Reline winchester barrel

Hi
First post here.
I have a winchester 1890 octagon barrel that needs relining. I have drilled it out and realize there is a fair gap between the barrel and the liner wich if left alone will look terrible on the muzzle end.
This is a flat muzzle no counter bore to hide anything and no bluing on the end.
I have taken a few one inch long slices of an old liner and glued them in 5/16 hex nuts, they represent about the same size hole and the same hex barrel end.
I read somewhere to peen in the end to close the gap, that was a disaster.
I have silver soldered several of them but could not keep the solder from flowing over the edge of the nut, if that was the barrel it would require a re blue wich I am trying to avoid.

So basically I am looking for ideas on how to fill this gap and have it look good, without re blueing the barrel.
Thanks for any suggestions, Tom

Pick up a used 22 RF barrel in good condition and turn it to the diameter of the hole you drilled and tin or lead solder it in. Or, buy a used 1980 barrel and re-drill it to the correct size.

Thanks, the hole is the correct size. Just trying to hide the joint.
Tom

What method are you using to retain the liner in the barrel? I use JB Weld and add black dye to the mix. The dye I am using was included in an Acraglass kit, but dyes for epoxy mixes are available in most paint supply shops in an assortment of colors.

Put a crown in after gluing or soldering in liner and use it to hide the joint

Depending on how big the gap is, you should be able to roll up a steel shim stock tube an inch or so long that could be inserted between the liner and the barrel while bonding everything together. I would think you could accomplish a total gap of about .001" or so. Then when you face off the barrel, the burr should fill the gaps and the liner joint will disappear or at least become much less noticeable. I use an 8 mm liner drill and with the usual liner being about .312-.313" the joint disappears when the crown is cut because the soft barrel steel produces a burr that closes up the gap. I use Loctite 609 for bonding liners as it has a low viscosity that fills all the air space between the liner and the barrel.

RWO

Thanks guys
I have some thinks to think over now.
I plan to use 209 to glue in the liner and maybe I'll check out some silver dye colors.
This is a flat face barrel no crown and no blue on the face, from the factory that way. I want to keep the original look to the best I can. This is a vintage gun so I really don't want to start cutting crowns or blueing where there was none before.
That's why it's giving me a hard time the steel is bare on the muzzle end and any kind of joint or gap will stand out.
Thanks, Tom

The guys that do this for restorations generally make the muzzle end a very tight fit often with a step on the liner and in the barrel, TIG weld the seam then face it off.

V/R

Mike Hunter

Thanks, I never thought of tig welding. I was only thinking gas
Tom