CF Barrels are so 2015...

Shabazz

Shabazz

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Before someone bites my head off for the lame attempt at humour let me say that I don't have an opinion on carbon fibre wrapped barrels, simply because I don't know enough about them.

Drake Associates seems to think there are some issues though, and have come up with their own "system" which is apparently superior. I thought this was worth sharing as this could be a huge advancement in the world of lightweight barrels.

[youtube]EnC8ro0IhQI[/youtube]

BTW these guys have tons of Shot Show coverage all geared towards precision shooting. I find their other videos a bit hard to watch but the booth reviews are worth checking out.
 
Cost$

The CF barrels look nice for hunters, but they're cost prohibitive for someone burning out barrels at a fast rate. $900 USD for a blank vs. $330 USD for a SS blank.
 
The titanium and the CF are outer wraps (like the TacSol aluminum 10/22 barrels), the cores with the rifling are still steel.
 
The surfaces of titanium and of all commercially produced alloys of titanium have relatively poor wear resistance. In particular, titanium surfaces in contact with each other or with other metals readily gall under conditions of sliding contact or fretting.

Titanium is not as hard as some grades of heat-treated steel, is non-magnetic and a poor conductor of heat and electricity. Machining requires precautions, as the material might gall if sharp tools and proper cooling methods are not used. Like those made from steel, titanium structures have a fatigue limit which guarantees longevity in some applications. Titanium alloys have lower stiffness than in many other structural materials such as aluminium alloys and carbon fiber.

- Google
 
What I'm waiting for is a sleeve that doesn't have to be permanently bonded to the barrel, solving the cost issue. Maybe the use of titanium is a step in that direction.
 
I think i read somewhere that the us military tried experimenting with steel sleeve aluminum barrels for center fire rifles. Eventually the head caused the adhesive to delaminate between the two metals and there was always a catastropic failure.
This is quite vague, so I could be wrong.
 
Yeah, what they've mentioned above. Rifling in titanium would be difficult to cut and the result would not be as good as in steel to begin with. That rifling would not last very long once you started shooting.

Perhaps they will develop some kind of inexpensive Titanium alloy that has the weight properties of titanium, with the wear properties of SS or reduce the cost of making the CF barrels.
 
kombayotch said:
Yeah, what they've mentioned above. Rifling in titanium would be difficult to cut and the result would not be as good as in steel to begin with. That rifling would not last very long once you started shooting.

Perhaps they will develop some kind of inexpensive Titanium alloy that has the weight properties of titanium, with the wear properties of SS or reduce the cost of making the CF barrels.
Click to expand...

There are no inexpensive Titanium alloys available at this time. I'm not sure what the solution would be to increase its abrasion resistance... I am currently experimenting with a CF barrel, and only because I have to see for myself the pros and cons of the design.

It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for light weight alternatives. For the moment, I for one would not invest in Ti barrels until they have seen much more exposure and there are a few respected opinions to hear.

It is however absolutly awesome to see innovative outside the box solutions being developed!

JR
 
Thanks for the info guys. I guess the titanium alloys I was looking up are outrageously expensive to end up where they were for properties.

Interestingly enough if you wanna spend huge money, based on what I see it should hypothetically work as good as the stainless barrels if someone could manage to machine it haha.
 
kombayotch said:
Yeah, what they've mentioned above. Rifling in titanium would be difficult to cut and the result would not be as good as in steel to begin with. That rifling would not last very long once you started shooting.

Perhaps they will develop some kind of inexpensive Titanium alloy that has the weight properties of titanium, with the wear properties of SS or reduce the cost of making the CF barrels.
Click to expand...

I believe the future is in coatings.

I'm wondering how DLC coating would do inside a barrel.

"For example, a coating of only 2 μm thickness of ta-C increases the resistance of common (i.e. type 304) stainless steel against abrasive wear; changing its lifetime in such service from one week to 85 years."

Those were my piston pins, DLC coated, for my Subaru but I sold the project a few years ago, did not try them.

images
 
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The issue with composite barrels is that as optimistic as the sales folks are, certain physical properties, specifically the coefficient of thermal expansion, will preclude these products from being used in match/ heavy use conditions. For a hunting rifle, yes. For anything which requires more than a few consecutive shots, this is not feasible with the materials applied- neither carbon nor titanium will succeed. After breif use, an interface failure will occur. If it does not, then the engineering fundamentals were not representative of the product characteristics being marketed. Threafter, both carbon and titanium are poor conductors of heat, but that is another face-palm design decision for explinaton another day.
 
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