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Muzzle threading Thompson Center break action single shot rifles the LRI way. :)

What’s the going rate and wait for something like this? I have a Handi Rifle in 44 mag I’d like done if the barrel is a good candidate.
 
I would imagine that if one needed to time a brake that a turning center like this would make quick work of it?

Cool video, thanks for sharing
 
Whats minimum barrel od required to do this?
 
Nice work ! Now that you have this setup, think m13.5x1 LH for stupid pistol barrels from euro. Thread adaptor converters, or just threading pistols. I've done basically how you do it, but not 5th with live probe.

I'm gonna basically guess you modified your m70 (and other) receiver accurizing method, minus the thread index touch off ?

Nice work. We need to catch up and have a beer and share some stories. Also, muscle cars.
 
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What’s the going rate and wait for something like this? I have a Handi Rifle in 44 mag I’d like done if the barrel is a good candidate.
 
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Will your 5-axis setup work for any barrel without having to break it down from the action? If so, how much do yall charge for this? I have about 8-10 bolt-action 700's that need threading 5/8x24. What's the turn-around time?
 
The desired thread dia/pitch and caliber drive this boat. For instance, a 416 caliber barrel and a half-inch thread would likely result in one hell of a party...
ok lets refine the question whats minimum wall thickness for threading and or maximum caliber for a 1/2-28 thread?
 
Will your 5-axis setup work for any barrel without having to break it down from the action? If so, how much do yall charge for this? I have about 8-10 bolt-action 700's that need threading 5/8x24. What's the turn-around time?


ok lets refine the question whats minimum wall thickness for threading and or maximum caliber for a 1/2-28 thread?


As a cardinal rule, I maintain at least a .100" wall thickness between the root of a given thread to the groove diameter of the barrel.

The root diameter of a 1/2-28 thread is .455". Subtract a .100" wall and were in the .255" range. So, basically, a .25 caliber cartridge is the biggest a guy should go.

There are some exceptions to this. If were talking a 300 Blackout I'll typically let it slide just because the pressure of the cartridge is lower than a 308 or whatever. I break the rule also based on barrel length. A 16" 7mm whatever magnum isn't going to play so well where's a 28" 7 Rem Mag will work just fine as the pressures are down quite a bit by the time it hits that part of the barrel.

The sole purpose behind this is to avoid a dreaded situation where the last 5/8" or so of the muzzle starts to bellmouth due to the thin cross-section of the steel between the groove and root dia of the two features. We went through hell with this 2 decades ago when I was at Dakota Arms/Nesika.
 
Will your 5-axis setup work for any barrel without having to break it down from the action? If so, how much do yall charge for this? I have about 8-10 bolt-action 700's that need threading 5/8x24. What's the turn-around time?


Yes and no. The limiting factor is the physical distance from the chip conveyor on the machine to the max height where I still have all the room for tools. A gross example would be say something absurd like a 50 caliber with a 40" barrel. While it will physically fit inside the machine, I don't have enough room to "get to it". Not without poking a hole through the bottom of the machine with a post-hole digger anyway. :)

On a typical LA were limited to around 24". A SA will do 26"
 
As a cardinal rule, I maintain at least a .100" wall thickness between the root of a given thread to the groove diameter of the barrel.

The root diameter of a 1/2-28 thread is .455". Subtract a .100" wall and were in the .255" range. So, basically, a .25 caliber cartridge is the biggest a guy should go.

There are some exceptions to this. If were talking a 300 Blackout I'll typically let it slide just because the pressure of the cartridge is lower than a 308 or whatever. I break the rule also based on barrel length. A 16" 7mm whatever magnum isn't going to play so well where's a 28" 7 Rem Mag will work just fine as the pressures are down quite a bit by the time it hits that part of the barrel.

The sole purpose behind this is to avoid a dreaded situation where the last 5/8" or so of the muzzle starts to bellmouth due to the thin cross-section of the steel between the groove and root dia of the two features. We went through hell with this 2 decades ago when I was at Dakota Arms/Nesika.
On this subject, in your opinion, would it be best to take a 26" sporter barreled 7mmRM and cut it back to 22" or so and thread 5/8x24, or is it safe to thread it 1/2x28 and keep it 26"? I don't want to direct-thread a can, but want to install a Dead Air KeyMount muzzle brake. Then use that to mount my suppressor. So there will be plenty of hardened steel around the muzzle threads. It's a Remington 700 "magnum" sporter profile.
 
