Floating Reamer holder verse rigid.
- Thread starter DSMWerks
- Start date
does bruce know you’re on the internet talking about nebulous things he does that you’ve never heard of, and not saying what they actually are, or why they might matter.
this thread has sadly turned from “how to best use a rigid reamer” to “i know a guy who told me that he heard”.
post some pictures and process or …
LOL!!!! I don't answer to you......
@dnellans, for a more useful answer. I thought the video that Ultimate Reloader did showed how Bruce did things very well. I am assuming everyone saw that, except me. I saw it in person.
My main point is when we are talking master machinists with a track record of excellence, they do things different than self taught barrel chamber guys like me. The more I do this the more I understand why master machinists make different choices.
That said, I am not sure I am the best guy to explain Bruce's method, but here is my best shot:
1. Use a high quality heavy lathe
2. Level it very precisely and recheck often
3. Get a high quality chuck
4. Make sure the headstock is very well aligned
5. Make sure the tailstock is also very well aligned
- This is where I saw him do things like put an indicator in the chuck and sweep the inside of the tailstock taper. When I got out my Edge alignment bar, it showed the exact same variance as the tailstock, which validated the Edge alignment bar
6. Get an end mill holder and bore a true hole to make your rigid reamer.
7. Make sure all inserts are top quality
8. I am sure I am missing something
The new lathe operator we are training cut his first muzzle threads in steel today. They were in a POS forged steel barrel, which does not machine well. The threads were good enough to sell. It took me a couple of years via trial and error to get threads as good as he got the first time.
My main point is when we are talking master machinists with a track record of excellence, they do things different than self taught barrel chamber guys like me. The more I do this the more I understand why master machinists make different choices.
That said, I am not sure I am the best guy to explain Bruce's method, but here is my best shot:
1. Use a high quality heavy lathe
2. Level it very precisely and recheck often
3. Get a high quality chuck
4. Make sure the headstock is very well aligned
5. Make sure the tailstock is also very well aligned
- This is where I saw him do things like put an indicator in the chuck and sweep the inside of the tailstock taper. When I got out my Edge alignment bar, it showed the exact same variance as the tailstock, which validated the Edge alignment bar
6. Get an end mill holder and bore a true hole to make your rigid reamer.
7. Make sure all inserts are top quality
8. I am sure I am missing something
The new lathe operator we are training cut his first muzzle threads in steel today. They were in a POS forged steel barrel, which does not machine well. The threads were good enough to sell. It took me a couple of years via trial and error to get threads as good as he got the first time.
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Judd
Gold $$ Contributor
Truer words have never been spoken. A buddy asked if I would teach his son how to chamber barrels recently. My response…don’t do it my way, it’s the hard way. Go learn to be a machinist then chamber barrels. I’m not the guy to be teaching anyone, I know my way and it’s been via trial and error…feels more error than trial some days
Its been little over 4 years and I feel I’m just now producing a product like I was previously paying for...been a long road but at the same time, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished with no hands on instruction but generous folks providing info and constructive criticism by looking and talking through my work and processes.
This board has been a great resource…lots of good folks here, thank you!
Alex Wheeler
Site $$ Sponsor
Chambering a barrel is very basic machine work and its also very light machine work. All we are doing is producing an on size hole concentric to two other points. In my opinion the best methods are the ones that are hard to screw up.
Well said Alex.it is basic engineering and that is no disrespect to anyone who does it for a living or part time.which ever method a individual uses which they think and does produce straight concentric chambers stick to it.
One more level of dead nuts is to always install the end mill holder with a mark on it at 12 o'clock that was made when you bored the ID hole. If not the amount the tailstock is off in height to the headstock will cause the ID to run out.
I started this thread because after 35 yrs as a toolmaker/prototype guy I lay in bed thinking about how to eliminate any error that might come up in the next days job. I'm glad to see their are other machinists out there like me.
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You would have liked watching Bruce do all this......
One downside to the rigid setup is that often, the type of lathe required has a very long head stock--too long for chambering most barrels through it.
This requires something like a delrin bushing to hold the end of the barrel in the head stock. That works great for reasonably straight barrels, but when you have a barrel that's out a bit then this method isn't the best choice, especially for muzzle threading.
As we all know, with an outboard spider we can line up that 1.5" of barrel and let the other end run out. That can't be done with a bushing in the headstock.
With chambering where we drill and prebore it's not an issue. It's also a good thing we have both kinds of lathes in the shop.
This requires something like a delrin bushing to hold the end of the barrel in the head stock. That works great for reasonably straight barrels, but when you have a barrel that's out a bit then this method isn't the best choice, especially for muzzle threading.
As we all know, with an outboard spider we can line up that 1.5" of barrel and let the other end run out. That can't be done with a bushing in the headstock.
With chambering where we drill and prebore it's not an issue. It's also a good thing we have both kinds of lathes in the shop.
That's one issue I have on my Prototrak 1630 lathe. I have to use a 12 long extension tube(1" dia x .5" hole thru) on to the muzzle threads so it sticks out the left side of the headstock. But on the plus side of this I can use a spider set up on this end and also my Deublin rotary is threaded into this tube as well. With a sealing washer I dont have any worry about the flush system popping off or leaking though
I do short barrels that way frequently on the PM. I thread the muzzle and then add my 10" extension.
How do you hold the blank to thread the muzzle in the first place?
A delrin bushing that holds the breech end is how we do it in the HJ-1100 and PM 1440GT. Seems to work well enough.
Judd
Gold $$ Contributor
I cut the chamber end first while the barrel is still long…then cut it short and my extensions are 1 1/6”-16/20…I haven’t made an 18 because I haven’t needed it yet.
If it’s a carbon cut to length, I have to use the fixture but I don’t like it.
I’ve got the Grizzly 0709 and 22” is as short as I can go without needing them.
My South Bend 13 has a fairly long headstock spindle, but I usually deal with BR F-class, etc. barrels that work fine between spiders. For short work, I have a "cat's head" which just takes the two (three actually) spiders and stacks them on the the inboard end of the headstock. Can't find a picture of it in action, but here are my inboard and outboard spiders, and my cat's head:
I had to make a barrel extension recently to do a 18” barrel in my hardinge.
Works quite well.
If only I had that 2" spindle bore...
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