How much clearance is ideal for a lead bullet, passing through a revolver cylinder to the barrel. I'm talking about the stepped down part just in front of the cartridge case. Is it permissible to have an interference fit of 1 or 2 thousandth?
Cylinder clearance question
- Thread starter Hush07
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vagrantviking
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If the throat in the cylinder is larger than the groove diameter of the barrel I would size a bullet for 1 or 2 thousand over groove diameter. If it's soft lead it may bump up to the throat diameter and I'm not sure how consistent it would be. Might be better to fit the bullet to the throat.
If it's smaller than the groove diameter I would definitely go for a tight fit in the throat and an interference fit if the chamber allows. Use soft bullets and consider hollow base if it won't shoot well.
If it's smaller than the groove diameter I would definitely go for a tight fit in the throat and an interference fit if the chamber allows. Use soft bullets and consider hollow base if it won't shoot well.
BattleRife
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The ideal clearance is zero. If the bullet is a couple thou larger than the throat it gets swaged down to match, no big deal.
As Vagrant suggests, the bigger factor is the relation of the bullet size to the bore size, after it has gone through the throat. Worst case scenario is tight throats that swage the bullet down, then the bullet is pushed into an oversized bore. The result is mediocre accuracy and terrible leading.
As Vagrant suggests, the bigger factor is the relation of the bullet size to the bore size, after it has gone through the throat. Worst case scenario is tight throats that swage the bullet down, then the bullet is pushed into an oversized bore. The result is mediocre accuracy and terrible leading.
Great, thank you! You've both explained that very well to me. I've got an antique with a .450 throat in the cylinder and a .456 barrel groove diameter. A test fire with an old CIL .455 hollow base Webley bullet, filed down to .450, shows promise. I see a .451 sizing die is available, but once my box of lead bullets is gone, I see no source out there for a 455 Webley HB mould.
BattleRife
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That's a rough combination.
As to the mould, where there is a will, there's a way. Accurate moulds will cut custom designs, and he has a big catalogue of the crazy things he has done for people. He won't do hollow base moulds, but he will cut the mould and leave enough block there for another shop to incorporate hollow pointing pins.
BattleRife
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A quick glance suggests Tom has indeed done this for something like a Webley. I see 3 designs that might be in your range.
