Barrel Lining Smith

L.Parratt

L.Parratt

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Edmonton Alberta.
Hey guys, I normally do most of my work myself. But I'm finding a bit out of scope in terms of tooling.

Anyone have a recommendation for who could bore out a 1" Thich 24" long 40-65 Barrel? Looking to refine it since the barrel dates to 1886.

Figure I'll get a 40-65 liner from track the wolf in the USA unless anyone has recommendations?

Cheers.
 
I would bet that many people that get paid as "gunsmith" do not own the long hole drill /reamer or have any experience to use it. I have two rifles that were "re-lined" - was done by a retiring machinist who wanted something to do with his toys at home - so "experimental" for him. Was Redman .22 liners that he installed. - epoxy was used to anchor them in the 25 rimfire bores that he reamed out for the liners. Maybe look for a machinist - not necessarily someone who calls themselves a "gunsmith".

I have never attempted the job myself - looking at Brownell's, they sell a drill / extension and have instructions that make it sound like you run that drill through the bore with a hand held drill. I imagine the machining at the muzzle and breech - after the liner is installed - crowning, notch for extractor - makes or breaks the job?
 
Track makes it clear on their website that they do not export liners.
Their liners are made by a business in Tennessee(?). There is a Cdn company who imports these liners. Priced per inch, they are not inexpensive.
A liner drill sized for the liner is required. If one cannot be purchased ready to go, a drill of the appropriate size can be altered with a pilot ground on it, the cutting edges reground and an extension added.
I have installed both small .22 liners, nominal 5/16 diameter, and centerfire ones, .500 in diameter. The challenging part is getting the liner and drill. Once these are on hand, running the drill through the barrel and bonding in the liner are pretty straightforward. Once the liner is in place, reaming the chamber and making extractor cuts are no different than fitting a new barrel. Vintage barrels tend to be rather mild steel, and easy to machine. The hole doesn't need to be reamed - as drilled is fine. If anything the minor marks left by the drill help the bonding agent adhere to the barrel.
The cost of the drill, liner and chambering reamer are going to be significant; then there is the charge for installation.
I have a Remington Model 1 1/2 in .32RF with attractive exterior and horrible bore. Great candidate for lining and centerfire conversion. Never been able to talk myself into buying the necessary liner and tooling.
 
Surely you'd be able to use any brazillian HSS twist drill and add an extension to it. Find a liner with a nominal OD that runs a number,letter, or fractional drill size. Any machine shop with a decent lathe should be able to drill out 10" from each end after dialing in the barrel.

Installation seems easy enough with any hydro press or even loooong F clamp rig.

I've heard good about the liners from Toronto.

Never did a chamber before, but I bet theres a reamer out there for it already....
 
Jahnj0584 said:
Surely you'd be able to use any brazillian HSS twist drill and add an extension to it. Find a liner with a nominal OD that runs a number,letter, or fractional drill size. Any machine shop with a decent lathe should be able to drill out 10" from each end after dialing in the barrel.

Installation seems easy enough with any hydro press or even loooong F clamp rig.

I've heard good about the liners from Toronto.

Never did a chamber before, but I bet theres a reamer out there for it already....
Click to expand...

Extending a conventional drill bit is very easy, but a bore-sized pilot has to be ground on the cutting end. Also not terribly hard to do.
The installation has to be a slip fit, any excess force at all and the liner would be hooped.
What liners from Toronto are you referring to? The only Canadian importer of liners I have come across is not exactly budget friendly...
 
nine35.ca lists the TJ liners at $11.50/inch. .40 liners are 5/8" in diameter. Track lists the same liner at $US7.89 per inch, but state that they do not export. $11.50 here in Canada VS US$7.89 isn't bad at all.
nine35 suggests delivery could take up to 6 months.
I mentioned my 1 1/2 Roller. A barrel liner delivered would be about $350. A reamer is going to be a couple of hundred more. The drill isn't a big deal, I have a tool post grinder, and have extended drills before, so that is the least expensive part. Say $600 all in.
 
The pilot on the drill bit is unnecessary, providing the barrel is set up well, and the drill ground properly and started straight. The bit will follow the original bore. If one is using the old Black and Decker, the pilot might pay off.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Looking into the brownells.com 15" drill bit,

Track the wolf won't export, but a third party importer will be able to handle that. However the Canadian option is interesting.

Then hopefully I can find a 40-65QCF Reamer to borrow, jnstead of purchasing outright. But no big deal really.
 
