Gunsmithing Cut and Crown Questions

[wk05]

Hi guys, I am looking to get one, maybe two, barrels cut and crowned. I am pretty mechanically inclined and am good with tools, which made me think about trying it myself with a saw, and a crown cutter from Brownells. It looks like if I cut it about an inch longer than I want the final OAL to be, it would allow me "two tries". However, it does not appear to be very cost effective unless I did many barrels from reading online. Now, none of my local smiths put their prices online, what should I expect/actually pay for a cut and crown on a Remington 700 Varmint .223? If any of you do your own cut and crowns, I would love to hear about your experiences (I tried searching, but the new layout online greatly reduced what I got)!

Thanks!

 

[jonaddis84]

Somewhere between $85-130 is probably standard for a good smith to dial the bore in concentric to spindle, cut, and crown.

Im sure you can end up with acceptable results with the piloted tool, but its not the "best" way, and like you said isnt cost effective unless you do quite a few.

 

[BillCh]

I got the crown cutter from Dave Manson.
I was having issues with my 6.5-08 Imp. and was suspicious of the crown. I talked to the smith that did the barrel work for me and he assured me that it was done to standards. Regardless of what he was telling me I wasn't satisfied. I did a little research and called and spoke to Mr. Manson. He was very helpful. The process is pretty straight forward. It does a great job. I don't think that there is a gunsmith around here that can cut a crown with a lathe as nice as I can with the Manson tool.

B

 

[Tjsr19]

Bill did it fix the problem?
I had a barrel cut down while my lathe was down. The smith did not pthe crown do you think this will hurt? I have not shot it yet. I always polish the crown when I do them.

 

[BillCh]

The re-crowning job didn't fix the problem entirely, but it did remove a variable from the equation. The main problem turned out to be that I had my head up my ass when it came to powder choice for that particular rifle. I should have taken a before and after pic of the crown. The difference between the two is obvious when you look close. The crown my smith did didn't look horrible, just not as good as I thought it should - or does now.

As a control, so to speak, I had my smith chamber and thread a new barrel blank for my 308. I instructed him to leave the muzzle alone. After he was done with his part I cut the crown. I did it in a similar fashion to the pic's above except that I went deeper with the radius cutter, taking the outer edge of the radius cut out to the OD of the barrel. This was for esthetic reasons only. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out, or the way it shoots.

As a final step I place some folded patches under the cutter bits and dab a little Fitz on the muzzle face. I can give it a little polish without effecting the edge at the bore. I want that edge to be razor sharp.

I can't say that the Manson tool is worthwhile for the average guy.
The good: Again, I think it does a god job for me. I tend to change barrels if I think that's what it's going to take, no sentiment, no magic, no problem. They are just another wear item.
The bad: It's expensive if you're just going to do one barrel one time. You'd be better off finding a smith that will do the job to your satisfaction.

B

 

[Tjsr19]

Thank you I have been intrested in these tools for a while.