making gun barrels in the lathe

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homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by homebrew .357 »

Hi all, have to come clean on the gun drill I made, It diden`t work. :oops: I had the drill tip in a steel tube to put oil through, with the tube smaller than the drill tip, it worked, but the chips could not get out :cry: .So got on your Ebay in usa and found gun drills for sale by the ton :lol:. Yep, got a nice Eldorado .4218"x38" for $60, so it will be back to work when it arrives and hopfuly will have some success ,yep will keep the camera rolling, :D , homebrew.357
homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by homebrew .357 »

Hi guys, back into it after a bit of a holiday. Have set up the gundrill in my lathe and starting to run it in for the first time, fingers X, I`v just landed on the moon.
And yep, some pics of the action. :wink: Home brew.357.
Attachments
This backend shows the barrel trued up in it`s holder.
This backend shows the barrel trued up in it`s holder.
A bit of plastik pluming is the chipbox and oil return to the tank, Jonte, the boss is checking things.
A bit of plastik pluming is the chipbox and oil return to the tank, Jonte, the boss is checking things.
This is the chip box with gun drill going through to the barrel guide at the end of the barrel, plus drill steady.
This is the chip box with gun drill going through to the barrel guide at the end of the barrel, plus drill steady.
The backend of gundrill is mounted on my x/y drill vice, has ali gides to the lathe bedways, oil hose clipped on at the end.
The backend of gundrill is mounted on my x/y drill vice, has ali gides to the lathe bedways, oil hose clipped on at the end.
And setup in the four jaw chuck with angle plate holding drill giude and chipbox, ready to "GO".
And setup in the four jaw chuck with angle plate holding drill giude and chipbox, ready to "GO".
Things are under way,the chuck is reving at 1,200rpms, the lathe saddel pulls the drill in, 5 turns of the chuck = only 0.01mm of in feed.
Things are under way,the chuck is reving at 1,200rpms, the lathe saddel pulls the drill in, 5 turns of the chuck = only 0.01mm of in feed.
Oil pressure holding at 200 psi and the chips are flying out, I think it`s a goer.
Oil pressure holding at 200 psi and the chips are flying out, I think it`s a goer.
homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by homebrew .357 »

Hi guys, a few days drilling and now I have a barrel to work on. There you go Alphawolf45. Next job is reaming it to size and cutting the rifling, looking at 0.08" of rifling and a finnished bore size of .440" ,so will see how it goes. :lol: .357.
Attachments
This is the bucket of chips that came out of the hole.
This is the bucket of chips that came out of the hole.
And there is the hole in the barrel, no such thing as CARN`T do it.
And there is the hole in the barrel, no such thing as CARN`T do it.
And this is the barrel ready for reaming.
And this is the barrel ready for reaming.
Last edited by homebrew .357 on Mon May 21, 2012 2:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Al_Messer
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Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by Al_Messer »

As I have said before: "Good on yer, Mate!!!" I think that you've got a winner!

Al
Al Messer

"One nation, under God"
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already-old
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Location: PNW-USA

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by already-old »

homebrew .357
Got a Hard chrome question: I have a Myford Speed 10 lathe
I have been thinking of hard chroming the bedways on this lathe.
As you may know this is a dovetail bed. The machine is near new,
(30 years in the crate) but I find the bed is really soft and if not
cleaned all the time small hard chips jam the carriage and imbed
in the top of the bedways.

How thick is decent hard chrome, and is the chrome they put on
machine ways all the same. What would have to be done for prep and finish.
Thanks
"Oily to bed Oily to rise the life of a man, when a Machine tool he buys"

Some men always thought they wanted build things, what they discovered really, is that they only just wanted to run the machines!
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Harold_V
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Location: Onalaska, WA USA

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by Harold_V »

Chrome is chrome, considering it's an element. However, how it is applied makes a huge difference. Hard chrome is unlike chrome that is applied for aesthetic purposes (bumpers, for example) in that it is applied directly to the substrate, whereas the other system has a copper and nickel base applied prior to applying the final layer, which would be chrome. It is very thin, of necessity, due to the same problems that are experience in hard chrome.

I expect that you won't have much success in having the bed plated. If you've seen hard chrome, you'll understand that it has an affinity for sharp edges, and, likewise, avoids being deposited in corners. The end result is a very uneven deposition that would most likely render a bed way useless unless a considerable amount of effort was expended in making proper anodes, or if the bed was then ground after the application of a thick layer of chrome, seriously distorting the precision surfaces because of uneven deposition.

