Interesting Way to Hold Barrel in the Lathe

[JasonT]

Hi all - been about a year since my last post and my move to Texas (the free-er world).

I got a new lathe a couple months ago and while incorporating a spherical bearing into a design at work, I realized its the perfect way to hold a rifle barrel in a lathe completely stress-free.

It allows the barrel to float angularly in the chuck until it’s fully tightened down, and it fully supports the outer diameter of the barrel. So it allows the barrel to be aligned completely stress-free.

The bearings are available in every size - see a 1.25” diameter bearing I attached.





Also, feel free to drool over the Rohm combination independent/scroll chuck I got on Eb*y for a screaming deal. If you’ve never heard of one, look them up, because they are the bees knees. Kind of like a heavy duty adjust-tru chuck.

Jason

 

[clowdis]

That's about the most interesting thing I've seen here in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JasonT]

That's about the most interesting thing I've seen here in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing.

I’m glad I could provide some entertainment these days! Hopefully it’s useful.

 

[matthias]

So the question is where are you getting these beauties?

 

[JasonT]

So the question is where are you getting these beauties?

The chuck? Or the bearings?

The bearings are from amazon - They’re about $30-$35 and infinitely reusable.

 

[matthias]

I will look through Amazon. I have some nice chucks , always looking to try new methods. This looks interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JasonT]

I will look through Amazon. I have some nice chucks , always looking to try new methods. This looks interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Absolutely - it’s a B20-L size I believe, made by RBC.

 

[hoz53]

Hi all - been about a year since my last post and my move to Texas (the free-er world).

I got a new lathe a couple months ago and while incorporating a spherical bearing into a design at work, I realized its the perfect way to hold a rifle barrel in a lathe completely stress-free.

It allows the barrel to float angularly in the chuck until it’s fully tightened down, and it fully supports the outer diameter of the barrel. So it allows the barrel to be aligned completely stress-free.

The bearings are available in every size - see a 1.25” diameter bearing I attached.

View attachment 1195884

View attachment 1195885

Also, feel free to drool over the Rohm combination independent/scroll chuck I got on Eb*y for a screaming deal. If you’ve never heard of one, look them up, because they are the bees knees. Kind of like a heavy duty adjust-tru chuck.

Jason

Thanks for sharing that.

 

[Bamban]

Ok, I am slow, how does the inner piece tighten on the barrel? I see a split ring on the outer piece to where it tightens when the jaws are screwed in, can't seem to see that on the inner piece. Inner piece kind of reminds me of a tie rod end.

 

[Danny1788]

Ok, I am slow, how does the inner piece tighten on the barrel? I see a split ring on the outer piece to where it tightens when the jaws are screwed in, can't seem to see that on the inner piece. Inner piece kind of reminds me of a tie rod end.

I agree with this, while it looks like a solid way to dial the barrel in due to the pivoting action of that bearing, how does it clamp down on the barrel?

 

[Hal]

Jason, that's clever.
Thanks for sharing.

Hal

 

[AccelR8]

Ok, I am slow, how does the inner piece tighten on the barrel? I see a split ring on the outer piece to where it tightens when the jaws are screwed in, can't seem to see that on the inner piece. Inner piece kind of reminds me of a tie rod end.

Looks like he has cut both the inner and outer races to allow them to compress.

 

[JasonT]

I agree with this, while it looks like a solid way to dial the barrel in due to the pivoting action of that bearing, how does it clamp down on the barrel?

Good questions. The outer ring is split in 2 pieces - just easier to manage that way.
The inner ring is split in 1 place with a 50 thou cutoff disk- it has about 10thou of clamping range because it’s so hard and stiff.

 

[JasonT]

Looks like he has cut both the inner and outer races to allow them to compress.

Exactly!

 

[JasonT]

Thanks for sharing that.

Happy to share! I’ve learned so much from this forum over the years, it’s only right to give back as well!

 

[Bamban]

Jason,

How wide is the inner ring? How does it handle the barrel if you end up on the tapered section.

I like the idea. I ditched my front spider since adapting the split ring Mike Bryant introduced me to when I visited him to learn how to work on 700 actions. I have been using shaft spacers from McM-C that are 1/4 inch wide that I split. The 1/4 wide still clamps the tapered section well. I do a lot of AR barrels for our Junior Team, they come in at 1.005x straight cylinder, your system might just be the ticket.

I use a Rohm 6 inch 6J to clamp the ring. BTY, you're right about the combo chuck, they are great. I had an 8 inch Bison version that I just sold, it was too dang heavy for this old guy with busted shoulders.

Thank you for sharing.

Nez

 

[JasonT]

Jason,

How wide is the inner ring? How does it handle the barrel if you end up on the tapered section.

I like the idea. I ditched my front spider since adapting the split ring Mike Bryant introduced me to when I visited him to learn how to work on 700 actions. I have been using shaft spacers from McM-C that are 1/4 inch wide that I split. The 1/4 wide still clamps the tapered section well. I do a lot of AR barrels for our Junior Team, they come in at 1.005x straight cylinder, your system might just be the ticket.

I use a Rohm 6 inch 6J to clamp the ring. BTY, you're right about the combo chuck, they are great. I had an 8 inch Bison version that I just sold, it was too dang heavy for this old guy with busted shoulders.

Thank you for sharing.

Nez

The inner ring is about .9-1” wide, and I’ve never tried it on a tapered section. I mostly shoot long range stuff, so the lightest contour I use is a heavy Palma.

I think you could make a bushing in any shape to fit the barrels you use. If you have a nice carbide boring bar, you could probably hard turn the inner ring to any profile.

 

[Cigarcop]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RBC-B20L-1...693487&hash=item4b73b2d035:g:Bl0AAOSwT9NeMJ-L

 

[JasonT]

That’s the one!

 

[butchlambert]

How do you indicate the bore with that setup?