Garand barrel installation
- Thread starter lebl468
- Start date
Lots of parts in an M-1. If you buy them one at a time, it might be a pretty expensive rifle. There are certain parts that are more difficult to locate. In addition, used parts can be a pig in a poke. They might be perfectly serviceable, but they might be defective.
Are you referring to fitting a replacement M-1 barrel?
These are usually finished, except for the chamber being slightly short. Torque it in to index, and then use a pull reamer to cut the chamber to final dimensions. A stripped bolt is pressed against the bushing on the base of the reamer. When the chamber is cut to fiish depth, the bolt lugs lock.
Are you referring to fitting a replacement M-1 barrel?
These are usually finished, except for the chamber being slightly short. Torque it in to index, and then use a pull reamer to cut the chamber to final dimensions. A stripped bolt is pressed against the bushing on the base of the reamer. When the chamber is cut to fiish depth, the bolt lugs lock.
you need a barrel vise and action wrench to start with.the barrel vise needs to be mounted in a good vise or like i did,on a strong board mounted to a workmate.
a go-no go (or @ least a no-go guage) to check headspace along with a way to level the rear sight with the front sight.(make sure the cutouts for the bullets (bullet channels) on the barrel are perfectly spaced between both sides of the receiver.
some anti-seize (high temp.) for the barrel threads would be nice too...
by the way,a come along(cheater bar) for the action wrench would be helpful.you need a lot of torque to get the barrel to index properly.i never used a reamer or anything like that,i just indexed the barrel and did a no-go on a stripped bolt.my lugs seem to properly lock...
a go-no go (or @ least a no-go guage) to check headspace along with a way to level the rear sight with the front sight.(make sure the cutouts for the bullets (bullet channels) on the barrel are perfectly spaced between both sides of the receiver.
some anti-seize (high temp.) for the barrel threads would be nice too...
by the way,a come along(cheater bar) for the action wrench would be helpful.you need a lot of torque to get the barrel to index properly.i never used a reamer or anything like that,i just indexed the barrel and did a no-go on a stripped bolt.my lugs seem to properly lock...
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You may have gotten lucky on headspace without using a "go" gauge. A "go" gauge is every bit as important as a "no-go" gauge when establishing headspace on a Garand. The bolt must close w/o resistance on a "go" gauge to ensure that rounds will chamber fully and thus avoid the possibility of an out of battery detonation. When the Garand bolt chambers a round and returns to battery it is driven closed by the force of the op rod spring alone and lacks the camming power of a bolt gun to close the bolt on a round in a short chamber.
If you were able to turn the receiver fully into index with the barrel secured in a Work-mate there is a possibility that the barrel is not sufficiently secure in the receiver. After more than 2 dozen Garand barrel installs I can attest that considerable force is required to bring a properly fitted barrel into index. The amount of torque involved(especially with an extension on the action wrench) would upset or collapse a Work-mate(if this is the Black& Decker variety). I secure my barrel block in a 12 ton shop press to ensure that it remains stationary during the barrel installation process.
Re-barreling a Garand is a relatively straight forward process provided that you have the proper tooling and gauges. These include a proper action wrench and barrel block or vice, a means of securing the barrel block during installation, a set of "go" and "no-go" gauges, a finishing reamer if the chamber turns out short, and a set of fixtures to establish when the barrel is correctly indexed. I highly recommend Brownells barrel paste for the barrel threads.
Interesting, I thought about price of parts, and figured for what Garands are going for nowadays, if you were sniffing out bargins, there would not be problem as they are going for $700+, but yes, defective parts would be an issue. I have built rifles in the past, given they were barreled actions, and have come out with what I consider, a superior piece. Just wanted to put a Garand together over time, as I sold mine last year and regreted it almost instantly.
It is a fun project, but the investment in tools and gauges doesn't make it economically feasible for a one time job. I suppose you could get by with a large crescent wrench for an action wrench, but it isn't relly a good idea to use expedient tooling. Correct barrel indexing is really important to functionality. Badger Ordnance makes alignment fixtures which seat on then the rear sight flat on the receiver and the top of the gas cylinder. These are excellent and remain in place as you turn the receiver into index. They have cuts to seat a long piece of aluminum angle which allows you to visually check when the barrel and receiver are aligned. I also cross check this with an angle finder.
I have an idea Lebl! Why don't you get Purple to install your barrel?
No substitute for experience and having all the tools and gauges already.
You sound like "Mrs. Purple" when she "volunteers" me to speak at the ladies quilt guild, museum, local tree huggers or some other worthy organization.
Re-barreling
I also agree - re-barreling can be a pain if you don't have the proper set-up - for gauges, wrenches, barrel vices alone you're looking at around $300 - not sure what reamers cost but I know they aren't cheap as all of my re-barrels have been done with surplus. My suggestion is to save yourself time AND money, just get someone experienced to barrel the action for you and you can easily do the rest yourself.
I also agree - re-barreling can be a pain if you don't have the proper set-up - for gauges, wrenches, barrel vices alone you're looking at around $300 - not sure what reamers cost but I know they aren't cheap as all of my re-barrels have been done with surplus. My suggestion is to save yourself time AND money, just get someone experienced to barrel the action for you and you can easily do the rest yourself.
You sound like "Mrs. Purple" when she "volunteers" me to speak at the ladies quilt guild, museum, local tree huggers or some other worthy organization.
Hey, I didn't say anything about doing it for free...
one day ill have a pro-smith check it out.it may be slightly under indexed.
i know it won't close on a no-go but just barely not close w/ a stripped bolt.
i screwed the barrel vise onto a 2x8 and clamped that to a workmate.i then used a LARGE tube about 3 ft. long to "help" the action wrench along.i kept the center of gravity low and stepped on the bench as i indexed.
it may be "mickey mouse" but it worked...
i know it won't close on a no-go but just barely not close w/ a stripped bolt.
i screwed the barrel vise onto a 2x8 and clamped that to a workmate.i then used a LARGE tube about 3 ft. long to "help" the action wrench along.i kept the center of gravity low and stepped on the bench as i indexed.
it may be "mickey mouse" but it worked...
I am curious and would like to know if the barrel you did install was either new commercial or NOS military or unscrewed from another M1.
My understanding is that all new barrels are coming short chambered???
and therefore need to be finish reamed.
anybody else can chime in please.
BB
Any new Garand bbl, military or civvy, will be short chambered and will require finish reaming to set up the headspace with the bolt of your choice. This is easily done with the Clymer front driven pull-through finishing reamer available from Brownells.
The single exception I found was a NOS SA 4-52 bbl which accepted the "go" gauge with a used 12SA bolt (12SA bolts tend to be a bit shorter on tolerances than some others). On several used GI bbl installations I found it necessary to cut the chamber a bit deeper to set up correct headspace with the bolts that I had chosen-a used HRA bolt and a couple of new post-war SA bolts.
The single exception I found was a NOS SA 4-52 bbl which accepted the "go" gauge with a used 12SA bolt (12SA bolts tend to be a bit shorter on tolerances than some others). On several used GI bbl installations I found it necessary to cut the chamber a bit deeper to set up correct headspace with the bolts that I had chosen-a used HRA bolt and a couple of new post-war SA bolts.
