870 Express Dimple Removal - I done fucked up!

[aas013]

Hi all -- long time lurker first time poster.

As the subject states, i done fucked up trying to remove the dimples from my new 870 express.

I tried to remove the dimples using this tool: Magazine Tube Dent Raiser

i was using it as instructed and managed to get it jammed in there past the dimples. I have tried hitting the side of it with a rubber mallet and pulling to retrieve it and its not happening. I have poured a quarter bottle of gun oil at the joint where the tool meets the magazine .. hitting and pulling more.. still no progress.

AND THEN I HAD A GREAT IDEA

hit it further down the tube and surely it will come out easily.

WRONG.

it is now firmly down in the tube with ~ 1 inch of the ~8 inch long tool exposed above the mag end. i have poured more oil down the mag and am going to let it soak for a bit.. I have a few ideas that might work .. but i need someone with experience to weigh in.

1. find somethat i can use to get a better grip on the handle of the tool (vice grips) and try to pull or turn the tool so the dimples align with the recesses in the tool

2, some people seem to use a punch to hit the sides of the dimples but im not sure if this is going to help http://www.rem870.com/2010/01/17/removi ... zine-tube/

3. take it to a gunsmith

4. get a wooden dowl rod and shove it in the other end of the tube (entering the stock end) and pound it back out. only problem here is that i left the follower in.. not worried about breaking it though as i have a replacement follower.

would really appreciate if you guys could weigh in -- im sure someone on this awesome forum has been in this situation before

[aas013]

UPDATE:

was able to get the tool out using vice grips -- ive taken a dremel to what was left of the dimples and its *almost* smooth in there.. now i just need to figure out how to reblue the inside of the magazine to prevent spot rust.

[cjjohn]

Glad you got it out!
I read several other posts about the dimples and I decided on drilling them out, but came very close to getting the tool, glad I didn't!

[Synchronizor]

Yeah, those dimple removal tools work, but you need to know how to properly use them, or you can easily end up in trouble or damage things. They're more tools for an experienced gunsmith. Drilling is a much more novice-friendly way to remove the dimples; there's a lot less to go wrong, and it's less expensive as well (assuming you already have a drill).

[novaz]

this post is probably too late
but I used a Dremel tool and sanding drum to remove mine for the +10 extension I fitted it was quiet quick and I also put a small tube flash light in there to see better then put a cloth behind it to keep shrapnel out.

[et2Fatz]

For those of you using the Brownell's tool, it's not as simple as their video shows. I oiled the tool and mag tube and pounded the tool into the mag tube
as directed by the video, and found the tool was stuck but good.

This is what you need to do:
1. Oil the tool and inside of mag tube
2. Pound the tool past the dimples in the mag tube
3. With the tool still in the mag tube (it will be stuck), place the dimple area of the mag tube flat on the anvil portion of your bench vise
4. Gently pound the the dimple area on both sides of the mag tube flat with a hammer
5. The tool will now easily slide out of the mag tube
6. Feel the inside of the mag tube to make sure the dimples are flat and smooth
7. If the dimples are flat, clean the oil out of the mag tube and test fit the follower to make sure it slides back and forth past the dimple area
8. Test fit your barrel
9. Reassemble

This procedure only took a few minutes and did not harm the finish on the outside of the mag tube.

[Banshee]

Removing the dimples with a swage is not difficult. I use the XS Sight Systems swage tool.
Start by Sliding the fore-end to the rear, Remove the mag cap,barrel, mag cap retainer, spring and follower.
Now you are ready to remove the dimples.

First I take a 1 inch steel scope ring and clamp it around the magazine tube directly over the dimples to keep the magazine tube from stretching. Grease the inside of the tube and od of the swage with wheel bearing grease.
Grasp the magazine tube with your hand just under the scope ring, place the swage in the mouth of the tube, lightly tap the swage into the magazine tube up to the shoulder with a soft face hammer. About a half a dozen taps should do it. Remove the scope ring, take a .375 brass punch and a small hammer lightly peen where the dimples used to be to set them in place. The swage should slide out easily with a little tug. Place your finger in the tube a feel to make sure the dimples are gone, if not place the swage back in and peen them a little more. This may take a couple of tries get the dimples pressed flat.
Once they are gone clean the grease out and check the tube with a magazine follower to make sure it slide smoothly through. Use some copper remover to clean the brass punch marks from the od of the tube. Replace the barrel, follower,spring and extension.
It tool me less than 10 minutes from start to finish. Most of the time was used to clean the damn grease out of the tube.

[HawgDaddy]

I'm going to play stupid....and I don't own an express but, I'm curious as to the purpose of the dimples that people are wanting to remove? To keep the follower in possibly? I have no idea.

[Synchronizor]

The dimples are there for the new-style plastic spring retainer to lock into. These spring retainers are much less of a headache than the old metal press-in ones, see the first half of this video for details on that. Those newer retainers also have teeth on the end that help to lock the magazine cap down against recoil, replacing the old spring-loaded mag cap detents that added steps to manufacture and had a tendency to fall out.

It's actually a pretty effective design tweak that reduces parts count, eliminates a relatively common (albeit minor) failure point, and makes the gun easier to take down & reassemble. The only real downside is that the dimples get in the way of adding a mag extension. That's why 4+1 Police 870s still use press-in spring retainers & mag cap detents, while 4+1 civilian 870s - which are mostly designed for hunting or sporting where 4 shots is plenty - use the plastic spring retainers. The major fail on Remington's part is using the plastic spring retainers & dimpled mag tubes on civilian Tactical 4+1 models, rather than just hunting guns.

[m-forgery]

I use Dow Corning Anti-Seize paste, not oil or wheel bearing grease, when removing 870 mag tube dimples. Works like nothing else.