Cutting off barrels and recrowning barrels?

[barnetmill]

Are there tools and techniques that can be used to cleanup and polish the crowns of old rifles and pistols without a lathe?

I recall that a brass ball could be used for this with an electric drill and perhaps some extremely fine polishing compound.

Also is there a way to cut off a barrel square without a lathe?

 

[SigfanUSAF]

Can't answer the first one, as I use a lathe, but for squaring up barrels, as on a double SG, I use a fine file and a machinests square.

 

[simmonsguns]

crown polishing

Try using a leather wheel and some polishing compound.
You can make the wheels by using the cut-off dremmel mandral and gluing a thicker outside disk to one that fits like a cut-off wheel.
Get it a round as possible or vibrations will shake it a part.
I use a 1 inch concho punch to make the wheels, you can get them through a leather supply store or make one yourself.
If you shape the center of it into a cone it won't walk around on you.

 

[brickeyee]

Hit Brownells.
They used to have sets of cutters and pilots for truing up crowns and polishing them.
I use a lathe.

 

[mrmeval]

Get a good crown cutter with a pilot. I just missed buying the top of the line one Brownells has that was on another forum for sale. I think the sell time was in minutes. It was about a 50 dollar savings but he saved 5 times that in gunsmith fees by crowning several guns then selling it.

 

[Riss]

Brownells has many types of crowning tools with arbors, and handles meant to be used by hand. A lathe is the best option though. Assuming that the barrel can be put in a lathe. A side by side 12 ga takes a little bit more work to square up. The quick and dirty method is to fix the barrel into a vise flush with the top of the jaws and use a file over the top. The file will eat up the top of the jaws a little but you can get a good finish on a shotgun barrel with a little time and patience.

 

[barnetmill]

Thanks to all for the information. There seems to be a common refrain-get a lathe and maybe I will one day.

 

[Riss]

If you do. Don't get an import model. Wait for the perfect little Craftsman or Logan or South Bend. Something large enough, 10 inch swing by 36 inch between centers. But not too large. You can't make barrels with it, but for the home workshop it is large enough to do most jobs and can be found for well under $750 for a decent model.

 

[barnetmill]

Riss I am sure you are correct about the imports. One problem these days is that some american brand names get stamped onto imported items. Hopefully that will not happen with craftsman or the other brands that you mentioned.

 

[eliphalet]

Try a round top brass screw with valve grinding compound in a drill. That should dress a crown up. If that doesn't do the job get a Brownell's catalog they sell tools Midway does too also read some of Gunsmith Kinks from Brownell's

 

[Sunray]

"...I will one day..." Great idea. Got a place to put it?
Brownell's sells a hand crowning tool and one that goes into a hand drill. Uses 600 grit sandpaper.
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/catsearch.aspx?k=crowning+tools&ps=10&si=True

 

[barnetmill]

I can arrange the place for a small lathe, but not some of the huge machines my gunsmith uses. They come in by forklift and get bolted to the floor. He claims that to properly turn an unfinished barrel that it requires a very beefy machine. His basic lathe is ancient and was orginally run by a factory belt drive system and got fitted with an electric motor at a later date. He also does general machining and gunpart manufacturing.

Some of this equipment is computer controlled and it was very interesting to watch him set up a program for the manufacture of a trigger system he was designing for .22 CZ rifles. Good rifle with a factory trigger that sucks.

 

[Sunray]

There are some 'table top' 4 foot bed lathes that will do barrels. None of which are exactly inexpensive. The really big money associated with lathes isn't the lathe itself, it's the tooling.
The table top hobby types usually plug into the wall. Your smithy's machines require special electric power service too.

 

[Riss]

The Craftsman, Logan or Soouth Bend are for the most part antiques. Well, except fot the South Bend which I think are still made. Some are newer, less than 20 years old. BUT some of the old ones with lead bearings instead of real roller bearings can still be found. First ones made were in the 1920's and 30's. Mine is an early 70's model and is still running strong. If you ever come across a good used one at a good price it is well worth the investment.

 

[czbegenner]

Guys yesterday i called my former boss(at the steel shop i used to work at)
Well he and i went and did a little project on my Rem 870 express super mag.
Ok the barrel was 25" but that's too long,so we cut it down around 20"Its much lighter to handle.We used the saw at the shop,then he took the grinder
and cut that steel piece (rib) at the top just enough and made a front sight,
Also we used a drendle in the shop to clean it up(well its not new,but it will do).I am so happy,now monday i will see how it fires.The exten tube is 8 shot,and the barrel goes past it just a little around a inch

 

[RCouch]

Had a 30-40 krag with some damage to the end of the barrel and my uncle cut off the bad area (about 1/2 ") with a hacksaw and the crowned it with a large round headed brass screw like Eliphalet above. He finished it off with some fine emery cloth and then cold blued it. I used it for 20 years and it was a good shooter.

 

[czbegenner]

ok how hard is it to reblue my rem?

 

[mrmeval]

You can use touch up permablue or oxpho blue. To get it hot blued would be expensive.

The creme would probably be easier. It's 9.97+S&H unless you have an FFL on file with them then it's cheaper.
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/Store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1108

 

[czbegenner]

Thanks mrmeval i will be getting the creme its only needs a few spots on the barrel.then a few more spots.