Barrel Fluting

AJCrowley

AJCrowley

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Sorry if these topic has been beaten to death already, I tried a search but came up with nothing useful.

I love my SL-8, but she's a heavy beast, and needs to lose some weight.

One option I was considering was to get the barrel fluted, and possibly shortened, so I have a few questions:

Are there any downsides to getting a heavy barrel fluted?

How expensive is it to get this kind of work done?

Does a permanently mounted flash hider count towards the barrel length/overall length on a non-restricted?

Is anyone able to recommend a smith who will do a quality job on this?

Thanks!
 
Bump.

No help on this?

So far my best option is to ship to a smith in the States, but I'd rather not take the chance on losing my barrel at customs.
 
The are no Downsides to Barrel fluted if done properly. if not some time will cause barrel to Warp. the upside is that barre are lighter than original but with less weight, also stiffer.
very expensive, depended on the style or type of flute, straight flue could be done on manual mill, but spiral need to have access to CNC 4AXis atlease, not cheap.
300-400 per barrel jobs.
If it solder into barrel, it could be considered as part of barrel, Not 100% on that so don't quote me on this one.
 
If it shoots don't touch it.

A set of dumbbells and a cheap bench are a lot less expensive. ;)
 
Epoxy7 said:
If it shoots don't touch it.

A set of dumbbells and a cheap bench are a lot less expensive. ;)
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Yeah, already tried that, and while it's yielded some results, it's an ongoing process, and this rifle could still stand to lose some weight.

I was hoping to pick up a second barrel for it so I could mess with it without running the risk of ruining the rifle.
 
GunBoy said:
The are no Downsides to Barrel fluted if done properly. if not some time will cause barrel to Warp. the upside is that barre are lighter than original but with less weight, also stiffer.
very expensive, depended on the style or type of flute, straight flue could be done on manual mill, but spiral need to have access to CNC 4AXis atlease, not cheap.
300-400 per barrel jobs.
If it solder into barrel, it could be considered as part of barrel, Not 100% on that so don't quote me on this one.
Click to expand...

Best you can achieve with fluting is that the barrel will not lose stiffness, but it will certainly not get stiffer from fluting. Removing material CANNOT make the barrel stiffer than it already was.
 
Well, currently the best offer I've got is Adco, whose work I've seen and is top notch. They'll flute the barrel for $120. I expect it will run me just north of $200 when I add on the flash hider.

Downside explained in earlier post. There's got to be a smith in Canada who will do the work at a reasonable price (see: sub $200 for barrel fluting).
 
greentips said:
have you talked to Arwen Ace here at CGN??

Instead of fluting, why don't you just turn the profile down?
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I have not, but I shall.

The reason I was asking for fluting rather than just turning the profile down is based on my somewhat limited knowledge. Turning the barrel down will lose weight, but I might also lose rigidity, and therefore accuracy. Fluting will trim the fat, while maintaining a higher degree of rigidity.

Again, conclusions drawn from my limited knowledge, and potentially flawed, I'm certainly open to better options.

Cheers.
 
Piston guns tend to need thicker profiles that DI guns, as the energy and mass of the moving piston rod.

I would not do anything to it, other than have it threaded.

Its a barrel so you will need to import and export it into the US, so factor the added costs, wait time and headaches if you do it down here.

Fluted barrels will tend to warp under heat cycles, not a big deal with Cdn 5rd mag rules, but keep in mind they tend to yaw in a specific direction.
I do not like fluting, but disclosure related of course, we have a patent on ball mill 'dimpling' so we go that route.

I can't stress again that I would not flute it.

I also would not have a thinner profile put on due to the issues thin barrel piston guns have.
 
You could look into getting the barrel turned to match the G36 specs.

Try speaking with either Wolverine or TSE in Calgary...

ie:

DSC_0033.jpg
 
KevinB said:
Piston guns tend to need thicker profiles that DI guns, as the energy and mass of the moving piston rod.

I would not do anything to it, other than have it threaded.

