Gunsmithing Reaming Muzzle Brake

[kraigWY]

Am I figuring this right?

I decided to but a Badger Ordnance FTE brake on my 300 WM.

I don't have a boring bar small enough, but I do have a 11/32 Reamer.

I'm thinking I could use a "R" drill bit (.339) and follow it with the 11/32 reamer .34375.

I think that should give me clearance for the .308 bullets.

Anyone else use reamers for brakes instead of boring them?

 

[Straight Shooter]

Re: Reaming Muzzle Brake

.020" over bullet diameter cut with a small boring bar to keep it round and concentric with the bore. This makes a finished hole for .308 cal .328" in the brake. A drill will never be round or concentric. A reamer is going to be inclined to follow the hole that is there. Not exactly protocall for my way of doing things. MSC will have you a new boring bar tomorrow if you order now.

 

[JJones75]

Re: Reaming Muzzle Brake

Im sure if you asked , sombody here has one you could borrow

How long would the bar have to be?

 

[JJones75]

Re: Reaming Muzzle Brake

Ive got a couple that will fit into a 9/32 hole i think maybe 1.75" long. If you want theim shoot me a PM with your address and i'll drop them in the mail.

Ive also use a small end mill as a boring bar when in a pinch.

Id suspect that if you have your barrel setup and dialed in (the muzzle) you could use a 5/16 carbide end mill in the drill chuck on the tail stock to "bore" the hole , Im guessing that you end result would be maybe a .320" hole accounting for a bit of run out in the chuck and the end mill wont ofllow the same hole nearly as bad as a drill or reamer will

 

[kraigWY]

Re: Reaming Muzzle Brake

Thanks guys.

But in rambling through my tool drawer I found a boring bar that is gonna work.

Actually it was made frome a 5/16 TS bit. Forgot I had it.

 

[300sniper]

Re: Reaming Muzzle Brake

while the barrel is still set up in the lathe, i'd screw on the brake and run your dti on the id of the brake's bore. if it is nuts, your idea of reaming should work fine. if there is significant runout in the brake's bore, i think it will still be there after drilling and reaming.

i personally feel the diameter you end up is going to be larger than desirable for a 30 cal.

 

[Field]

Re: Reaming Muzzle Brake

You won't notice a difference if its drill/bored big enough for a 338 (.358) to go through it. Trust me your shoulder is not sensitive enough to tell.

 

[StrekenVertebrae]

Re: Reaming Muzzle Brake

My experience is that you can easy go up 1mm above caliber and not notice any big difference. I've used 338 cal brakes on 30's, and 30's on 6.5's. I think its calling for trouble making it to close.

 

[kraigWY]

Re: Reaming Muzzle Brake

Thanks for all the replies, after finding a boring bar I decided to chicken out and called Longrifles, he's gonna do it for me.