Anyone here making their own barrels?

Given the choice, I'd be happier giving up my 'toys', AR's and AK's, and that's all they are, *toys*, than my Social Security and Medicare benefits. And there's also the declining minimum wage the young people have to live off of. But that seems to be the plan, create a 'slave labor' class for the rich to get richer.

wesg said:

Given the choice, I'd be happier giving up my 'toys', AR's and AK's, and that's all they are, *toys*, than my Social Security and Medicare benefits. And there's also the declining minimum wage the young people have to live off of. But that seems to be the plan, create a 'slave labor' class for the rich to get richer.

Click to expand...

For what it's worth, as a millenial my Social Security "benefit" will exceed expectations if I ever receive one bent penny. 100% of pyramid schemes collapse once people at the bottom realize what it is, but this time we get to find a new and exciting failure mode because we don't get to opt out!

Minimum wage isn't declining, it's on its way up. The culprit you're looking for is the one-two punch of constant inflation with monetary policy like quantitative asset easing, which results directly in stealth theft from the working and middle class.

On topic, I have been kicking around the idea of a home-built black powder rifle or shotgun for a little while now, but still don't have any concrete plans to go for it yet.

I built a replica Starr carbine ,just on a whim one day at work.....pre net ,for me anyway,so I could have made a better copy.....Ive also since discovered De Haas reviewed one with a drawing.in Part 2 of Single shot rifles .and actions........Fired a huge overload as a proof ,action never batted an eyelid,but parts of the case came out through the gap between block and barrel.......still needs finishing ......but so many guns so little time .

Alibaba has TIN coated carbide buttons for $20 - $30, listed as "reamers". Got one for kicks and it looks great. My thought it to start playing with pistol barrels; I figure they should be a lot easier, and the accuracy requirements are looser.

Check out this book -

Rifling Machines & Methods​

by Clifford F LaBounty

Best book I've read on the subject. I have considerable experience with rifle and pistol barrels. I built my own twin head drilling machine, a twin head reaming machine and a cnc button puller. Could do barrels up to 40"

Eldorado tool is go to for drills and rifling buttons. Get your pull reamers from Dave Kiff at Pacific Tool & Gauge. (Dave also sells buttons)

Coolant pressure is key, use Sulphurized straight oil for drilling (not water soluable) 1000 PSI or better at the drill tip. Make or buy an eldorado type gun drill sharpening fixture to grind your drills or send them back to Eldarado for it every 20 or so tubes. (depends on the material). Gotta have RPM for small drills (.22 caliber ran at about 3600 RPM and about .00034/rev feedrate IIRC) - Counter rotating work holding from direction of your drill helps control drill wandering.

You MUST ream your barrels, use a pull reamer at about 300 PSI, same oil

Use only certified Ordnance grade US made steel (4140 recommended to start) - Ordnance grade steel is certified no inclusions and is made from virgin melt with no recycle. I've only found it available from Ryerson, but I've not looked at boutique steel companies.

The biggest catch to making button barrels that is not advertised - Your button size WILL be dependent on your raw stock diameter! It takes trial and error to find the size button for a given stock diameter and allow. This is why companies like Green Mountain only offer select size diameters of blanks.

I used buttons with pull rods brazed on from Eldorado, not sure what material their pull rods are (they wouldn't tell me). Pulling a button is MUCH easier than pushing it as you don't have to support the pushrod before it enters the bore. There is a Youtube video of a guy that built a rig to push a button, kinda interesting, but not very practical I didn't think.

You have to rotate the button at the twist rate ground into it with either a sine bar/rack arrangement, or CNC drive the rotation - I chose to build my own CNC machine to do this using Mach 3 for the control and it works great. There is a Youtube video of another guy that built a similar machine to mine for pulling buttons.

I use STP oil treatment for pulling lube for my buttons- a trick I picked up from an old timer I used to know that helped me out when I was getting started.

Was in the gun business for almost 25 years, pretty much retired now. I never did get around to building a cut rifling machine, Still have some large bore projects that may require it though.

Got any other questions -give me a yell.

Chris

Of course the late great Harry Pope was famous for making the most accurate low pressure barrels anybody ever heard of entirely on a lathe. If you will search about online, you can find a picture or two of the lathe, I think it still exists. It has so many additions, bells and whistles I can make no sense of it whatever. James V. Howe was well aware of the machine, he basically said that the only thing that made it work was Pope's patience and attention to detail, there was absolutely nothing special about the lathe itself.

Every dummy who wants to deep drill a barrel with a twistdrill insists Pope did it so can they .....I personally doubt Pope did use twistdrills,except as starters ......he may have used a spade drill with some flushing .....What always gets me is how insistant some of these would be barrel makers are.......they will listen to nothing that doesnt confirm their plans .

There is a simple answer to that, "If you know that will work, stop asking questions and start making barrels."