Its a barrel so you will need to import and export it into the US, so factor the added costs, wait time and headaches if you do it down here.

Fluted barrels will tend to warp under heat cycles, not a big deal with Cdn 5rd mag rules, but keep in mind they tend to yaw in a specific direction.
I do not like fluting, but disclosure related of course, we have a patent on ball mill 'dimpling' so we go that route.

I can't stress again that I would not flute it.

I also would not have a thinner profile put on due to the issues thin barrel piston guns have.
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Keep in mind the G36 barrel profile is MUCH MUCH smaller. The SL8 barrel profile is probably closer to the G36 heavy barrel model they were trying to pimp as an LMG.

A properly made and heat treated barrel shouldn't warp or distort at all when cut or profiled, HK isn't some newbie barrel maker, they make some of the best barrels (life and strength wise).

to the OP, for what weight you ARE going to save, its not very much. Turning the profile down a bit would be better, but as you said you'll get a less rigid barrel.
 
Cool. I think the ideal solution may be to get a second barrel and have it turned to G36 specs, that way, I can just switch out depending on whether I want to save weight, or be more accurate.

Now to find a spare barrel....
 
F22_RaptoR said:
Keep in mind the G36 barrel profile is MUCH MUCH smaller. The SL8 barrel profile is probably closer to the G36 heavy barrel model they were trying to pimp as an LMG.

A properly made and heat treated barrel shouldn't warp or distort at all when cut or profiled, HK isn't some newbie barrel maker, they make some of the best barrels (life and strength wise).

to the OP, for what weight you ARE going to save, its not very much. Turning the profile down a bit would be better, but as you said you'll get a less rigid barrel.
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Hk cold hammer forging a barrel and profiling and stress reliving is a lot different that bob the builder reprofiling a barrel in his garage.
 
So, from a mixture of research, pricing, and feedback on this board, here's what's looking most sensible:

If I want a G36 barrel for my SL8, buy a G36 barrel for my SL8.

Someone in the US is selling a G36E barrel for $725, which seems like a lot, but by the time I've got a second barrel, got work done on it, put a flash hider on it to replicate the G36, I actually won't be saving anything from just buying a G36 barrel.
 
KevinB said:
Hk cold hammer forging a barrel and profiling and stress reliving is a lot different that bob the builder reprofiling a barrel in his garage.
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Yes that's definitely true :p


Some cold hammer forging machines can create the inner rifling and outer diameter at the same time, but im pretty sure HK still completely contour's the outer diameter with diamond honing machines. (info off of HKpro)

Now a good machinist with a lathe and a good steady should be able to cut the barrel slow enough to not heat it up and have it warp, but I would definitely get a GOOD machinist with lots of experience doing barrels and stuff.

As already said before, if it heats up too much the barrel can warp and be pooched.

ETA

AJCrowley said:
So, from a mixture of research, pricing, and feedback on this board, here's what's looking most sensible:

If I want a G36 barrel for my SL8, buy a G36 barrel for my SL8.

Someone in the US is selling a G36E barrel for $725, which seems like a lot, but by the time I've got a second barrel, got work done on it, put a flash hider on it to replicate the G36, I actually won't be saving anything from just buying a G36 barrel.
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Keep in mind, that it SHOULD be legal to export the barrel (since they are over 16" as per US law) however you need to consider the export paperwork also. Some companies charge 250 dollars for a DSP-5 or DSP-83, and some as much as 750, which usually only makes sense for one-off custom made guns.

So the export paperwork also needs to be considered, as well as time. BUT, a G-36 barrel would be the BEST solution to the problem of a new barrel.
 
Kevin, does your ball dimpling process along with lightening the barrel, does it also make the barrel more flexible? Or does it increase the hardness of the steel similar to a type of hammer forging?

I always wondered why Knights did this method. Or is it just a matter of being more cost effective? If you are constrained by proprietary stuff, can you post a basic reason why its done?

It cant be just weight reduction can it?
 
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