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Barrel profiling

Anyone on here profile barrels? Bought a cheap green mountain blank to build a 350 legend with and nobody local to me will turn barrels down. Don’t need any chambering or threading done just have the barrel turned down
 
I'd much rather chamber thread and crown a bbl that to re-taper/contour one. This question comes up a lot though. If it's as easy as some say, I think they could start up a business dedicated to it and never stay caught up with work.
Truth is, it's not easy unless you have some pretty expensive equipment and a lathe, like a hydraulic follow rest, for example. Unless it's something valuable/unusual, you're probably better off to sell the blank and order one like you need it to be. Not to mention stress relief and the bore growing...potential accuracy problems.
I've done them but I have no desire to do any more of them. I may do it again at some point but I'll do my best to avoid it if I can.
 
If you can't find anyone you might give Douglas barrels and see if they still offer that service.
 
Go and have a look on practical machinist gunsmithing forum there is a thread on profiling barrels. A lot of BS but some good info and photo of a follower in amongst it.

Be prepared that you might need to do some linishing, sanding while the barrel is in your lathe as that's what a lot of barrel makers do. If you don't want sanding grit on or around your lathe then send it out.
 
I have commented on barrel profiling many times. During my first five years as a gunsmith, I profiled almost every barrel I installed, from a 1 1/4 inch blank. Later, I started buy contoured blanks but still re-contoured many of them. I continue to do the same today (though I don't do much work anymore). I have used a copier, I have offset the tailstock, and I have used what Tom Burgess called the "etch a sketch" method.
The only real issue is dealing with chatter and this is done with tool shape and setup. I still, on occasion have a barrel which just won't settle down. Using a steady can help but not always. If a barrel blank has not been stress relieved, it will warp. Most modern barrels are properly stress relieved so this, at least, is not a real issue. WH
 
Quite often, people buy heavy straight blanks because they are cheaper and/or don't have to wait as long for them. Usually they're thinking "no problem" getting them turned down. Much cheaper to buy the contour (or close to it) you want, because the barrel companies have the equipment to contour barrels economically. Your gunsmith usually has a much smaller, lighter lathe that takes forever -- think hours, which equals $$$.
 
I have commented on barrel profiling many times. During my first five years as a gunsmith, I profiled almost every barrel I installed, from a 1 1/4 inch blank. Later, I started buy contoured blanks but still re-contoured many of them. I continue to do the same today (though I don't do much work anymore). I have used a copier, I have offset the tailstock, and I have used what Tom Burgess called the "etch a sketch" method.
The only real issue is dealing with chatter and this is done with tool shape and setup. I still, on occasion have a barrel which just won't settle down. Using a steady can help but not always. If a barrel blank has not been stress relieved, it will warp. Most modern barrels are properly stress relieved so this, at least, is not a real issue. WH
Is this what you mean by "etch-a-sketch" method:

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I’ve done more than I care to admit to. Turning a blank is somewhere between watching paint dry and playing with a cactus. Unless your doing your own custom contour never ever buy gunsmith special blank. To have a guy with a manual late do it you should expect to pay as much as the blank cost and maybe more depending on the price point of the blank you bought. And to have a shop with a hydraulic follow rest do it will still cost quite a bit more than what the barrel maker would have charged. And then there’s those cheaper Douglas barrels that look like they were profiled on a screw machine that they used to sell for about $50 less than their premium blanks only to find out I charged an extra $75 to finish those..
 
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I generally tell people to have the barrel maker do it before sending to me. I sometimes get the occasional surprise show up though. With a good speed/feed combo and the right tooling it’s not too bad but that doesn’t mean I like doing it.

2A51C95B-E454-4067-BA25-B491B2735710.jpeg
 
I’ve done more than I care to admit to. Turning a blank is somewhere between watching paint dry and playing with a cactus. Unless your doing your own custom contour never ever buy gunsmith special blank. To have a guy with a manual late do it you should expect to pay as much as the blank cost and maybe more depending on the price point of the blank you bought. And to have a shop with a hydraulic follow rest do it will still cost quite a bit more than what the barrel maker would have charged. And then there’s those cheaper Douglas barrels that look like they were profiled on a screw machine that they used to sell for about $50 less than their premium blanks only to find out I charged an extra $75 to finish those..
Douglas does a good job on their "finish turned" barrels these days. It's worth the small difference in cost over the rough turned version.
 

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