borescope inspection
- Thread starter dero338
- Start date
Kind of depends on what you're checking for. Epp's smithy has a $30 minimum shop charge.
A bore scope is just a flashlight with a bent plastic lens. It's not a big fancy high priced machine, if that's what you're thinking.
You can check a barrel yourself with any flash light. Helps to put a wee piece of paper at the chamber end to reflect light. Your thumb works to reflect light too.
You're looking for sharp, clean, rifling and no obvious damage or rust spots.
A bore scope is just a flashlight with a bent plastic lens. It's not a big fancy high priced machine, if that's what you're thinking.
You can check a barrel yourself with any flash light. Helps to put a wee piece of paper at the chamber end to reflect light. Your thumb works to reflect light too.
You're looking for sharp, clean, rifling and no obvious damage or rust spots.
Actually a real borescope IS a big expensive instrument, lol.
However I doubt it is being done very often except with very expensive rifles.
These are the units used at places like Rolls Royce to scope jet engines down to the smallest details using 90 degree fibre optics to video/view the sides of bores.
http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/rvi-products/
You can get a really good idea of the surface appearance using equipment like this as well as some rudimentary dimensioning of details like the size of damage, spot cracks or plugged gas ports...
If you know someone who works in the aircraft industry and some high end automotive companies in Quality dept you can see if they can bring it home for a day or if you can bring your barrel in to be scoped.
I'm not sure what gunsmiths have up to $30k worth of video borescope sitting around for occasional use. (Maybe some do though...)
Edit: Here is a cheaper mini scope that with the right accessories can do the job any smith might need to visually inspect a bore.
http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/modular-mini-scope/
However I doubt it is being done very often except with very expensive rifles.
These are the units used at places like Rolls Royce to scope jet engines down to the smallest details using 90 degree fibre optics to video/view the sides of bores.
http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/rvi-products/
You can get a really good idea of the surface appearance using equipment like this as well as some rudimentary dimensioning of details like the size of damage, spot cracks or plugged gas ports...
If you know someone who works in the aircraft industry and some high end automotive companies in Quality dept you can see if they can bring it home for a day or if you can bring your barrel in to be scoped.
I'm not sure what gunsmiths have up to $30k worth of video borescope sitting around for occasional use. (Maybe some do though...)
Edit: Here is a cheaper mini scope that with the right accessories can do the job any smith might need to visually inspect a bore.
http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/modular-mini-scope/
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Barrel makers would love for everyone to own a bore scope. But then they would have to increase their barrel production tenfold
Looking down (what you like is) a nice clean barrel with a bore scope is scary.
Looking down (what you like is) a nice clean barrel with a bore scope is scary.
Actually a good borescope for use on firearms can cost much less that 30 grand - although admittedly a fair bit more than moonbeam's flashlight
The Hawkeye line of borescopes start at under $1000.00 and can be obtained through Brownells.
The Hawkeye line of borescopes start at under $1000.00 and can be obtained through Brownells.
