Gunsmithing recontouring finished fluted barrel
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Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
All of the "expert gunsmiths" over on 24Hr Campfire say that it cannot be done.
All of the "expert gunsmiths" over on 24Hr Campfire say that it cannot be done.
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
Anything "can" be done but I believe this falls under the "should it be done" I'd say no.
Not knowing the manufacturer I would make the assumption that it has been stress relieved. Putting it through the process of removing the flutes would definately introduce new stresses that could make it a poor shooter at best. I would advise getting a barrel that is already what you want and selling the "axle".
M2C
Anything "can" be done but I believe this falls under the "should it be done" I'd say no.
Not knowing the manufacturer I would make the assumption that it has been stress relieved. Putting it through the process of removing the flutes would definately introduce new stresses that could make it a poor shooter at best. I would advise getting a barrel that is already what you want and selling the "axle".
M2C
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DocEd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">All of the "expert gunsmiths" over on 24Hr Campfire say that it cannot be done. </div></div>
Ed- Haven't spent any time over there, so your sarcasm is lost on me. Having spoken with you a few times in the past, you definitely know your way around a lathe. Do you agree with the "experts"?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DocEd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">All of the "expert gunsmiths" over on 24Hr Campfire say that it cannot be done. </div></div>
Ed- Haven't spent any time over there, so your sarcasm is lost on me. Having spoken with you a few times in the past, you definitely know your way around a lathe. Do you agree with the "experts"?
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
Call Chad at Long Rifles Inc.
I would trust his answer to your question.
Call Chad at Long Rifles Inc.
I would trust his answer to your question.
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
How can anyone disagree with the "Experts"? I believe that it can be done. As a previous post stated, "That's a lot of interrupted cutting". I'm sure with light cuts it can be done.
How can anyone disagree with the "Experts"? I believe that it can be done. As a previous post stated, "That's a lot of interrupted cutting". I'm sure with light cuts it can be done.
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
I'm guessing there's somebody out in the wide world who would be very happy to buy and use that barrel just as is.
The money acquired would likely be better spent on getting a barrel that actually meets your needs/wants.
Remaking a barrel seems to me to be a woefully excessive task. Building a barrel once should be enough, redoing it comes across, to me, as "gilding the lily".
Greg
I'm guessing there's somebody out in the wide world who would be very happy to buy and use that barrel just as is.
The money acquired would likely be better spent on getting a barrel that actually meets your needs/wants.
Remaking a barrel seems to me to be a woefully excessive task. Building a barrel once should be enough, redoing it comes across, to me, as "gilding the lily".
Greg
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
Ever watch a car tire roll over rumble strips or washboards on a gravel road at high speed?
It emulates what the tool wants to do. Only in this case the "road" (barrel) is trying to move away from the "tire" (tool)
Interrupted cuts on a long/skinny piece of steel is a daunting task for any machinist. I suppose a guy could set up a tracer/follower rest (same thing, different names)and go at it very conservatively, but trust me your going to pay for the work as it'll be akin to building the pyramids. (very slow)
Tooling in general doesn't respond well to being in/out of a piece of material as it invites (in this case a VIP signed invitation) chatter. You'd probably remove more material with a belt sander/barrel spinner grinding out the chatter marks than you would with the lathe.
Never mind that your flutes are going to look mighty goofy afterward.
Hope this helped.
C.
Ever watch a car tire roll over rumble strips or washboards on a gravel road at high speed?
It emulates what the tool wants to do. Only in this case the "road" (barrel) is trying to move away from the "tire" (tool)
Interrupted cuts on a long/skinny piece of steel is a daunting task for any machinist. I suppose a guy could set up a tracer/follower rest (same thing, different names)and go at it very conservatively, but trust me your going to pay for the work as it'll be akin to building the pyramids. (very slow)
Tooling in general doesn't respond well to being in/out of a piece of material as it invites (in this case a VIP signed invitation) chatter. You'd probably remove more material with a belt sander/barrel spinner grinding out the chatter marks than you would with the lathe.
Never mind that your flutes are going to look mighty goofy afterward.
Hope this helped.
C.
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
I've seen it done, and I've had to do it myself. Not with a fluted barrel, but a similar L/D ratio with 5 interrupted "flutes" on the outside.
The job took a long time, the parts we were working on had to be "made to work" and it was actually going to be more expensive to make new than it was to make these work... but not by much.
Barrels do not cost mid-4 figures for blanks. The best way that we could do the job was actually to set it up in an absolutely massive swiss machine and run it through there to get the grooves out, leaving about 0.020" on the OD to clean up. <span style="font-style: italic">(ETA: The reason the clean up material was left is because the swiss didn't have the travel to cut the whole thing, so the part was flipped midway and it needed a single continuous cut).</span>
We then put them in an NC turning center with 80" between centers, ran a follower rest and parameterized the diameter every 1/2" along the shafts.
It took many hours and like I mentioned above, it was expensive but not quite as expensive as getting the material and cutting it from scratch.
Bottom line: Yes it can be done. I sincerely doubt it is cost effective vs. just buying another tube in order to really get it done right.
I've seen it done, and I've had to do it myself. Not with a fluted barrel, but a similar L/D ratio with 5 interrupted "flutes" on the outside.
The job took a long time, the parts we were working on had to be "made to work" and it was actually going to be more expensive to make new than it was to make these work... but not by much.
Barrels do not cost mid-4 figures for blanks. The best way that we could do the job was actually to set it up in an absolutely massive swiss machine and run it through there to get the grooves out, leaving about 0.020" on the OD to clean up. <span style="font-style: italic">(ETA: The reason the clean up material was left is because the swiss didn't have the travel to cut the whole thing, so the part was flipped midway and it needed a single continuous cut).</span>
We then put them in an NC turning center with 80" between centers, ran a follower rest and parameterized the diameter every 1/2" along the shafts.
It took many hours and like I mentioned above, it was expensive but not quite as expensive as getting the material and cutting it from scratch.
Bottom line: Yes it can be done. I sincerely doubt it is cost effective vs. just buying another tube in order to really get it done right.
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
If the barrel is that big what you do is thread and chamber the nowmuzzle end and you can just unscrew one end , flip it and you have a new chamber and throat. Dont laugh at it, I know a guy that actually did this as a joke type thing, but it shot fairly well both ways.
If the barrel is that big what you do is thread and chamber the nowmuzzle end and you can just unscrew one end , flip it and you have a new chamber and throat. Dont laugh at it, I know a guy that actually did this as a joke type thing, but it shot fairly well both ways.
Re: recontouring finished fluted barrel
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BBeyer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If the barrel is that big what you do is thread and chamber the nowmuzzle end and you can just unscrew one end , flip it and you have a new chamber and throat. Dont laugh at it, I know a guy that actually did this as a joke type thing, but it shot fairly well both ways. </div></div>
No offense but your "solution" does not accomplish SQUAT in regards to what I seek to accomplish.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BBeyer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If the barrel is that big what you do is thread and chamber the nowmuzzle end and you can just unscrew one end , flip it and you have a new chamber and throat. Dont laugh at it, I know a guy that actually did this as a joke type thing, but it shot fairly well both ways. </div></div>
No offense but your "solution" does not accomplish SQUAT in regards to what I seek to accomplish.
