Rounded crown duplication?

I have an older Winchester which has a sizable nick in the crown. Unfortunately, it's rounded and I've not been successful locating a curved reamer to duplicate it. Yes, I have a lathe, but I draw the line at the complex task of separating the barrel from the receiver, so the lathe solution isn't gonna happen. Suggestions?

Assuming a lever gun here.
1. Have PTG grind a hand turned piloted reamer with the external profile that you want. That will require you to provide the bore, barrel OD at the muzzle, and an accurate profile of the crown. Pros - no finish damage from a steady rest, etc. Cons - cost will be high.
2. Make a long mandrel to slip in the rear of the receiver with a driving lug mounted to a threaded hole on the side. Have to install the lug through the opening for the trigger plate. Mount in the lathe and recut as normal. Pros - inexpensive, do it yourself. Cons - damage to the receiver if you don't do it right, damage to the finish from the steady rest on the barrel.
I've done simlar when cutting down barrels on Mausers and it worked fine with careful prep and slow lathe speeds.

edit - The mandrel is made as large as possible for rigidity and just clears the bolt raceways. The end is turned like a center to fit the chamber end of the barrel. If the raceway is rectangular, then the part that goes into the raceway can be formed to match. There are ways to prtect the finish on the barrel from the steady rest, but I have no experience with that, so you'll have to get input from elsewhere on that one. I've never damaged a receiver doing this out of 20 or more that I've done.

Just get a large enough lathe bit and grind it to the radius you need . Set up in the lathe and cut crown .
easy and cheap .
Chris

Appreciate the suggestions. This is a Model 88/284, '62-3? vintage w/ pristine, original bluing. Just having it in the shop near machinery makes me nervous. The hand turned piloted reamer idea is clearly the safest IMO, but I'm always open.

Just for giggles, I looked it up. PTG makes several muzzle crowning tools, including 2 for the M1 Garand that are ground to produce a rounded profile. http://shop.pacifictoolandgauge.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=10

Assuming a lever gun here.
1. Have PTC grind a hand turned piloted reamer with the external profile that you want. That will require you to provide the bore, barrel OD at the muzzle, and an accurate profile of the crown. Pros - no finish damage from a steady rest, etc. Cons - cost will be high.
2. Make a long mandrel to slip in the rear of the receiver with a driving lug mounted to a threaded hole on the side. Have to install the lug through the opening for the trigger plate. Mount in the lathe and recut as normal. Pros - inexpensive, do it yourself. Cons - damage to the receiver if you don't do it right, damage to the finish from the steady rest on the barrel.
I've done simlar when cutting down barrels on Mausers and it worked fine with careful prep and slow lathe speeds.

edit - The mandrel is made as large as possible for rigidity and just clears the bolt raceways. The end is turned like a center to fit the chamber end of the barrel. If the raceway is rectangular, then the part that goes into the raceway can be formed to match. There are ways to prtect the finish on the barrel from the steady rest, but I have no experience with that, so you'll have to get input from elsewhere on that one. I've never damaged a receiver doing this out of 20 or more that I've done.
I think you were going for PTG there, right? Pacific Tool & Gauge?

Or find a gunsmith with a lathe having a hollow headstock so he can crown the barrel without removing it from the receiver. I did many of them that way, using a shallow "U" tool set directly into the crown.

Jim

I think you were going for PTG there, right? Pacific Tool & Gauge? Yep, half asleep after a double shift. The link in post #5 is correct though.

PTG

Just for giggles, I looked it up. PTG makes several muzzle crowning tools, including 2 for the M1 Garand that are ground to produce a rounded profile. http://shop.pacifictoolandgauge.com/...index&cPath=10 Yes, interesting. One question; I don't remember what the crown shape on the pre-64 M1 Garand looks like. Mine is similar to this one:

http://i49.tinypic.com/13zcx7s.jpg

(The post-64 M1 is triple angle)

This looks promising.... and well within my means & budget, thanks for the input all.