I could be wrong.

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by homebrew .357 »

Hi, back into it after a bit of a holiday. Setup the lathe for reaming the barrel, reamer is clamped in vice on slide, the tube rod holds the reamer thats screwd in to the end and cutting fluid is pumped through to clear the chips. The barrel had a few scraches in it, but reaming should clean it up, reaming to ID of .424" leaves 0.016' for rifling, and a few pic`s :) .357
Attachments
End setup for catching cutting fluid and cips.
End setup for catching cutting fluid and cips.
Reamer going in, with fulid pumping through
Reamer going in, with fulid pumping through
Reamer setup to go.
Reamer setup to go.
homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by homebrew .357 »

Sorry already-old, just saw your thread, it woud be hard to chrome on the castiron bedways, full of oil, and if you did the lathe bedways would have to be ground back to register , allso chrome will not hold oil well. You could try getting the lathe bed reharden, they should not be soft? has it been in a fire?. My first lathe was a myford 7, thay are good small lathes. Allso does it have saddle wipers on the to slide ?,this could help top the pickup of swauf, my 7 had felt ones on the front of the saddle , could change then ever few mouths:? .357 :)
PS, Harold is right, lathe beds are induction hardened first and then ground to register.
Last edited by homebrew .357 on Tue May 22, 2012 2:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Harold_V
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Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by Harold_V »

Heat treating a ground lathe bed isn't in the cards. There's no way it can be heated and quenched and not be distorted. Regrinding would be mandatory.

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by homebrew .357 »

Hi again guys, back from a deer huntig trip, no diden`t even see one, so it`s back to work.
Setting up for lathe for cutting the rifling, a angle bracket clamps on to two posts and with bike chain on top to drive cutter gearbox cog. Under slide is loop of bike chain, top of chain is attacht to slide with jocky wheel at chuck end and hand cranked sprocket at top end ,this drives the slide up and down to cut the rifling. Rifling twist is 1 turn in 33"inches I think, will see how it goes. :D .357.
Attachments
Rifling cutter head with cutter down
Rifling cutter head with cutter down
Cutter in the up position for cutting.
Cutter in the up position for cutting.
Gearbox assy and slide that holds the cutter.
Gearbox assy and slide that holds the cutter.
Chain jocky wheel under chuck, a sealed bearing.
Chain jocky wheel under chuck, a sealed bearing.
Chain sprocket and hand crank at end for drive.
Chain sprocket and hand crank at end for drive.
The cutter head assy.
The cutter head assy.
End of travel for cutter.
End of travel for cutter.
Gear box assy with bike parts for drive.
Gear box assy with bike parts for drive.
homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by homebrew .357 »

Hi all, this is the last bit. After much cranking and walking up and down with the rifle cutter in the barrel I have succeeded in making a black powder rifle barrel in my lathe.
It has six rifling groves,left hand twist, bore size .445".
Now Dan Lilja barrels and Green Mountain rifle barrels have nothing to worry about as far as competition is concerned, this barrel would be classed as a bad day at the Williamsburg barrel making shop, but with a bit of metal polish and some elbow grease should put shine in it. I have made a hawkins plains percussion lock, left handed, for this gun and the way I did it was from a book by Bill Newton, lock patterns by Pryor Mt. The book shows the locks and all the bits so I just copyed it.
So will keep the camera rolling and start a new thread some time, Making a plains Rifle.?
A few pics, cheers, .357 :D
P S Remeber, while there`s boolits in the air, there`s hope.
Attachments
the rifled barrel.
the rifled barrel.
try this one.
try this one.
plains left hand lock.
plains left hand lock.
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ctwo
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Re: making gun barrels in the lathe

Post by ctwo »

Hey that is really impressive. I've recently introduced the idea of building my own barrel for a fully home made revolver, and the rifling seems to be the sticking point. Many seemed to look down on the very idea as just nonsense - ain't gonna happen... Well, there is proof in the pudding right there, and on a long barrel! Good Job! Someone said up there, it would be amazing, and it is!

Could you describe the rifling cutter a bit more? I'm not quite getting a good idea of how it actually works, and the cutting edge.

Thanks!
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