I seek your wisdom about pushers

[LVLAaron]

I'm curious about "pushers" for chambering. (The things the mind will do with a few days off work never cease to amaze)

I've never seen one in use and can't find any decent videos. How do you get one started? I assume you can't pre-drill... How do you start it straight/concentric?

Is there a recommended commercial product y'all recommend or do most people make their own?

 

[RandyB]

More than one way to skin a cat, worst way is to stick a straw in either end and suck out his guts!

 

[jkohler]

Arron I’ve been using a pusher like Dave or Bryant uses. No problem pre boring and starting the reamer. I straight bore most of the chamber out then on the back end bore somewhere around .200 deep or more depending on the chamber to get the reamer started in.

 

[DaveTooley]

Most anything can be used as a pusher. Make your own. It can be held in a drill chuck or take a drill chuck and put a flat washer between your reamer holder and the chuck. Then crack it open slightly to give the reamer shank some clearance. Take a MT drill chuck adapter and drill it out holding the drill in the lathe chuck. The options are endless. On the Haas I'm using a MT adapter in the little tailstock I mount on the tool post.
The goal is let the reamer float/self center with as little friction as possible. With a concentric hole the reamer just falls inline. And don't worry about pushing the reamer off center. It won't happen. None of the forces involved are the very heavy.

This is an old photo. I tried mixing Moly-D with oil. Quickly abandoned that. Not good for your lungs.

 

[Sniperhandle]

I'm curious about "pushers" for chambering. (The things the mind will do with a few days off work never cease to amaze)

I've never seen one in use and can't find any decent videos. How do you get one started? I assume you can't pre-drill... How do you start it straight/concentric?

Is there a recommended commercial product y'all recommend or do most people make their own?

What happened Aaron on the last barrel you mentioned. Did you try the rigid setup?

 

[FireMedic]

You can always tell the gunsmith that holds a pusher in his hand! Lol

 

[Rich S]

View attachment 1496540
You can always tell the gunsmith that holds a pusher in his hand! Lol

No problem. I use a Bald Eagle. Ditched the handle and added a knurled ring.

 

[Judd]

There was a guy within the last 5 years or so that showed a picture of a gash in the palm of his hand from a pusher…that pretty much eliminated my desire to look into pushers.

I like Rich’s idea.

 

[Rich S]

I'm curious about "pushers" for chambering. (The things the mind will do with a few days off work never cease to amaze)

I've never seen one in use and can't find any decent videos. How do you get one started? I assume you can't pre-drill... How do you start it straight/concentric?

Is there a recommended commercial product y'all recommend or do most people make their own?

I use a Bald Eagle. I did get rid of the handle and added a knurled disc to hold onto. Originally I did not prebore and it works fine. I have switched to pre-boring. The first time I did get some chatter because I did not drive it as fast as I should have. The method I currently use is to prebore then ream the initial 0.1 to 0.2 off a center. I then switch to the pusher. TIR is typically under 0.0002” for the length of the chamber. I’ve considered upgrading reamer holders but then I question what I’d gain.

The only barrel I was not real satisfied with was a 30 cal 5R. I ended up with a slight chatter causing 5 (0.0002) bumps/dips in the body of the chamber. I could feel it while reaming. It was for a 308 FTR rifle that shoots great with no noticeable affect on the brass. It actually set a club record of 200 18x.

 

[DaveTooley]

I'm not sure how using a pusher is dangerous. Yes maybe how you hold the reamer. I would never use my hand to keep the reamer from rotating. That's asking for an unpleasant experience. I have a rod projecting from my tool holder that catches the handle on my reamer holder. I clamp on the round section of the reamer shank. If I crowd it too much, the reamer spins. If it seems to be grabby I put finger pressure on the opposing side of the reamer holder until most of the reamer is supported in the chamber. I think it allows me to receive more feed back from the reamer. I'm on the other side of 8,000 barrels and this year will be 40 years fooling with this stuff.

 

[Riesel]

I'm not sure how using a pusher is dangerous. Yes maybe how you hold the reamer. I would never use my hand to keep the reamer from rotating. That's asking for an unpleasant experience. I have a rod projecting from my tool holder that catches the handle on my reamer holder. I clamp on the round section of the reamer shank. If I crowd it too much, the reamer spins. If it seems to be grabby I put finger pressure on the opposing side of the reamer holder until most of the reamer is supported in the chamber. I think it allows me to receive more feed back from the reamer. I'm on the other side of 8,000 barrels and this year will be 40 years fooling with this stuff.

View attachment 1496610

That's 1500 feet of chambers, well over a quarter of a mile

 

[TaperPin]

All this time I thought Dave’s tailstock was just close to his tool post - I didn’t realize it was ON his tool post! Nice solution.

 

[xr650rRider]

View attachment 1496540
You can always tell the gunsmith that holds a pusher in his hand! Lol

He probably lost that digit, sitting on it.

Sometimes size does matter.