They don't, they'll be about a .032 fitment I'll need to figure out, looking at alternative options.

If anyone can extend a existing drill bit, I'd be happy to pay. Make a sort of DIY brownells.com option
 
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As Leeper pointed out, a regular drill with added extension can be used. Barrel can be set up in the lathe, and indicated in on the bore. A boring bar could be used to open out the bore to get the drill started true. Once engaged, the drill will follow the bore.
 
you flip the drill around in a collet, take off 1/8 on the shank with a shoulder, then make an extension with that sized press fit bore in it. Set screw if you wanna feel better.
 
Or, you can drill a hole in the shank of the drill and install a length of drill rod.
If drilling from each end, meeting in the middle, the drill doesn't have to be all that long.
 
Jahnj0584 said:
you flip the drill around in a collet, take off 1/8 on the shank with a shoulder, then make an extension with that sized press fit bore in it. Set screw if you wanna feel better.
Click to expand...

Or you can give the bit a 60 degree cone recess in its shank with a center drill, and then machine a matching cone on the end of your extention piece. Braze the two together.
Many ways to skin the cat.
 
antiqueguy said:
Pacific tool and gauge has piloted bits that would be big enough but they would have to be extended.
Click to expand...

The piloted bit isn't meant to be used full length of the bore.

It's only intended to start the hole for the first six inches or so. Once the hole is started, then a regular bit, attached by weld or silver solder to an extension rod is used to complete the job. The rod extension will keep the regular bit aligned with the axis of the bore for the rest of the job.

Make sure to use lots of lube and slower is better.

There's two reasons for this, the first is that there is a lot less wear and tear on the piloted bit and the second is that regular bits are cheaper and much easier to sharpen if needed.
 
bearhunter said:
The piloted bit isn't meant to be used full length of the bore.

It's only intended to start the hole for the first six inches or so. Once the hole is started, then a regular bit, attached by weld or silver solder to an extension rod is used to complete the job. The rod extension will keep the regular bit aligned with the axis of the bore for the rest of the job.

Make sure to use lots of lube and slower is better.

There's two reasons for this, the first is that there is a lot less wear and tear on the piloted bit and the second is that regular bits are cheaper and much easier to sharpen if needed.
Click to expand...

Seen a few guys using those bits for full length mainly when reaming out old muzzleloader barrels to rebore/reline.
 
L.Parratt said:
They don't, they'll be about a .032 fitment I'll need to figure out, looking at alternative options.

If anyone can extend a existing drill bit, I'd be happy to pay. Make a sort of DIY brownells.com option
Click to expand...

Go in to any machine shop supplies outfit (the real thing, not Busy Bee!) and ask about getting custom grinding done, and who they suggest you talk to. Might just be an old fart with manual T&C grinding in his garage, doing it for essentially coffee money, or it might be a full on CNC shop. I'd probably suggest starting at Thomas Skinner and Son, and go from there. I am right out of date, but there used to still be a couple of the old school style Machine shop supply outfits on the South side of Edmonton, that I would have to figure could put you on to a lead or three...

I know there are a couple outfits that came and went around the Calgary/Edmonton corridor that had CNC Grinding capability, and a couple drill bits with a properly centered pilot, and concentric cutting edges, is cheap insurance against needing the second one. Dunno if any of those outfits would grind a chamber reamer, but the equipment they have would do it, as long as you had the dimensions required.

Before I retired, the shop I was in had a pretty nice Tool and Cutter Grinder, that could do both axial and radial relieving, and I kick myself for not grabbing a pouch of 8mm drills and putting pilots on them for .22 liners. Oh well. Hindsight, as always...
 
Speaking of machine shops, when I bought the quick change tool post for my lathe, the block to fit the T-slot in the compound was a blank. It had to be milled to fit, and this was before I got my mill/drill. Checked the yellow pages for machine shops. Names akin to Ajax Heavy Industries, etc. One stood out. Don's Machine Shop. Manual machine shop set up in a large garage behind his house. He'd bought his machine tools from the company he'd worked for which was closing and moving to the US. Did the milling while I waited, and while waiting I was able to have a good look at his steam launch which was on a trailer in the shop.
It is really good to have resources like that still available. Old style machine shops are about as common as cobbler's shops.

Anyway, 5/16" diameter .22 liners can be installed without a lathe. The liner drill can be run through with an electric drill.
The OP is looking at a 5/8" liner. That is going to need a lathe to drill out the original bore.
 
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