Crooked chambers/ uneven lands

[urbanrifleman]

I have a friend that works in a production barrel shop that does thousands of barrels for oem’s
I’ll ask him about his production set up

I do know they use CNC’s, Fixed reamer holders and through barrel pressurized lube system

He didn't chamber it.

I want to see one of these "CNC chamber" jobs.

I wonder what that guy paid for that lathe? And how many barrels a month he is doing ?

 

[LVLAaron]

Doesn't our very own Dr Tooley CNC barrels? He's shown his setup a bunch of times.

 

[Judd]

My buddy and mentor has the HAAS TL1…flush system is the answer to your question, he programs it to cut so far and pulls it back so the chips will be flushed out then programs for it to plunge back in. I cannot remember if he stops the lathe or keeps it spinning. His reamer is fixed on the tool holder, he never uses the tail stock.

I helped him do a series of 25 338 Lapua barrels for Savage actions…I was measuring actions and assembling them, he indicated barrels and ran the lathe…we we’re doing one barrel every 45-50 minutes. It was impressive!

Now he’s a production machinist that turned gunsmith, he’s next level intelligent and I’m a sponge around him. He’s forgot more than I’ll ever know but I’m grateful for his opinion and help. I think I amuse him with my stupidity is why he keeps me around

 

[VA_XTC_Shooter]

He didn't chamber it.

I want to see one of these "CNC chamber" jobs.

I wonder what that guy paid for that lathe? And how many barrels a month he is doing ?

White Oak chambers on CNC

At White Oak all our barrels are contoured and threaded between centers to ensure the upmost alignment between the barrel extension and the bore. Once... | By White Oak Armament | Facebook

At White Oak all our barrels are contoured and threaded between centers to ensure the upmost alignment between the barrel extension and the bore. Once...

fb.watch

 

[DaveTooley]

Doesn't our very own Dr Tooley CNC barrels? He's shown his setup a bunch of times.

I do except for cutting running the finish reamer in. That's my QC point. I know immediately if something has moved. I keep an eye on the finish reamer for wear ( throat area ) and the tactile feedback from the reamer.

 

[Dimner]

I have a friend that works in a production barrel shop that does thousands of barrels for oem’s
I’ll ask him about his production set up

I do know they use CNC’s, Fixed reamer holders and through barrel pressurized lube system

What an excellent video thank you for sharing.

 

[SKWERLZ]

What an excellent video thank you for sharing.

I found it kinda cool as I chamber my barrels on a hardinge HLV.

 

[urbanrifleman]

When I was cutting barrels yesterday I paid attention to the part of the process that everyone says you can get a CNC machine to go faster. The cutting the tenon and threading it part. That is. Because ultimately the chamber is still getting cut by hand.

It probably only took me 10 minutes on my manual to prep the tenon. Threading takes about 5 minutes. I can't thread as fast as that machine, but I'm pretty close. I thread at 400 RPM.

I figure it's CNC machine would save me about 5 minutes per hour. Maybe. Certainly not enough to justify the expenditure based on cycle time or throughput.

 

[SKWERLZ]

When I was cutting barrels yesterday I paid attention to the part of the process that everyone says you can get a CNC machine to go faster. The cutting the tenon and threading it part. That is. Because ultimately the chamber is still getting cut by hand.

It probably only took me 10 minutes on my manual to prep the tenon. Threading takes about 5 minutes. I can't thread as fast as that machine, but I'm pretty close. I thread at 400 RPM.

I figure it's CNC machine would save me about 5 minutes per hour. Maybe. Certainly not enough to justify the expenditure based on cycle time or throughput.

If your doing dozens of barrels a day a CNC would certainly be a plus.

 

[urbanrifleman]

If your doing dozens of barrels a day a CNC would certainly be a plus.

That sounds like OEM numbers.

 

[SKWERLZ]

That sounds like OEM numbers.

That’s what my friend does.

I can totally understand a manual machine for most gunsmiths and casual types.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Dozens, that is 24+ a day. That's a whole lot for someone.
At 5 days a week that's 6,240 barrels a year. WoW.

 

[urbanrifleman]

That’s what my friend does.

I can totally understand a manual machine for most gunsmiths and casual types.

