Hand reaming Ackley in new barrel

[59FLH]

-Any tips on hand reaming?

Yes, if its a Rem 700 action do the work sheet. Do the reaming with the receiver off the barrel regardless of action. Don't side load the reamer. Pull the adjustable bushing off your RCBS case trimmer, and rig up a micrometer stop to control your reamer depth. Get some real good cutting fluid like Moly Dee or Microfinish, etc.

 

[RonnieMilsurp]

Thanks for the tip. It's a Mauser clone. I'm not sure I follow on how to know what headspace is going to be once the barrel is fully tightened in the action. I assume part of it is to measure depth to the bolt face from front of action and do some math to figure out how that corresponds to the barrel without the action, but that kind of thing makes me nervous when you're talking about thousandths of an inch.

 

[59FLH]

Correct, tenon shoulder to bolt face. Minus threads if you want. Get your measurement, ream until your close to your comfort zone, .01” - .025” short what ever. Rig up a stop, (shim stack adjustable spacer) and sneak up on it screwing the action on and off as many times as necessary until success. IMO this will give you better control and feel of the reamer than a 9” extension. Feel free to do what you think is best, this is just advice.
If you have one of these off a case trimmer with a spacer maybe you can rig it up as a stop to help control depth a few thou at a time.

 

[tobnpr]

but that kind of thing makes me nervous when you're talking about thousandths of an inch.

It should.

 

[RonnieMilsurp]

Correct, tenon shoulder to bolt face. Minus threads if you want. Get your measurement, ream until your close to your comfort zone, .01” - .025” short what ever. Rig up a stop, (shim stack adjustable spacer) and sneak up on it screwing the action on and off as many times as necessary until success. IMO this will give you better control and feel of the reamer than a 9” extension. Feel free to do what you think is best, this is just advice.
If you have one of these off a case trimmer with a spacer maybe you can rig it up as a stop to help control depth a few thou at a time.

Thanks. I can't understand how the case trimmer gauge would tell me anything. Aren't they indexed to the thread pitch of the particular trimmer they go with?

I do see how it would be advantageous to turn the reamer without the extension. I would be comfortable with doing it until I start getting close. Seeing as how I am talking about converting to AI, the reamer will definitely have a ways to go before it gets very close.

Question to any still reading: if I do the method of ream a little then check in the action, how much difference in headspace will there be between having the barrel hand-tight and torqued down? I can't imagine it's a whole lot.

 

[Sniperhandle]

Install the stripped bolt into the action and place it face up in a padded vise. Then use a depth micrometer to measure from the rec face to the bolt face, Take a note of the dimension, This is your headspace. Then put a go guage into your chamber and use the depth micrometer to measure from the back of the guage to the shoulder of the barrel, Find the difference of your 2 numbers and that will tell you how far you still need to ream. You can use a go guage for the standard cartridge as a no go guage, Ream until the go guage starts to close, I normally let the bolt go about half closed on a go guage and you should be good for the ackley cartridge.

 

[Sniperhandle]

Install the stripped bolt into the action and place it face up in a padded vise. Then use a depth micrometer to measure from the rec face to the bolt face, Take a note of the dimension, This is your headspace. Then put a go guage into your chamber and use the depth micrometer to measure from the back of the guage to the shoulder of the barrel, Find the difference of your 2 numbers and that will tell you how far you still need to ream. You can use a go guage for the standard cartridge as a no go guage, Ream until the go guage starts to close, I normally let the bolt go about half closed on a go guage and you should be good for the ackley cartridge.

This info is for the mauser, If you are doing anything with a recoil lug, You will need to place that on the receiver while taking meausurements. And for your question, 1 or 2 thous crush after tightening barrel.

 

[AWS]

I've done a couple hand reamer jobs, 223's to 22-204 and 6x47 Rem to 6mm-204, all worked out well. I didn't remove the barrel, I did make a bushing for the action to keep the reamer handle centered.

True AI'd chambers you can fireform the parent cartridge in the new chamber because of the crush fit. If you ream a chamber from say 22-250 t0 22-250 AI without setting the barrel back you no longer have an AI'd chamber but just a IMPROVED chamber and you will have to form your brass in another manor like forming a false shoulder or seating the bullet into the lands to hold the shell head against the boltface while fire forming.

 

[RonnieMilsurp]

I didn't remove the barrel, I did make a bushing for the action to keep the reamer handle centered.