Yes and no. The limiting factor is the physical distance from the chip conveyor on the machine to the max height where I still have all the room for tools. A gross example would be say something absurd like a 50 caliber with a 40" barrel. While it will physically fit inside the machine, I don't have enough room to "get to it". Not without poking a hole through the bottom of the machine with a post-hole digger anyway. :)

On a typical LA were limited to around 24". A SA will do 26"

Well, that's kind of opposite of what I have... All of my LA's are 26", and my SA .308 is 24"... So, the .308 Win could be threaded without being broken down. The reason I was asking was because it would be way cheaper to not have to break-down already custom-built rifles just to thread the barrels. Unless yall don't charge anymore to do this and reset the headspace where it was?
 
I'm waiting for the right deal to come along so I can build an 16" 308 encore threaded for my Nomad L- put a 1-4 on top and have a perfect little deer stand rig.

Those little rigs look sweet with a can.
 
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I’ve been single point thread cutting on encore and contender barrels here lately.
Been using a 3 jaw chuck, steady rest, and live center and have not had any issues. Can’t take as big of cuts but it’s worked well for me so far.
 
Well, that's kind of opposite of what I have... All of my LA's are 26", and my SA .308 is 24"... So, the .308 Win could be threaded without being broken down. The reason I was asking was because it would be way cheaper to not have to break-down already custom-built rifles just to thread the barrels. Unless yall don't charge anymore to do this and reset the headspace where it was?

The expense is minimal and pulling a barrel from a receiver is so trivial for us anymore that it's not a big deal. LRI does not suffer from a "tooling shortage" when it comes to tearing stuff apart. If it's a "new" job to us, we just make the required stuff on the spot and move on.

Regardless of how we get there (lathe or mill) it's a very fundamental process for us.

Happy to help.

(just follow the drop-down menu options)

 
I’ve been single point thread cutting on encore and contender barrels here lately.
Been using a 3 jaw chuck, steady rest, and live center and have not had any issues. Can’t take as big of cuts but it’s worked well for me so far.


There's a number of ways to skin this cat. The turning center I have (cnc) has a 2..25" dia spindle bore. The hydraulic drawbar running through it reduces it to around 1.75" ID as collets/chucks thread onto it. It whittles down to where I can only use a 1-5/8 dia collet. Just not big enough for the TC type barrels. This was my reasoning for pursuing this on the mill. It saves me the expense of putting another machine on the floor.
 
The expense is minimal and pulling a barrel from a receiver is so trivial for us anymore that it's not a big deal. LRI does not suffer from a "tooling shortage" when it comes to tearing stuff apart. If it's a "new" job to us, we just make the required stuff on the spot and move on.

Regardless of how we get there (lathe or mill) it's a very fundamental process for us.

Happy to help.

(just follow the drop-down menu options)

What's your turn-around time looking like? Deer season starts in a couple months, and my main deer rifle isn't threaded yet.

At that price, I'd be liable to send a 2+ barreled actions at a time (whatever would fit in the shipping tube with bubble-wrap 😂) if your turn-around is quick. The main 3 would be my 7mmRM, .308 Win, and .25-06 AI (all would be 5/8x24). But I still have several others that would need to be sent later. Those are just my main 3 that need it done ASAP.
 
Just threaded a Encore 350 barrel using a steady rest and it would be less stressful just shipping it in to be done .
 
What's your turn-around time looking like? Deer season starts in a couple months, and my main deer rifle isn't threaded yet.

At that price, I'd be liable to send a 2+ barreled actions at a time (whatever would fit in the shipping tube with bubble-wrap 😂) if your turn-around is quick. The main 3 would be my 7mmRM, .308 Win, and .25-06 AI (all would be 5/8x24). But I still have several others that would need to be sent later. Those are just my main 3 that need it done ASAP.
LRI has turned around all of my muzzle thread jobs in 10 calendar days or less, door to door. Might be a little different recently.
 
LRI has turned around all of my muzzle thread jobs in 10 calendar days or less, door to door. Might be a little different recently.
Damn... That's quick! That's almost as fast as my local gunsmith that recently retired. LOL His lead-time was drop-off this week, pick it up anytime between next Wed. and Saturday (unless specified). That included building entire rifles, blueprinting, bolt-fluting, etc...

Did they send you out a shipping label after paying online, or did you just ship it to them and at your own cost, and then they shipped it back at their's?

I might have to give LRI a shot then... Pun intended.
 
Well, that's kind of opposite of what I have... All of my LA's are 26", and my SA .308 is 24"... So, the .308 Win could be threaded without being broken down. The reason I was asking was because it would be way cheaper to not have to break-down already custom-built rifles just to thread the barrels. Unless yall don't charge anymore to do this and reset the headspace where it was?