I've never heard of a gunsmith making 125 barrels a week. That is 500 a month.

Now that would pay for $100,000 CNC machine. No doubt about that.

 

[urbanrifleman]

That would be a good subject for a thread. Everyone posts how many barrels they actually make in a month on average.

That would certainly solve the argument on whether or not you can afford $50,000 CNC machines. I don't think the numbers are very high. Most of the gunsmiths I know do about the same number of barrels in a year that I do in a month. And I'm a nobody.

 

[SKWERLZ]

I've never heard of a gunsmith making 125 barrels a week. That is 500 a month.

Now that would pay for $100,000 CNC machine. No doubt about that.

OEM manufacturers are a entirely different game than a gunsmith.
That said my friend has a very nice lathe at home and does 50BMG and LR/ELR competitions as well as his day job.

 

[DaveTooley]

That’s what my friend does.

I can totally understand a manual machine for most gunsmiths and casual types.

I do also.

I've spent my life investing in tools. Some small some large. They all had the purpose of either making me money or making my job easier. I've done 24+ chambers in a day. A long day. There is always add work on most of the barrels I do. That means saving time to do that part of the job. My work load changed when I was asked by a manufacture to do all their barrel work in North America. That required moving to a Haas TL-1. I would still be doing it on a manual machine if not for that.

I'm doing 6 barrels now. The pic is 2 minutes 58 seconds of run time. I have to hold tolerances that are in the +- .002 range. You couldn't work to those tolerances and get the same finish on a manual machine. But that's the work I do and the results trickle down to the one off barrels.
Lots of very good smiths out there.
YMMV

 

[SKWERLZ]

I do also.

I've spent my life investing in tools. Some small some large. They all had the purpose of either making me money or making my job easier. I've done 24+ chambers in a day. A long day. There is always add work on most of the barrels I do. That means saving time to do that part of the job. My work load changed when I was asked by a manufacture to do all their barrel work in North America. That required moving to a Haas TL-1. I would still be doing it on a manual machine if not for that.

I'm doing 6 barrels now. The pic is 2 minutes 58 seconds of run time. I have to hold tolerances that are in the +- .002 range. You couldn't work to those tolerances and get the same finish on a manual machine. But that's the work I do and the results trickle down to the one off barrels.
Lots of very good smiths out there.
YMMV


View attachment 1459549

I watched a cool video of a black powder rifle manufacturer even doing cut rifling on barrels on a Haas TL CNC lathe.

The guy who used to do my barrels before I started doing my own used CNC and they shot awesome including one barrel that was insanely good.
So technically the best barrel I’ve ever had was on a CNC.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I do also.

I've spent my life investing in tools. Some small some large. They all had the purpose of either making me money or making my job easier. I've done 24+ chambers in a day. A long day. There is always add work on most of the barrels I do. That means saving time to do that part of the job. My work load changed when I was asked by a manufacture to do all their barrel work in North America. That required moving to a Haas TL-1. I would still be doing it on a manual machine if not for that.

I'm doing 6 barrels now. The pic is 2 minutes 58 seconds of run time. I have to hold tolerances that are in the +- .002 range. You couldn't work to those tolerances and get the same finish on a manual machine. But that's the work I do and the results trickle down to the one off barrels.
Lots of very good smiths out there.
YMMV


View attachment 1459549

You are doing six barrels a day?

If I could sell 6 barrels a day I would buy a CNC machine. Or two.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I watched a cool video of a black powder rifle manufacturer even doing cut rifling on barrels on a Haas TL CNC lathe.

The guy who used to do my barrels before I started doing my own used CNC and they shot awesome including one barrel that was insanely good.
So technically the best barrel I’ve ever had was on a CNC.

Isn't it funny... 10 years ago when we started talking about pre-fit barrels, most everyone on this forum was talking about how they're all done on CNC machines and not hand fit. And that couldn't be as good.

Now it seems the observations have flipped upside down.

 

[DShortt]

As with everything, it's not the process that matters but the attention to detail and the quality checks.

I do my own not because I think I'm better at it but because I can do it to a standard that meets or exceeds my needs and because I enjoy doing my own work. It's just that simple for me.