setup i use for recrowning a rifle.

[barnes_gunworks]

heres my setup that i use for doing crowns on rifles, theres a center in the breech of the rifle, i then put a tapered I.D. bushing on the O.D. of the barrel, live center in the crown. then i make a skim cut to make the O.D. of the bushing true to the bore. put the steady rest on the bushing. move the tailstock insert gage pin and mic the TIR...this rifle i have set up had .0007"-.0008" TIR runout on it, well within what i consider good..this one was also set up for an 11 degree crown. which means i taper from the O.D. to the I.D. 11 degrees perpendictualr to the bore.

[Wayne Shaw]

The set up is OK for hunting rifles, but to cut an 11 degree crown, the groove diameter shoudl be indicated closer than what you have, IMO. And to do that with a steadt rest is difficult, at least for me it is.

A perpendicular flat or recessed crown is fine with what you've got there.

[barnes_gunworks]

well like i said i indicated it in and it was within 7-8 tenthousandths of an inch,,,and that was the TIR reading,,if ya looking to get better accuracy than that id have to get better lathe and alot more stuff,,,heres the after pic of the target,,keep in mind this is on an 7mm which is .286" (going of memory again) so i estimate this gun is now shooting 1/4-3/8" groups,,,,, not bad at all espically considering this is a stock savage that has only had a recrown done on it,,,

[Wayne Shaw]

Sir, there was no criticism intended. People that have lathes that the headstock hole won't take a barrel have to do things to compensate.

You might think about making a sleeve to run in the steady, the barrel through the sleeve, and have spider adjusting screws in the sleeve to fine tune indicating. I use such a sleeve when doing short XP barrels, it works good.

[barnes_gunworks]

id didnt take it as a insult, was just trying to make the point that 7-8 tenthousandths of an inch is very very very tight especally when you consider that its the TIR reading, (taking every peice in the puzzel all together barrel,lathe,steady rest, bushing, center in chamber end of barrel) and i actually posted the wrong picture, the one in the lathe is a .270 win the target is of a muzzel brake id done on the 7mm mag, heres the correct picture, i like the idea of the sleave, and i could make a spider for the back of the lathe,,,

[charlesb]

Please forgive me for asking a trivial question. - I am curious about the the contents of large red plastic box that is placed across the ways in the second picture.

Also: You mention that there is a center in the action. I am wondering what means you are using to give the lathe a good turning grip on the action, to prevent it from spinning on the driven center.

Thank you!

[BobWarfield]

Please forgive me for asking a trivial question. - I am curious about the the contents of large red plastic box that is placed across the ways in the second picture.

Those are the pin gages he is using to indicate the bore. Still have a lot of them wrapped in that cosmolene paper, just like mine, LOL!

Cheers,

BW

[barnes_gunworks]

good call on the "red box" yup most of em wont get unwrapped untill needed, i use a brass center that bites the edge of the barrel, also im only turning at about 70-120 rpms, dont need much holding power at that with the light cuts im making (.001"-.010")

[Fullautomike]

I have a question, not to tell you what to do (because I do not know), but to help me learn. Why wouldn't you put the barrel all the way in the chuck and just allow a few inches to remain out to work on. No steady rest would be used. Use a cutter and cut from the outside to the bore.
Like I said I'm new at this, so please tell me everything that is wrong with this theory to help me understand.
Thanks! Mike

[Wayne Shaw]

A couple reasons can and do come into play. 1, the headstock bore may not be large enough to accept the barrel. 2, most barrels have a taper to them towards the muzzle, making a grip on the barrel difficult. 3, I wouldn't spin a barrel of any length unsupported. 4, you always crown from the bore to the outside, not into the bore.

[Fullautomike]

A couple reasons can and do come into play. 1, the headstock bore may not be large enough to accept the barrel. 2, most barrels have a taper to them towards the muzzle, making a grip on the barrel difficult. 3, I wouldn't spin a barrel of any length unsupported. 4, you always crown from the bore to the outside, not into the bore.

Thanks Wyane. If headstock bore is big enough, does the same hold true for threading?

[Wayne Shaw]

Through the headstock is the preferred method by most rifle smiths, not all but I think most. Some headstocks are quite wide, and a barrel won't go all the way through. These people have ways of making spacers to fit within the bore to support the end of the barrel. Having a few inches of barrel sticking out of the chuck is fine for threading and chambering, but in all cases, the opposite end of the barrel is supported.