How did you make the bushing?

 

[AWS]

I took a block of nylon drilled a hole through it to fit the handle then put a bolt through it and put it in my drill press and turned it to fit the action.

You can get the blocks at a commercial insulation shop they are used between a pipe and the pipe hanger to keep the pipe from crushing the insulation around it.

No pic of the bushing but here is a self-opening shell holder from a nylon block for my drill press vice I made to roll crimp shotshells

 

[Sniperhandle]

Actually that stop made from an RCBS trimmer is an ingenius idea, You could insert the reamer into your your short chambered barrel until it stops, then set the stop against the face of the tenon, Then take your measurements that you had subtracted when measuring your receiver and lets say you had 20 thou to go, loosen the stop up and slide it back and insert lets say a 17 thous feeler guage and tighten the stop. Then ream your 17 without any worries, Then sneak up on the last few thou. It's a very good idea for someone trying to do what you are doing. I use a lathe and have my tailstock setup with a digital dro of sorts made from a digital caliper so I don't need to use the stop, But years ago when I started messing with this stuff the stop idea is something I would have found to be handy. Using the go guage for a no go guage for ackley rounds was something I had a hard time finding on the web, So I am glad I was able to post how to use it and hope someone can benefit from what I posted about it.

 

[RonnieMilsurp]

I took a block of nylon drilled a hole through it to fit the handle then put a bolt through it and put it in my drill press and turned it to fit the action.

To turn something on the drill press, do you just rig up a cutter on something stationary like a vise (or affix it somehow to the platform) and then plunge the spindle to cut along the length?

What do you use to cut with?

 

[Walt Krafft]

To turn something on the drill press

Is just asking for an accident.

 

[RonnieMilsurp]

Is just asking for an accident.

Even turning nylon?

 

[paperpuncher]

Even turning nylon?

Drill presses typically have tapered spindles. Tapered spindles dont like to be side loaded, the tool can become loose and come out or ???

 

[AWS]

it is a little drill press no taper chuck. I use it just like a wood lathe standing up. got a lot of experience turning hand call barrels in the past. I use it to shape screws after cutting them off, chuck up tap handles and hand turn to keep threaded holes straight, all sorts of things that it wasn't intended to do. I spent my youth working a factory hand fitting parts.

If you want to do something you can figure out how to do it, sometimes it just takes longer and more patience. You also need to know your limitations. I can't thread and chamber a blank but I can rechambe an existing chamber to an improved version of the original(notice Improved not AI'd)

Claw rings for my drilling to low mount a scope, made from Weaver extra high steel rings, hack saw, files, micrometers, straight edges and calipers.

They work and no mods were made to the bases so the original high mounted 6x48mm scope interchanges.

 

[1952]

Back in the late 70's I sent Douglas Barrels my Remington action and had them install there premium barrel in .222. A heavy varmint barrel. I shot it off the bench at 100 yards and was really disappointed. Groups of 1.5 to 2 inches. I tried a lot of factory ammo and a lot of handloads. I just couldn't get it to shoot. Stuck it in the closet to forgot about it. Every now and then I would get it out and try something else. Finally gave up. About 10 years later I saw reamers for sale and decided to order one in .223 and extension, t-wrench and a GO headspace gauge. I didn't even have a way to hold it steady. I put the muzzle down on the floor between my shoes and cut a new chamber. Took it to the range and started shooting 1/4 to 1/2 groups. I could hardly believe the difference. I still wonder what was wrong with the .222 chamber.

 

[Sniperhandle]

Back in the late 70's I sent Douglas Barrels my Remington action and had them install there premium barrel in .222. A heavy varmint barrel. I shot it off the bench at 100 yards and was really disappointed. Groups of 1.5 to 2 inches. I tried a lot of factory ammo and a lot of handloads. I just couldn't get it to shoot. Stuck it in the closet to forgot about it. Every now and then I would get it out and try something else. Finally gave up. About 10 years later I saw reamers for sale and decided to order one in .223 and extension, t-wrench and a GO headspace gauge. I didn't even have a way to hold it steady. I put the muzzle down on the floor between my shoes and cut a new chamber. Took it to the range and started shooting 1/4 to 1/2 groups. I could hardly believe the difference. I still wonder what was wrong with the .222 chamber.

Did you check with Douglas? I'm sure they would have made it Right. They have a good reputation and I have had some good barrels from them in the past.