had to work very slowly and pay careful attention to every move, but hey , that is part of the enjoyment of playing with guns.

I use Brownell's cutters and pilots for all my muzzle crowns, and have had outstanding success... Because of this cutter/pilot setup working so well, I thought I'd try this unit. First off, the pilot (.700) was way too loose in my Remington short action receiver. When I put the pilot in the rear of the receiver, it is good and snug, but the front gives way too much variance. Next, I tried it in a Remington long action, and while it was better, it still offered enough side to side play to make me extremely nervous. I applied layout fluid to the outside ring, and began cutting.. It started removing metal from the outside edge first, and ended with a nicely cut, smooth surface... however, I have no way of knowing if this is square.. I thought of installing a set screw in the front action screw hole, to keep the pilot snug against the upper ring, but again, not sure if that would end up with a square cut or not. This problem could easily be fixed if the pilot were long enough to go through the entire receiver, allowing both rings to center it. Next, I tried the AR-15 (1") pilot. In both AR uppers I had laying around, a Daniel Defense flattop and a Colt A2, the pilot was too large to fit into the receiver! It will fit into the rear of the receivers, but the section that covers the barrel extension is too tight on both receivers for this pilot. Be sure to securely clamp your receiver in a vertical position, first to let the cutter cut under its own weight, gravity helping to keep solid pressure, and second to avoid chatter marks. You will get tooling/chatter marks if you try to cut a receiver that isn't solidly mounted down. One good thing is that the cutter accepts the same pilots that the crown cutters do, so this cutter can also be used as a 90 degree crown cutter, which is useful for large muzzles (.900" and up). Looks like I'm going to have to sell some stuff to purchase the Manson accurizing kit - since I cannot afford $4000+ for a quality lathe.

Shaft is TOO SHORT and TOO SMALL in diameter to accurately guild the cutting tool.

I would recommend pilot should be manufactured to fit the PTG .500 ID variable OD .700 - .705 raceway bushings. Or, make variable sizes in your style. One size .700 which you offer does not work because the raceway size differs in Rem 700 receivers. Once you figure that out Ill buy them. Thank you. Military Gunsmith 2112.

Recently purchased the facing cutter and pilot for a remington 700. My comment is this. Why not make the pilot 7 inches long rather than the 2 5/8. This would be a much more accurate method. Fortunately I have access to a lathe and made my own pilot. Worked great! The pilot that I purchased could not and did not offer the precision that my "homemade one" did. P.S. the cutter worked beautifully and would highly recommend.