Am i really lapping my barrels ?

[Wolfdog91]

So was talking to someone about how i clean my barrels when i get them . Since i use alot of cheaper barrels in my builds there usually a lil rough and have a lot of grease and grime in them so I'll run a few solvent patches of something like hoppes , or I'll just squirt it down the barrel then dry patch it ,then scrub them with an abrasive like JB or Iosso. For me it just gets all the junk out quicker . The solvent kinda softens it up ,dry patch gets it out ,the abrasive scrubs out the harder stuff , and repeat. It's just quicker and easier imo.
Well they start saying the reason i get these barrels to shoot as good as i do ( which honestly isn't amazing but guess 1moa out of a $100 barrel isn't terrible) is because I'm lapping them by doing this . Would y'all consider this lapping ? Because i always thought you had to use like some lead or something like that to actually lap
Feels more like I'm just doing an aggressive cleaning more then anything

 

[Paddyd]

Yes you're lapping it, but very minimally. Just try to be consistent so you do what you're doing evenly along the bore. I had a factory barrel on a Savage that was very rough and collected carbon and copper bad. I bought the Tubb kit and fire lapped it. Made a huge improvement, both in accuracy and cleanliness, but you lose 1 or 2 thousands of throat in the process.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

I would call that polishing, not lapping.

 

[BKA]

The result of the cleaning technique described by OP is minimally smoothing of the barrel bore surface finish. Call it what you will, but I too would consider it polishing.

 

[jackieschmidt]

lapping can serve two functions. Improving the finish of the barrels ID and removing any tight spots, making the diameter more consistent.

What you are doing can accomplish the first, but not the second.

 

[LCazador]

What you're doing is achieving a polishing effect. A bore cleaner like JB may not do more much more that but continued use may create some barrel dimension damage and still leave a lot of pitting and firecracks. A lead lap will smooth out fire cracks without rounding off the lands. A lot of work that in my opinion accomplishes little.

 

[std7mag]

I think the difference between lapping and polishing is the grit with which you're using.

Typically it's considered lapping when you are using something in the 600 to 800 grit material.

Polish is typically in the 1,200 and finer.

Either way (for your application) you are cleaning up some of the raised rough edges.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Yes you're lapping it, but very minimally. Just try to be consistent so you do what you're doing evenly along the bore. I had a factory barrel on a Savage that was very rough and collected carbon and copper bad. I bought the Tubb kit and fire lapped it. Made a huge improvement, both in accuracy and cleanliness, but you lose 1 or 2 thousands of throat in the process.

Likewise, I used Tubb's fire lapping kit on a couple factory barrels that made a big improvement in accuracy and ease of getting the bore clean. It's been a while, so if my memory is right, I got ~.003 of throat erosion from them. I felt like that .003 of erosion was well worth it.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

I think the difference between lapping and polishing is the grit with which you're using.

Typically it's considered lapping when you are using something in the 600 to 800 grit material.

Polish is typically in the 1,200 and finer.

Either way (for your application) you are cleaning up some of the raised rough edges.

No, that's not right. Lapping can be done with any size of abrasive.
Lapping by definition uses a non-conforming holder for the abrasive. In this way only high spots get cut away, improving dimensional uniformity.
Polishing is usually with a soft carrier for the abrasive, so that both high and low spots recieve abrasion.

 

[L.Sherm]

I would not want to " polish" any barrel, there is such a thing as to polished.

 

[Wolfdog91]

So got curious and looked it up and think i might actually try lead lapping a barrel, already cast bullets and the like doesn't look crazy hard honestly

 

[Wolfdog91]

I would not want to " polish" any barrel, there is such a thing as to polished.

True but when your using $70-$200 barrels a lil can help

 

[JEFFPPC]

I have been using JB or Iosso for about 40 years. No problems to date. Wolf, wolf wolf.......

 

[jackieschmidt]

No, that's not right. Lapping can be done with any size of abrasive.
Lapping by definition uses a non-conforming holder for the abrasive. In this way only high spots get cut away, improving dimensional uniformity.
Polishing is usually with a soft carrier for the abrasive, so that both high and low spots recieve abrasion.

^^^^^^^^^

 

[old_heli_logger]

Okay, I usually stay away from cleaning threads, but...
@JFrank I always try to avoid using a brush, but... will it hurt my barrel to use a snug fitting patch on a jag with JB Bore paste? It takes a bunch of back and forth motion, but eventually the hard carbon comes out.
Thank you,
Steve

 

[JFrank]

Okay, I usually stay away from cleaning threads, but...
@JFrank I always try to avoid using a brush, but... will it hurt my barrel to use a snug fitting patch on a jag with JB Bore paste? It takes a bunch of back and forth motion, but eventually the hard carbon comes out.
Thank you,
Steve

Steve,
Guys tend to have strong opinions when it comes to cleaning threads and mostly I’m with you and just avoid them these days but to somewhat answer your question… IDK for sure..

Jim