chamber honeing
- Thread starter GSP7
- Start date
If you have nothing at your disposal the "olde" timers used to thread a case and put a rod on it and charge it. Then slowly lap the chamber. You can charge brass and it is softer than say 4140. Use fine grit and be headspace careful. If you have any machine shop availabilty, grind up a chambering stone. If the walls are too badly scoured it may not work too well. Check extraction on a hot pill first to see if it will come out normally. If the walls and extraction are really bad, set the bbl back any amount to clean it up. If iron sights are involved you may be limited to a full turn. In any event, go slowly. These are only options, your call
GSP7
The word "honing" is not one that is usually associated with rifle chambers. Do you really mean "polishing"?
With a good sharp reamer and a smith who knows what he is doing, polishing is normally not required. If some polishing is desired it can be done with very fine emory cloth or crocus cloth wrapped around a wooden dowel.
On the other hand, if you mean "lapping" a chamber to remove deep scrathes or pitting, the method described by sjk is what you'll need but it's not something that the casual shooter/tinkerer/gunsmith should attempt. Mostly because you will actually increase the size of the chamber and you have to know how much is too much. On rimmed cases you cannot lap the rim seat and on rimless cases you cannot lap the shoulder otherwise you increase headspace, maybe dangerously so.
BTW, "charging" the brass means coating it with the lapping compound.
Proceed with caution.
Ray
The word "honing" is not one that is usually associated with rifle chambers. Do you really mean "polishing"?
With a good sharp reamer and a smith who knows what he is doing, polishing is normally not required. If some polishing is desired it can be done with very fine emory cloth or crocus cloth wrapped around a wooden dowel.
On the other hand, if you mean "lapping" a chamber to remove deep scrathes or pitting, the method described by sjk is what you'll need but it's not something that the casual shooter/tinkerer/gunsmith should attempt. Mostly because you will actually increase the size of the chamber and you have to know how much is too much. On rimmed cases you cannot lap the rim seat and on rimless cases you cannot lap the shoulder otherwise you increase headspace, maybe dangerously so.
BTW, "charging" the brass means coating it with the lapping compound.
Proceed with caution.
Ray
GS,
Lapping a piece of metal, whatever it may be is done with diamond grit of specific sizes.,120 through 500 or even higher for some cases). By charging is meant to take this grit and impregnate it into the brass casing. The ideal lap material is cast iron but in this case we go cheaper. Brass is softer than steel and it will impregnate. There are much better ways to do this but for a first timer put some diamond dust in the palm of your hand and spin the case slowly covering the case. It should absorb some. Lightly cover the case with a thin coat of spindle oil. When you contact the chamber wall with the charged case, it will impregnate at that point from the pressure exerted. You can use an ALIGNED electric drill but go SLOW rpm.Then insert the case into the chamber and again, SLOW. Yes, the walls will impregnate to a certain extent but they are a non working wear surface so it's ok. The case will retain the charge because the brass is softer than the steel.When you take a few turns inside doing this, you'll note that the case will have a blackened film on its periphery. This is normal and tells you that the diamond dust,grit)is doing its job. The same process is used on flat pieces but the rule of thumb is that the hardest part,RC or cased) is the surface to be lapped. Honing is done with the use of fine stones and oil, and therefore no grit is used. Be careful! If the chamber walls are scoured badly, you can get them out ok BUT you take the chance of ruining the chamber itself. You can produce all kinds of undesirable results if you're not careful. Lapping is mainly for taking off minute dimensions and it cannot ever take the place of a reamer. Again, if extraction is easy under a hot load, I would leave it where it is or if that's not an option, finish ream it to excellence and then set the bbl back to whatever you took out. Remember if you have iron sights or not. This will govern how you setback. LOL and again, use caution
Lapping a piece of metal, whatever it may be is done with diamond grit of specific sizes.,120 through 500 or even higher for some cases). By charging is meant to take this grit and impregnate it into the brass casing. The ideal lap material is cast iron but in this case we go cheaper. Brass is softer than steel and it will impregnate. There are much better ways to do this but for a first timer put some diamond dust in the palm of your hand and spin the case slowly covering the case. It should absorb some. Lightly cover the case with a thin coat of spindle oil. When you contact the chamber wall with the charged case, it will impregnate at that point from the pressure exerted. You can use an ALIGNED electric drill but go SLOW rpm.Then insert the case into the chamber and again, SLOW. Yes, the walls will impregnate to a certain extent but they are a non working wear surface so it's ok. The case will retain the charge because the brass is softer than the steel.When you take a few turns inside doing this, you'll note that the case will have a blackened film on its periphery. This is normal and tells you that the diamond dust,grit)is doing its job. The same process is used on flat pieces but the rule of thumb is that the hardest part,RC or cased) is the surface to be lapped. Honing is done with the use of fine stones and oil, and therefore no grit is used. Be careful! If the chamber walls are scoured badly, you can get them out ok BUT you take the chance of ruining the chamber itself. You can produce all kinds of undesirable results if you're not careful. Lapping is mainly for taking off minute dimensions and it cannot ever take the place of a reamer. Again, if extraction is easy under a hot load, I would leave it where it is or if that's not an option, finish ream it to excellence and then set the bbl back to whatever you took out. Remember if you have iron sights or not. This will govern how you setback. LOL and again, use caution
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.