prarie_boy
CGN Regular
- Location
- Just across the bridge to nowhere
Those of you who chamber your own barrels what is the way you do it, through the head stock or with a steady rest between centers?
Chambering
- Thread starter prarie_boy
- Start date
David Henry
CGN Regular
- Location
- West of the big road
Ask a dozen gunsmiths and you may get a dozen different answers. There are many informative videos on YouTube on the subject, might be worth a look. D.H.
When I had a small lathe (for many years) it was using a steady rest...
Now it is through the head stock dialed in with a spider on one end and a 4 jaw chuck on the other.
A fine job can be done with either method although I think the possibilities of a better job are through the head stock.
Now it is through the head stock dialed in with a spider on one end and a 4 jaw chuck on the other.
A fine job can be done with either method although I think the possibilities of a better job are through the head stock.
Blastattack
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Winnipeg MB
Between centers for me. Turn and face the ends nice and concentric, grab the muzzle in a three jaw and run the breech in the steady rest. Works great, and no dialing around.
gstprecision
Regular
- Location
- Frankford, On
I prefer between centers. Same here, I face each ends and put fresh 60 degree centers using a piloted 60 degree cutter. Turn the muzzle down about 1.5 inch concentric to the bore. I then put the muzzle end in a 4 jaw and dial it on the O.D. that was just turned concentric.
From there I do the chamber end, threading first then I run the steady on the threads for chambering.
I also do between the headstock on occasion, a bit more time consuming with dialing both ends, I do not know for a fact if there is any benefits to all that extra time spent dialing everything. Depending on the method, dialing on the lands or the Gritters method you may spend more time just making everything perfect than it takes to chamber and crown between centers.
I am curious to hear how you folks are dialing between centers, Range Rod? Gritter Method? Lands with long stem? I personally use a long stem and dial both ends on the lands.
GST
From there I do the chamber end, threading first then I run the steady on the threads for chambering.
I also do between the headstock on occasion, a bit more time consuming with dialing both ends, I do not know for a fact if there is any benefits to all that extra time spent dialing everything. Depending on the method, dialing on the lands or the Gritters method you may spend more time just making everything perfect than it takes to chamber and crown between centers.
I am curious to hear how you folks are dialing between centers, Range Rod? Gritter Method? Lands with long stem? I personally use a long stem and dial both ends on the lands.
GST
If I could go through the headstock I would, but I can't so between centers for me.
What I would really like somebody to do is take a straight blank, chamber it between centers, shoot it. then cut it off and chamber it through the head stock and shoot it again.
Actually have somebody else that doesn't know about it, shoot it.
I don't doubt that the potential for better results are capable by chambering through the head stock, but I would like an idea as to "how much" of a difference there is.
What I would really like somebody to do is take a straight blank, chamber it between centers, shoot it. then cut it off and chamber it through the head stock and shoot it again.
Actually have somebody else that doesn't know about it, shoot it.
I don't doubt that the potential for better results are capable by chambering through the head stock, but I would like an idea as to "how much" of a difference there is.
If both methods are done properly there will be no difference...........I have done both the same as Dennis, for the same reason and if the proper attention to detail is taken, both will give you perfect chambers in perfect alignment.
I've done both and through the headstock seems easier to me once it is set up , but my lathe is small so most are done using a 4 jaw chuck and a steady rest. I've also used both a floating reamer holder and a solid one with no discernible difference but I feel more comfortable using a floating holder so that's what I use
I have chambered through the headstock, in the steady, holding the barrel in a milling vice and turning the reamer (special circumstance), and have held the reamer various ways. Every method has benefits and suits certain circumstances. Every method can produced a perfect result providing the method is perfectly employed. For a brief period, I even messed with a reamer holder set up in the milling attachment so I could center it up perfectly co-axial with the headstock but soon decided life was too short.
When I started out, I threaded between centers with the faceplate and a lathe dog driving the barrel. Chambering was done with the barrel held in the chuck. When I realized that the tailstock was sitting low on the lathe I was using, due to wear of the ways near the head stock, I started chambering in the steady since this allowed the breech end of the barrel to sit at the same level as the tailstock. As I got more and more fussy, I realized that the only way to ensure that the center was truly concentric to the bore was to dial the barrel in and bore the center rather than just relying upon the piloted reamer. It then occurred to me, if I had the barrel all dialed in the four jaw chuck, I might as well do the threading there as well. Then, by making sure the tailstock was perfectly centered on the headstock, chambering might as well be done then as well and that, generally speaking, is what I do now.
Now, we all know, most barrels are not perfectly straight and, regardless of your preferred method, you have to make some compromises. I'm not going to get into the minor details here because I don't have the time (I have to go shovel some snow) but generally speaking, proper use of any method is going to result in a quality job.
When I started out, I threaded between centers with the faceplate and a lathe dog driving the barrel. Chambering was done with the barrel held in the chuck. When I realized that the tailstock was sitting low on the lathe I was using, due to wear of the ways near the head stock, I started chambering in the steady since this allowed the breech end of the barrel to sit at the same level as the tailstock. As I got more and more fussy, I realized that the only way to ensure that the center was truly concentric to the bore was to dial the barrel in and bore the center rather than just relying upon the piloted reamer. It then occurred to me, if I had the barrel all dialed in the four jaw chuck, I might as well do the threading there as well. Then, by making sure the tailstock was perfectly centered on the headstock, chambering might as well be done then as well and that, generally speaking, is what I do now.
Now, we all know, most barrels are not perfectly straight and, regardless of your preferred method, you have to make some compromises. I'm not going to get into the minor details here because I don't have the time (I have to go shovel some snow) but generally speaking, proper use of any method is going to result in a quality job.
