Chambering a barrel
- Thread starter ArtinNC
- Start date
Clancy
Silver $$ Contributor
I used to be a machinist, never a gunsmith. I have watched several real good guys chamber barrels for me, the just stop by here one afternoon and we will knock it out situations…. And this video terrified me.
I can’t imagine how some of you that are actually in the trade felt watching it.
I can’t imagine how some of you that are actually in the trade felt watching it.
DShortt
Gold $$ Contributor
Huntin' for what? A bullseye?In his defense, he did say hunting gun
ArtinNC
Gold $$ Contributor
It needs to be indecated off the bore on both the chamber and the crown to make sure it is square with the bore .YOU AGREE ??? So you all agree with me . I just shoot Beachrest at a local gun club . But if you are going to put a new barrel on a action you want as neer to perfect as you can get it ,right ? I think that only fun guns are accurate guns .
Jesswil61
Gold $$ Contributor
Not to agree with indicating off the outside of a barrel. I have seen a gunsmith some time ago who had built quite a few of winning rifles place the breech end on a tailstock live center in a steady rest and make a trueing cut on the outside diameter. Once the truing cut was made then the barrel was dialed in on the freshly cut outside diameter in a four jaw and subsequently the chamber was cut. The dial indicator used was a .001 gauge, not what we all use today at .0001. Now this guy was real particular at getting it running with absolutely no run out before cutting the chamber and some of those barrels were some real hummers. Just saying!!
I watched a highly regarded maker of custom rifles who chambered his barrels by simply grabbing it in the three jaw chuck and reaming the chamber. He counted on his Clymer reamer holder to follow the bore; it didn't. The thing that got me was, he was a good machinist and he knew better.
Anyway, when I first started gunsmithing, I was taught to set the barrel up between centers to true the shank, turn the tenon, and thread it. Then, the barrel was held in the three jaw, at the muzzle end, and the shank was supported in the steady rest. If the center cut at the breech end of the barrel was cut concentric, if one used a dead center in the tailstock, and if the barrel was pretty straight, this method could produce a good result. Many gunsmiths still use this technique, and it is still a viable method, most of the time. It is popular for guys who are turning out a lot of barrels, because it is fast. Doing it this way, I have fitted, chambered, polished, stamped, and beadblasted, 6 barrels on 6 different actions, in one eight hour day. This on an old South Bend lathe. I was helping out a barrel-maker friend of mine and this was his preferred method, so this is how I did it.
One gunsmith I knew would turn and thread the barrel between centers, then hold it in a four jaw to chamber. He dialed in on the outside, and assumed the shank was co-axial with the bore since he had turned it between centers.
Another made a steady rest which featured a pair of tapered roller bearings and 4 screws which allowed him to dial in the bore. The steady was adjustable so he could be sure it was aligned with the tailstock. It was quite an ingenious set-up and it worked pretty well for him.
In general, I think dialing in the throat area and the muzzle, then pre-boring, is one of the better ways to do a chamber. Every method works best when the barrel is perfectly straight (uncommon) and many methods have come about from having to deal with barrels which are not quite straight or, in some cases, damn crooked! WH
Anyway, when I first started gunsmithing, I was taught to set the barrel up between centers to true the shank, turn the tenon, and thread it. Then, the barrel was held in the three jaw, at the muzzle end, and the shank was supported in the steady rest. If the center cut at the breech end of the barrel was cut concentric, if one used a dead center in the tailstock, and if the barrel was pretty straight, this method could produce a good result. Many gunsmiths still use this technique, and it is still a viable method, most of the time. It is popular for guys who are turning out a lot of barrels, because it is fast. Doing it this way, I have fitted, chambered, polished, stamped, and beadblasted, 6 barrels on 6 different actions, in one eight hour day. This on an old South Bend lathe. I was helping out a barrel-maker friend of mine and this was his preferred method, so this is how I did it.
One gunsmith I knew would turn and thread the barrel between centers, then hold it in a four jaw to chamber. He dialed in on the outside, and assumed the shank was co-axial with the bore since he had turned it between centers.
Another made a steady rest which featured a pair of tapered roller bearings and 4 screws which allowed him to dial in the bore. The steady was adjustable so he could be sure it was aligned with the tailstock. It was quite an ingenious set-up and it worked pretty well for him.
In general, I think dialing in the throat area and the muzzle, then pre-boring, is one of the better ways to do a chamber. Every method works best when the barrel is perfectly straight (uncommon) and many methods have come about from having to deal with barrels which are not quite straight or, in some cases, damn crooked! WH
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Theres lots of methods, we hash thru them every few weeks, but if you mean indicate off the bore on both ends as youre setting up to chamber then not quite
ArtinNC
Gold $$ Contributor
, I think dialing in the throat area and the muzzle, then pre-boring, is one of the better ways . (( Not better )) , BUT the best way.
That is a comedy sketch. Very well done. Hahaha. That is not for real. I watched about 3-4 minutes.
LVLAaron
Gold $$ Contributor
Why do we get fanatical over barrel alignment?
Couple of things I ponder late at night. I'm planning on changing from using gritters rods to direct indicating . Why do you dial in the groove when the reamer is aligned by the bush riding on the lands. In a cut rifle barrel at least the top of the land was drilled and honed and measured...
forum.accurateshooter.com
Sniperhandle
Silver $$ Contributor
That's a "Huntin Rawful"
LVLAaron
Gold $$ Contributor
Huntin Rawfulz by 3 jaw precision
okie
Gold $$ Contributor
yes-i think Gordy Gritters has one
LVLAaron
Gold $$ Contributor
Amazon.com: Chambering Rifles for Accuracy (3) (Gunsmithing Student Handbook): 9780983159858: Zeglin, Fred, Gritters, Gordy, Gonzalez, Speedy: Books
Amazon.com: Chambering Rifles for Accuracy (3) (Gunsmithing Student Handbook): 9780983159858: Zeglin, Fred, Gritters, Gordy, Gonzalez, Speedy: Books
smile.amazon.com
The grizzly video is good, but the book is better, IMO. I would read the book, and if there are things left to the imagination, get the grizzly DVD, or watch one of Ultimate Reloaders videos on chambering, so you have a high quality visual of what's going on. UR follows gordy's methods. He doesn't go in depth, but armed with the info from the book, his videos will make sense.
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