Using a Barrel as a Bucking Bar

Well I think it works!  Here are the pics of my experiment tonight.

Process.

• I used one of the K-Var $15 bulgy barrel sections for this experiment.
• I took a 3/16 rivet and filed it down some via the drill press to fit into the trunion holes. 
• I used a 4-pound hammer to hammer against the barrel.
• The rivet head was seated in a cup I dremelled out of steel bar.
• I used the I-Bar barrel press to put the barrel back in :)

Observations.

• The rivet seems to seat, but not as nicely as I expected. 
• I am not sure if it is strong enough.  It seems like it would be.
• The rivet head seated completely.  I did not use swell-neck rivets for this test.
• The rivet has a concave "seat" where it was pressed against the barrel.
• The barrel was COMPLETELY UNAFFECTED by the pressure exerted by the rivet.  I would have no problems using a "production" barrel for this task.

Preparing to rivet:

The first hit wasn't as firm as it should have been, so the rivet didn't seat as well as I think it should have:

Pics of the bucked-side of the rivet:

The second session... looks MUCH better!  Rivet head is completely seated:

How I braced the barrel.  If this were a real gun I'd wrap everything in shop rags or something padded.  I hit the rivet hard - every loose item on my workbench walked a foot from where it was sitting.

Preparing to remove the "bucking bar" with a bolt...

The complete rivet head looks as good as my Chinese rifle:

Removing the head of the rivet - I noticed that my first strike on the rivet wasn't squared, so it walked a little bit... I suspect that a swell neck will center itself better in the hole.  That, along with more firm blows to the rivet, should keep this from happening on a real gun:

Close-ups of the concave swell of the rivet.  Note the way the rivet bent slightly from the first hit...

Barrel segment is intact after the job!