Barrel Lapping

[Machinist John]

John,
That "lap" appears to be leather washers. Is that correct? Your guide system is much more elegant than the way I do it (an empty case, held in place with my thumb), and probably works commensurately better! WH

Yep 1/8 thick leather. Thin aluminum washers between the leather washers. Aluminum is less than bore size.

 

[Will Henry]

Thank you for that Will. I guess my question would be then... why does anyone lap barrels if it does nothing to improve it? That would make lapping an extra unnecessary step. Why does HW lap larger barrels but not .224. I know that 6mm is very common for Bench rest where they are trying to produce tiny 0.10" groups and it's true that that's not my intention with the .224 barrel that I ordered. Having said that, all of the barrels I bought from Rob shot very well and cleaned up easily. On a side note, you mentioned copper sulfate. In many tool steels, sulfur is added to the steel to make it more machinable and not work harden. The sulfur in steel is a lubricant.
Thane

As I said, lapping is usually done to achieve a desired interior finish. Shilen, for instance, felt the barrel could be too smooth and lapping gave a better finish. I have no idea why HW would not lap the 224 barrel. He's the barrel maker, I'm just an old, retired gunsmith. WH

 

[liljoe]

I would call Hugh and ask him about it. He is a good guy and very easy to speak with.
Joe

 

[rpollock]

Apparently HW Precision only laps barrels 6mm and up. This would leave my .224 barrel unlapped, for the first time.

This is not correct. All barrels at HWP are lapped.

Rick Pollock
HW Precision

 

[Steadfast]

This is not correct. All barrels at HWP are lapped.

Rick Pollock
HW Precision

Sorry Rick. I must have misunderstood. Had I, I would not have started this post.
This is good news. I just got the barrel in the mail yesterday and it looks amazing!
Thank you Rick and Hugh!

 

[Pete Wass]

I opined to the lad who owns Wilson barrels that they had a great person lapping their barrels based on how well Coopers shot. He replied, "We have machines that lapp our barrels, nothing is better than a machine".

 

[Sniperhandle]

I opined to the lad who owns Wilson barrels that they had a great person lapping their barrels based on how well Coopers shot. He replied, "We have machines that lapp our barrels, nothing is better than a machine".

Yeah, Well when the Machines take over the world?