Resources/Literature on gun barrel manufacturing?

[hoover00]

They are not the most precise. The industry is very conservative. I worked for a steering manufacturer where the founder came out of the aerospace industry. Cams all the way till shown that servos do the job as precisely. Hammer mills make a barrel as accurate as any buttoned or cut rifle barrel. Don't confuse habit with efficiency or even precision. A cut rifle sine bar machine will give versatility with regards to twist rate etc. Buttons increase throughput and hammer forging increases it exponentially. Cost is a big decider. My suggestion would be to purchase the equipment that will enable you to manufacture what you need so that you can experiment. Mill, lathe, surface grinder. Start on pistol barrels they are shorter and as Boots Obermeyer said " when barrel makers meet they discuss drilling and reaming". Less depth is always easier. Also less costly when you make the inevitable mistake.

I suppose this is news to me that CHF machines are just as accurate as single-point cut barrels... I guess I am confused as to why all the precision records have been broken with Kreiger barrels (single-point cut). Why dont CHF barrels stack up in competition shooting if they are just as precise as single cut?

 

[hoover00]

I wouldn’t call HS precision one of the best barrel makers
I’ve been to shilen
They use an old p&w drill to make the hole
Then ream on modified lathes
Then hone
Then pull a button on an old handmade sinebar machine
Then cast a lap and hand lap

Lots of benchrest and smallbore records set with these barrels

KriegerI understand uses old gun drills and cut rifling machines
Lots of highpower and long range records

Bart lien I understand uses new/ modern cnc machinery for gun drilling and cut riffling
Again lots of records set

They ream THEN hone? I was under the impression that you had to choose one or the other for barrel bores, is it important to complete both processes? From my understanding honing is a lot higher quality of a technique than reaming (ie all sustained fired carbine barrels are required to be honed for the US military). Are there any cheaper options available for honing machines? (Kadia honing machines i know of but are out of my price range and i dont need to produce that much quantity).

 

[akajun]

They ream THEN hone? I was under the impression that you had to choose one or the other for barrel bores, is it important to complete both processes? From my understanding honing is a lot higher quality of a technique than reaming (ie all sustained fired carbine barrels are required to be honed for the US military). Are there any cheaper options available for honing machines? (Kadia honing machines i know of but are out of my price range and i dont need to produce that much quantity).

From what I understand
They ream then hone as each pricess helps straighten out the curvature in the bore from drilling
I recommend you go to shilens open house/ swap meet in the spring
They do a step by step presentation on barrel making including inspection
Very eye opening and if nothing will show you how to spot bullshit artists that claim to know how barrels are made.

FYI if you really want to go down this road, try reboring barrels. The pilot hole is already there, drill
Ream, hone to size then build the famous bill Webb rifling machine or pull a button then hand lap

 

[wesg]

Pratt and Whitney, for buttoning barrels?

 

[???]

They ream then hone as each pricess helps straighten out the curvature in the bore from drilling

Neither process straightens the bore, both processes will follow the existing hole created by the gun drill. Reaming is gives a consistent size and honing removes the ridges left by reaming.

 

[akajun]

Neither process straightens the bore, both processes will follow the existing hole created by the gun drill. Reaming is gives a consistent size and honing removes the ridges left by reaming.

I’m just going off what the tech at shilen said

 

[henrya]

Vastly different needs for making good barrels in large quantities and making the very best possible in small numbers. Kinda like the difference between making a million F150s a year and a custom race shop building 6 race cars a year. Very different tool requirements. Not even in the same arena.

 

[eKretz]

The parts of this thread from the General section have been merged with this one. Making duplicate posts in separate sections is frowned upon, please don't do that.

 

[john.k]

Exact size and finish is important for button rifling .....the honed finish holds the button lubricant ,and if size isnt perfect the button goes deeper on one side,or jams and breaks .

 

[hoover00]

Pratt and Whitney, for buttoning barrels?

Yes, many such cases in the barrelmaking industry of pratt & whitney's being converted with a ball screw drive for deep hole gundrilling

 

[john.k]

Back in the day ,the P&W machines were often stripped to a long table and used for woodworking shops....Consequently they are now very rare...Ive seen offers of $10k for a functional 1 1/2 in gun magazines .

 

[subuk]

Dear guys, can anyone point me to a clear, proper 5.56 AR15 chamber and headspacing documentation ? What I am looking for is a technical drawing with all the tolerances. I've search the web for quite a long time and I always find reamer sizing, gauge sizing but I've never came across a proper chamber + barrel extension drawings.

 

[GenePoole]

I found these US Army Ordnance Corps drawings once upon a time. Perhaps they have the dimensions you need:

 

[subuk]

That’s pretty much it, thank you very much. I’d love to see also this drawing number.

 

[GenePoole]

Sorry, those were the only ones I had.