Pulling the barrel from the action doesn't take much time, and there isn't any change in headspace after re-assembly if the thing was screwed together properly to begin with (i.e. the last gunplumber who touched it didn't do something stupid like glue the barrel 20° shy of tight with threadlocker). In almost any case, it'd be less hassle than adapting an unconventional machining practice.

If you did want to leave the action in place during muzzle threading, a standard R700 receiver body will typically fit down the lathe spindle once the bolt, trigger, and rail are removed. I've done this in the past when not wanting to break loose an original barrel, because the factory torque spec for most manufacturers is approximately a bazillion lb-ft and so sometimes I just leave 'em alone.

Using Chad for your gunsmithing needs is a great idea; just let him pick the appropriate method.
 
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Damn... That's quick! That's almost as fast as my local gunsmith that recently retired. LOL His lead-time was drop-off this week, pick it up anytime between next Wed. and Saturday (unless specified). That included building entire rifles, blueprinting, bolt-fluting, etc...

Did they send you out a shipping label after paying online, or did you just ship it to them and at your own cost, and then they shipped it back at their's?

I might have to give LRI a shot then... Pun intended.


An M700 or whatever type muzzle thread job is usually in/out of the shop within 96 hours. We can throttle those pretty quickly. The TC type jobs that require the 5 axis generally turn around in one month. The reason is that machine is just stacked to the rafters with work as it does a number of things for us.

Once I get this property bought and we can move stuff into the other building, it'll free up floor space to put more machines on the floor.

Soon. . .
 
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An M700 or whatever type muzzle thread job is usually in/out of the shop within 96 hours. We can throttle those pretty quickly. The TC type jobs that require the 5 axis generally turn around in one month. The reason is that machine is just stacked to the rafters with work as it does a number of things for us.

Once I get this property bought and we can move stuff into the other building, it'll free up floor space to put more machines on the floor.

Soon. . .
My 7mm RemMag is a Browning A-Bolt II that I had my smith lathe-down and install a brand new R700 26" 7MMRM barrel I had laying around. It shoots amazing. But the muzzle diameter is only 0.648"... Can that be safety threaded 5/8x24, or will it be safe to go 1/2x28 and use a Dead Air KeyMo that adds some steel to the end to surround the threads for increased strength?

Or, would be best to cut it back to 22" and lose some velocity and have enough barrel to thread it 5/8x24?
 
Damn... That's quick! That's almost as fast as my local gunsmith that recently retired. LOL His lead-time was drop-off this week, pick it up anytime between next Wed. and Saturday (unless specified). That included building entire rifles, blueprinting, bolt-fluting, etc...

Did they send you out a shipping label after paying online, or did you just ship it to them and at your own cost, and then they shipped it back at their's?

I might have to give LRI a shot then... Pun intended.
I think I payed shipping both ways, but cost is minimal compared to wait times and the quality/communication is top tier.
 
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My turning center lacks the spindle bore diameter to do these. Up until about a year ago we had to decline this type of work just because I lacked the resources.

5 axis mills solve this pretty easily... We've been vetting this process now for about a year with killer results. Kinda neat.


It may be "watching the paint dry", but I could watch that paint dry whilst pooping every day. 😀
 
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My 7mm RemMag is a Browning A-Bolt II that I had my smith lathe-down and install a brand new R700 26" 7MMRM barrel I had laying around. It shoots amazing. But the muzzle diameter is only 0.648"... Can that be safety threaded 5/8x24, or will it be safe to go 1/2x28 and use a Dead Air KeyMo that adds some steel to the end to surround the threads for increased strength?

Or, would be best to cut it back to 22" and lose some velocity and have enough barrel to thread it 5/8x24?

As a general rule, we try to avoid treading muzzles where the diameter leaves almost no shoulder. My reasoning is that if a brake is being installed, it's very easy for it to become over-tightened. This always results in a clocking error. On a brake like the Badger FTE, it's of no real consequence because of the clamp screw hanging off the bottom. A brake like the one we make however creates a situation where clocking problems can arise. In cases like that, we've "glued" the brake to the barrel using epoxy. We've never had one come back, but it's still something I try to avoid when possible.

In my mind, the most important thing is to try and retain as much wall thickness as possible between the bore and the root diameter of the threads.
 
Oh man, that's sweet. I have a few I'd like to send your way to get threaded up!
 
I have an interesting question. I have a Marlin Camp Carbine chambered in .45ACP. If I want to have it threaded 5/8x24 in order to use an Area 419 Hellfire Universal Adapter for my suppressor, how thick would the barrel wall have to be and what would the OD diameter on the barrel have to be? I would love to be able to suppress this carbine.