I'm new to this site and new to metal working, though I've been shooting and tinkering with guns for 40 years, done a lot of woodworking, made a few knives and enjoy building gizmos of all sorts.
Now that I have a lathe I've challenged myselt to build a couple of black powder pistols from scratch. The first big step is making a barrel and I've a couple of ideas I'd welcome informed opinions on.
It's occured to me that jack handles and jack hammer bits are made of steel that's tough but not brittle. I'm thinking of turning some of this steel (which I have in my scrap pile) into the right shape and drilling it out to something between .22 and maybe .36 caliber. I want to keep the barrel walls relatively thick for these first efforts before I tieing them to my Goodyear test rig.
I'm not planning on rifling these barrels and I expect them to be no more than 6 inches in length.
Daft idea or doable? And if doable what am I going to be putting in the chuck of my tailstock. A twist drill or.....?
Thanks!
More Barrel Drilling Questions
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rustyknuckles
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:12 pm
- Location: Washington, the state not the other one.
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GeorgeGaskill
I assume you are going to use a screw-in breech plug of some type. For barrel steel, I would recommend using a steel of known type. If you can't buy something readily, try using a piece of an old rifle barrel. At least you will have something that a professional thought was good enough for a barrel.
For something as short as you propose, drilling with a twist drill should work OK. Plan on reaming the hole after drilling for a better surface and rounder hole. Normally, barrels are drilled with a gun drill in a gun drilling machine but neither should be necessary for your project.
For something as short as you propose, drilling with a twist drill should work OK. Plan on reaming the hole after drilling for a better surface and rounder hole. Normally, barrels are drilled with a gun drill in a gun drilling machine but neither should be necessary for your project.
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deltaenterprizes
- Posts: 42
- Joined: Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:16 pm
- Location: longvew,tx
Barrel Steel
Barrel steels can not be so hard that they are brittle,be careful you don't build a grenade!
have you considered checking out Numerich Gun Parts they sell short (about 10" or less) back powder rifled barrels. I bought one 50 cal. for about $10. A larger cal. than you were looking for but would be great for a prodject gun. The O.D. is not finished at 1" dia. This is a cheap alternative to a smooth bore. Many gun makers purchase their barrels already rifled.